The 200 foot Pine
Canyon Falls is a rainy-day-only waterfall. When the water is plunging over
that tall cliff, though, it is quite a sight. As we describe, below,
access to Pine Canyon does require a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle.
How to get there:
From I-10 at Fort Stockton:
Drive south on US-385 through Marathon (about 58 miles and the last town before entering Big Bend National Park). Continue south to the ranger station at Panther Junction. This is where you pay the
$15 per vehicle entrance fee (good for one week) and pick up the park map and brochure. If you arrive after hours you can stop by the next day to pay).
Note: The last major shopping areas (grocery and hardware stores) are Alpine, Fort Stockton, and Del Rio. Gasoline and some groceries are available also at the Big Bend Motor Inn, Study Butte Store (these two also sell diesel), Lajitas Trading Post and Stillwell Store.
A high-clearance, 4-wheel-drive vehicle is required to traverse the Pine Canyon primitive road. To get to Pine Canyon from Panther Junction, proceed
west toward Hot Springs and Rio Grande Village for about 3 miles looking for the sign directing you to Pine Canyon (the road will be on your right. Follow that road to its end; the trailhead is plainly marked.
Pine Canyon Trail:
This medium difficulty,
4 mile roundtrip hike begins at the very end of the Pine Canyon primitive road. The trail gradually ascends through typical
sotol grasslands for about a mile before entering Pine Canyon. Once in the shelter of the canyon, the trail twists through Mexican
piñon, junipers, and oaks and, eventually, ponderosa pine. Texas madrone and bigtooth maples. The trail ends at the base of the 200-foot cliff that becomes Pine Canyon Falls after the infrequent rains.
For photos
of Pine Canyon, see:
For more information:
Big Bend National Park
P.O.Box 196
Texas 79834
915-477-2251
www.nps.gov/bibe/home.htm
Map of Big Bend National Park
(.pdf format)
Map of area around Pine Canyon (.html
format):
