This was the very first hike I did in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Short, easy, and featuring visuals that will give you a hiker-hard-on, this short out and back trek through a slot canyon is not to be missed.
It is also one of just two hikes within Big Bend Ranch State Park that allows dogs on a leash (6 feet long or shorter, per regulations).
Table of Contents
My Supply Checklist
Make sure you pack enough water for your group!
- 1.5L water (minimum)
- Sun hat
- Sunscreen
- 300 calories
- Sturdy, non slippery shoes
- Rain coat
- Common sense
Hiking Closed Canyon Trail
One of the great things about this trail is that, unlike many of the trails on the “interior” of the park, this trail is accessible to any car. It’s also a fairly easy hike that most people can do, including families with small children.
Accessing Closed Canyon Trailhead
The trailhead is on River Road FM 170, 22 miles west of the Barton Warnock visitor center and 26 miles east of Fort Leaton.
From the trailhead you can see the canyon entrance. Talk a quick jaunt down a piddly hill, into an arroyo and the canyon awaits your pleasure.
The Walls Really Are Closing in Around You
Unlike most of the other trails in the park, this one path isn’t really a “trail”. The canyon walls guide you (there’s nowhere else to go except to follow their walls), progressively getting closer together as hikers progress through. The canyon slowly winds you along for about .7 of a mile.
Underfoot, the ground is made up of sand, gravel and rock. Along the way, you’ll run into numerous tinajas that provide a source of water for wildlife.
It is much cooler in the canyon than the trailhead because very little sunlight actually gets to the canyon floor thanks to its towering walls. Keep this in mind during cooler months – things could get a touch nipply!
No River Access
The canyon does make its way toward the Rio Grande but the river cannot be accessed. Many of the people who have tried to access the Rio Grande from Closed Canyon have found themselves stranded, seriously injured, or even deceased.
Don’t Go Into the Light – or the Pour-Offs
Once you begin to hit large, steep pour-offs that you cannot safely descend (or climb back up!), the trail is at its end, at about .7 miles. Turn back sooner if you do not feel comfortable with the short chutes and scrambles.
There’s no “this is the end” trail sign, so it’s down to common sense. Because nothing about this trail struck me as especially dangerous, I was shocked to learn that the park actually closed this trail for a time in 2020 due to “an increase in near fatal incidents”.
Don’t be a statistic. Use your brain.
Turn back when it is no longer safe to descend the pour offs. It may be pretty easy to descend some of the later drops safely, but always remember that you need to be able to get back up.
Forgetting this obvious and yet vital fact has gotten a number of hikers in trouble.
Check the Weather Before You Hike
Never ever hike this trail when rain is in the forecast.
Canyons, especially slot canyons, can flash flood quickly and there’s just nowhere to fucking go should this happen to you.
Surprisingly for some Texans from other parts of the state, June-August is the “rainy season” in Big Bend. Be particularly mindful of the weather during these months. If it begins raining during your hike through Closed Canyon Trail, immediately turn back.
If you don’t, you could end up like a group of clueless hikers who got caught in a flash flood in Closed Canyon and only barely walked away with their lives
Too Long: Didn’t Read;
Easy to access, easy to hike, fun to explore, this short trail is a nice canyon hike. Don’t go sliding down or jumping off of steep pour-offs or do this hike in the rain and you’ll come away with having done a fantastic hike.
Would recommend.
- Awesome Canyon Visuals
- Short and Easy
- DO NOT jump down any pour-offs near the end
- In fact, don’t climb down them either, unless you’re 110% certain you can climb back up
- DO NOT start or continue this hike during rain. Slot canyons are known to flash flood in short order, and dying in a flash flood is no fun at all.
- That said, this is a nice, cool hike to enjoy on a bright, sunny Texas day with no clouds in sight.