The Big Bend (View All)

A bigger small town: galleries, shopping, a historic hotel, civic buildings, a university, churches, parades, restaurants, rodeos, a downtown mountain, athletic fields, saloons, an Amtrak station, and an actual traffic light (blinking only).

A less bigger small town: courthouse, galleries, motels, restaurants, stores, vistas, civic buildings, Victorian homes, the Chinati Foundation, the railroad, excellent grazing, an NPR radio station, two liquor stores, excessive minimalism, and the Marfa Lights.

The essential small town: downtown mountains & cliffs, a real cavalry fort, the actual Overland Trail, a historic hotel, the McDonald Observatory, dirt roads, assorted tall tales, and a drug store counter that still serves Sarssaparilla.

Not even a small town: just mountains, desert, scattered ruins, wacky homesites, a Ghost Town, outdoor recreation, a bank, a few places to eat, some motel type joints, a boot hill cemetery, a gas station, truly eccentric bars, a world-famous porch, sun-burnt old-timers, and two simultaneous International Championship Chili Cook-offs.

Barely a small town: the Rio Grande, a cemetery, some rocks -- plus an actual high-end resort with dining, shopping, an international airport of sorts, a deli, and exceptional golf. Mexico adjacent. It's the last stop on the fabled River Road before Presidio.

Classic cowboy small town: the railroad, a historic hotel, galleries, motels, a bookstore, churches, parks, vistas, two gas stations, a free-form hostel, a walk-in BBQ smoker, and an intersection.

Pure history. Fort Leaton, the Rio Grande, Spanish Missions, the Chihuahuan Desert, the Mexican Revolution, General Black Jack Pershing, and Pancho Villa. And, the International Bridge crossing into Ojinaga, Mexico.

Old-timey small town feel: civic buildings, motels, stores, mountains, parks, churches, railroad settings, an Open Road Race, and the obligatory water tower.

Population 217. The highway, the railroad, ranches, two cemeteries, a great school system, distinctive postmarks, the Aerostat, a Prada store (almost), and a spectacular Valentine's Day Celebration -- of course.

Yes -- THE Judge Roy Bean, The Pecos River, a world renown saloon, a Heavyweight Championship, the railroad, and whisky.

A long dead silver mine, a few hardy survivors (33), a classic old cemetery, and a role in The Andromeda Strain.

Agriculture, the River Road, churches, goats, and the oldest continuously populated area in the U.S.

No services. One intersection. Closed businesses. Eat before you come.

The end of the road, but worth the ride. A hilltop cemetery overlooking a church, a school, and what's left of the town.

Hmmmmm....

Mountains. Desert. Canyons. Cactus. Critters. And the Rio Grande. The true wonder of the Big Bend. Enjoy.

Still more Old West than New, these are the true heart of the Big Bend.

From the Old Overland Trail to scenic highways through the Davis Mountains and magnificent dark skies for the McDonald Observatory.

Working ranches amid scattered mountains.

Where the Big Bend began -- the oldest continuously inhabited area of North America.

Texas heartland, developed by the railroad, but not too much. Watch out for deer.

Thanks to those who support the Big Bend Film Commission and make all this possible.