Some of the parks we visit aren’t dog friendly
Big Bend National Park is in southern Texas along the border with Mexico. The border is marked by the Rio Grande River and the park covers 118 miles of river front. While this is a park with lots of activities, hiking, biking, floating, wildlife watching and horseback riding, there isn’t much your dog is going to be able to do. Pets can only go where your car can go according to the pet regulations. With no pet friendly trails the park gets a 1-paw rating. National Park dogs page has more information on my rating system.
Visiting Big Bend National Park
There are four campgrounds in the park which are well wooded and have large shade structures and bear boxes. The busiest time of year is mid-January to mid-April especially during spring break in March for Texas schools. You will also find the most comfortable temperatures during those months.
Unfriendly natives to watch for
Javelinas are peccaries, family Tayassuidae, native to the Americas and should not be confused with pigs, family Suidae, which originated in Afro-Eurasia. They have aggressive temperaments and can not be domesticated. Being social animals, they travel in herds and possess large canines, or tusks, used to crush hard seeds and slicing plant roots which they also use for protection. Moving amazingly quietly, they walked right up to and through our camp. Our Great Dane at the time, Selar, was luckily inside the motorhome when they came through and didn’t notice them. Great Danes were bred to hunt wild boar but you don’t want to mess with these guys. They can easily severely wound or kill a dog.
Other mammals include black bears and bobcats. There are also the usual desert inhabitants of snakes, scorpions and centipedes to watch out for.
