Four-wheel drive is always required beyond mile 5. The seashore protects about 66 miles of coast
A season that runs backwards from the mountains
In most of the country the season is summer. In the Texas desert it is not. The Park Service gives November through April as Big Bend’s peak season, Big Bend Ranch warns of 100-degree mornings and 130 degrees in the sun, and Black Gap opens general visitation only from March 1 through August 31.
East Texas and the coast run longer, with tropical storms as the variable: NOAA counts more than 85 that reached Texas between 1900 and 2020. Plan desert gatherings for the cool months and coastal ones outside the storm season.
The large expos combine a vendor show, classes and a campground full of real vehicles. Rallies and brand gatherings are smaller and more social. Training weekends and club runs are where you actually drive.
Getting the most from one
The vendor hall is the least useful part.
01Take the classes. They are the best value at any expo.
02Walk the camping area. Owners will tell you what they would do differently.
03Talk to builders in person, and look closely at their work.
04Book camping early. It sells out before day tickets do.
For organizers
List the event with its dates, location, what it costs to attend and a link to register. We will add it to the directory and to the state it happens in.
Questions people ask
Are events worth it for beginners?
They are the quickest education available: a weekend of classes, hundreds of vehicles to look at, and owners who will happily tell you what they would do differently.
How do I add an event?
Use the List your business form and choose Events. Include the dates, the location and a link.
How high is Texas?
From Port Aransas at 6 feet to Guadalupe Peak at 8,749.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
Fort DavisIn the Davis Mountains at the start and finish of the 75-mile loop drive Texas Parks and Wildlife describes through the range.4,896 ft
AlpineOn US 90 with the Amtrak and bus stops, 100 miles from Big Bend park headquarters. State Highway 118 runs south from here to Study Butte.4,477 ft
MarathonOn US 90 at the top of US 385, 70 miles north of Big Bend park headquarters. FM 2627 leaves here for Black Gap, 55 miles south.4,044 ft
Van HornOn I-10 where State Highway 54 runs north toward Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Last interstate services before that corner of the state.4,044 ft
El PasoFar west corner, where I-10 meets the border. Franklin Mountains State Park sits inside the city, and the Trans-Mountain Highway crosses it.3,713 ft
AmarilloWhere I-40 and I-27 meet in the Panhandle. Lake Meredith and its two off-road areas are north, Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons south and southeast.3,670 ft
CanyonAt the gate of Palo Duro Canyon State Park on Park Road 5, where the Civilian Conservation Corps road drops to the canyon floor.3,543 ft
Fort StocktonWhere I-10 meets US 285 and US 385. The nearest EV charging to Big Bend, 130 miles out, and one of three towns with major shopping near the park.2,973 ft
TerlinguaStudy Butte and Terlingua sit between Big Bend’s west entrance and the Barton Warnock Visitor Center at the east end of Big Bend Ranch. Fuel and diesel.2,890 ft
PresidioWest end of FM 170 and the Fort Leaton entrance to Big Bend Ranch. Fuel, and the only local extraction and mechanic service for the ranch.2,581 ft
QuitaqueAt Caprock Canyons State Park and the Trailway, 100 miles southeast of Amarillo in Briscoe County.2,577 ft
Del RioOn US 90 at Amistad National Recreation Area, and the nearest full-service town to the Devils River State Natural Area.965 ft
HuntsvilleOn I-45 at the Sam Houston National Forest, 50 miles north of Houston, beside the only OHV trail in the national forests of Texas.371 ft
LufkinHeadquarters of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, and the service town between the Angelina, Sabine and Davy Crockett forests.313 ft
Corpus ChristiThe mainland base for Padre Island National Seashore. Last full services before the causeway and the 60 miles of drivable beach.7 ft
Port AransasOn Mustang Island, where the city sells the beach parking permit for markers 0 to 62 and allows camping on the sand.6 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Guadalupe PeakThe highest point in Texas, in Culberson County. No road reaches it8,749 ft
Mount LivermoreHigh point of the Davis Mountains, inside the 75-mile loop out of Fort Davis8,338 ft
El CapitanThe cliff at the south end of the Guadalupe escarpment, above the Williams Ranch road8,095 ft
Emory PeakThe high point of the Chisos Mountains, in Big Bend National Park7,818 ft
Panther PassThe saddle the Chisos Basin Road crosses on its 6 paved miles into the basin5,778 ft
Trans-Mountain Highway summitTrans-Mountain Highway, Franklin Mountains State Park5,120 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
