11 – 15 miles round trip | ½ day hike candidate: No
About: One of my favorite trails in the entire park. Quite possibly the most picturesque and breathtaking trail in Big Bend, but I have several favorites. The views on this trail are just stunning with its dramatic cliff lookout point as you view the rippled mountainous terrain below. Like much of Big Bend, it will leave you asking, “This is Texas?”
The actual South Rim Trail isn’t 11 – 15 miles round trip, but you do have to take other trails to reach it. The trail itself is broken into two parts, the Southwest Rim (~2.5 miles) and the Southeast Rim (~3.3 miles). They are divided by the Boot Canyon Trail. The Southeast Rim contains a portion of trail also referred to as The Northeast Rim. So far, I have only hiked the Southwest Rim portion. I plan on camping the rim this year and finish it up.
I’d recommend hiking up the Laguna Meadows Trail and the Pinnacles Trail down. We opted to cut off at Boot Canyon and hike that entire trail to the Pinnacles. We saw a bear on Boot Canyon (our 3rd encounter).
Pros: Best view in the park. I enjoyed it more the Emory Peak.
Cons: It’s a “hike” to get to.
Tips: If you simply stay on the main trail, you will miss the big pay off! Find the trail marker pictured here, I believe it was near the “restroom”. See that side trail that runs behind the sign? It looks like it goes nowhere, but it leads to the most dramatic views of the trail and possibly the entire park.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
