Santa Elena Canyon -- Big Bend NP TX
N 29° 09.511 W 103° 36.240
13R E 635769 N 3226354
A roadside lookout along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive for Santa Elena Canyon, one of the most amazing features at Big Bend National Park
Waymark Code: WMTZMB
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/28/2017
Views: 3
This lookout was a beautiful place for a snack on our way to hike into Santa Elena Canyon. This overlook is located off of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive near the Castolon Visitor Center.
The interpretive sign at the overlook reads as follows:
"SANTA ELENA CANYON
The view that river level gives no clue to the extent of Canyon carving. Santa Alayna Canyon is 8 miles (13 km) long and 1500 feet (450 m) deep. In some places the canyon is only 30 feet (9 m) wide at the bottom.
Except during flood season, the quiet waters below do not seem powerful enough to have carved Santa Elena Canyon. Hike the short trail to the river and look closely at the water, cloudy with sand and silt. Like liquid sandpaper, the swift current files away Santa Elena’s hard limestone, cutting it deeper. In a raft or canoe you can actually hear the grit hissing along the hull.
For a closer look at the canyon’s depth, hike the 1. 7 mile round-trip trail to 1 of the narrowest points in the gorge.
The Rio Grande established its present course on basin filling sediments that covered the rocks and faults we see expose today. The river eroded through the surface layers and cut steep-sided canyons and the more resistant lower Cretaceous limestones. Today you can see those ancient limestone formations exposed in the canyon walls."
From the NPS website: (
visit link)
"Spectacular Santa Elena
Santa Elena Canyon, downstream, is the most popular overnight or three day trip, not only because the put-in and take-out are easily accessed by car, but because it is often considered the most dramatically beautiful. Santa Elena has the tallest cliffs forming the canyon wall—up to 1,500 feet.
The first 13 meandering miles from the put-in at Lajitas give you a good look at the contrast between the riparian and desert ecosystem. The river becomes more technical in the last seven miles when you have entered the actual canyon. Two miles into the canyon, the largest rapid, the Rock Slide is classified as a Class IV rapid at certain water levels.
Santa Elena Upstream
An enjoyable day trip consists of paddling upstream, from the Santa Elena Canyon Trailhead, a few miles into the canyon, and then returning back downstream (also known as a "boomerang" trip). If the water level is low, you do not have to fight the current much going upstream, making this trip quite leisurely. It is an ideal trip if you only have one vehicle, or if you do not want to pay for a shuttle back to your starting point. A backcountry use permit is required for all river trips; no fee is charged for day-use trips."