Top Texas attraction: Big Bend National Park
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Big Bend National Park might be the hardest place to get to in Texas, but you've voted it the state's top attraction.
Why it matters: Big Bend is a place for contemplation and renewal, discovery and solitude.
- You've never heard the sound of silence until you've experienced a desert evening in Big Bend.
State of play: Axios Texas readers selected Big Bend over the Alamo in the finals of our weeklong top Texas attractions bracket.
The big picture: One of the things that makes Big Bend so special is that it's so far away from where we live. The lack of cellphone signal forces you to disconnect.
- Big Bend ranked No. 4 among 62 national parks in a Wall Street Journal analysis published last week. The publication evaluated parks based on number of visitors (the fewer the better), hiking routes, availability of campsites and access to other recreational activities.
Yes, but: Big Bend also ranked the fifth most dangerous park in another recent study. Twelve people have died at the park over the past 11 years, many from heat-related illnesses.
By the numbers: Big Bend was established as a national park in 1944 and is the 15th largest national park.
- It reached an annual visitor peak of 581,000 during the pandemic. In 2023, some 512,000 people visited the park.
Zoom in: The park is home to more types of birds, bats, butterflies, ants, scorpions and cactuses than any other national park in the United States.
- With more than 150 miles of desert and mountain trails, it's a hiker's paradise.
- And with no light pollution to speak of, it's one of the best places for stargazing in North America.
💠Axios Texas bureau chief Bob Gee's thought bubble: In 2001, inspired by the movie "Fandango," I buried a champagne bottle in Big Bend with close friends to dig up later. We haven't been back for the errand yet.
- In 2010, I proposed to my now-wife Carolyn there. We returned with our then-1-year-old daughter in 2017 and have reservations to camp there with both kids this fall.