Overlanding

Texas

Why Texas gives a vehicle very little public land and some of the best roads on it

Texas is the state where the public land argument ends. The Congressional Research Service counts 3,191,777 federal acres here, 1.9 percent of the state’s 168,217,600. Texas Parks and Wildlife puts it from the other direction and says Texas is a private lands state, with over 93 percent of it privately owned. There is no BLM country to wander, no national forest that covers a quarter of a county, and the 13 million acres of state land the General Land Office manages are leased holdings rather than parks.

What is left is small, specific and unusually good. Big Bend National Park alone covers 801,163 acres, which the Park Service calls the eighth largest national park in the lower 48, and it holds somewhere between 150 and 180 miles of dirt road depending on which paragraph of the park’s own page you read. Next door, Big Bend Ranch State Park runs to over 300,000 acres with 153 miles of road open to visitors, nearly 70 of them unmaintained. Padre Island National Seashore lets you drive 60 miles of beach. Lake Meredith has two designated off-road areas. The Sam Houston National Forest has the only trail in the national forests of Texas open to off-highway vehicles.

The result is a state you plan around a handful of destinations rather than a map full of green. Distances between them are long, the Park Service says plainly that distances between towns and services in the Big Bend are considerable, and the only two places in Texas where a sedan will not do are also the two where a tow truck is hours away. Pack for self-rescue, carry water, and treat every permit as part of the route.

Texas by the numbers

Of Texas is federal land 1: 1.9%; 3,191,777 of 168,217,600 acres, as of September 30, 2024
Of Texas is privately owned, by the state’s own count 7: 93%+; Texas Parks and Wildlife. Its land fragmentation report puts the figure at 97 percent
Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas 2: 8,749 ft; Culberson County. The lowest point is sea level, on the Gulf of Mexico. Our own 3DEP query at the same point returns 8,742 feet
Federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 4: 115; 75 Army Corps of Engineers, 23 National Park Service and 17 Forest Service. 90 can be booked ahead
Acres in Big Bend National Park 20: 801,163; The Park Service calls it the eighth largest national park in the lower 48 states
Acres in Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest in Texas 42: 300,000+; 153 miles of road are open to visitors and nearly 70 of those are unmaintained
Acres of national forest and grassland 12: 675,000+; Four forests and two grasslands, by the Forest Service’s own count. The Congressional Research Service counts 756,953 acres
Of beach open to vehicles at Padre Island 34: 60 miles; Four-wheel drive is always required beyond mile 5. The seashore protects about 66 miles of coast

The ground and who manages it

The Congressional Research Service splits the 3,191,777 federal acres in Texas among five agencies: the National Park Service with 1,204,923, the Forest Service with 756,953, the Department of Defense with 609,934, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 608,020 and the Bureau of Land Management with 11,947. That last figure is the one to sit with. The BLM has no state office here; the Oklahoma Field Office manages 7.4 million acres of federally owned land and minerals across Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, and the national route data the BLM publishes records no routes at all in Texas. Nothing on this page states a BLM mileage, because none exists.

Two Park Service units carry most of the driving. Big Bend National Park is 801,163 acres of Chihuahuan Desert against the Rio Grande, and Padre Island National Seashore protects about 66 miles of Gulf coast with 60 of them open to vehicles. Guadalupe Mountains National Park holds the state high point and, in its own words, has no roads through its heart. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in the Panhandle is the rare federal unit in Texas with land set aside for off-road use.

The Forest Service holds four national forests and two national grasslands here, over 675,000 acres by its own count: the Angelina at 153,179 acres, the Sabine at 160,656, the Davy Crockett at more than 160,000, the Sam Houston at 163,037, and the Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson grasslands northeast and northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Texas Parks and Wildlife runs 89 state parks, historic sites and natural areas over more than 640,000 acres, plus wildlife management areas such as Black Gap, roughly 103,000 acres next to Big Bend. The Army Corps of Engineers lakes supply more drive-in campgrounds than any other federal agency in Texas.

What looks public and is not: the 13 million acres of state land the General Land Office manages, which its own page describes in terms of leasing, energy development and land sales rather than recreation, and the 93 percent of Texas that belongs to somebody. Fences here are not suggestions. Plan around the units above and the county roads that reach them.

01Big Bend National Park: 801,163 acres, with over 100 to 120 miles of paved road and 150 to 180 miles of dirt road by the park’s own two counts
02Big Bend Ranch State Park: over 300,000 acres, 153 miles of road open to visitors, nearly 70 of them unmaintained
03Padre Island National Seashore: about 66 miles of coast, 60 miles of it drivable beach
04Black Gap Wildlife Management Area: approximately 103,000 acres on the Rio Grande, 55 miles south of Marathon
05Sam Houston National Forest: 163,037 acres, with 85 miles of multiple-use trail and the 129-mile Lone Star Hiking Trail
06Angelina National Forest: 153,179 acres on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, a 114,500-acre lake
07Sabine National Forest: 160,656 acres beside the 185,000-acre Toledo Bend Reservoir
08Caprock Canyons State Park: 15,313.6 acres, including the 1,217-acre Trailway
09Palo Duro Canyon State Park: about 28,000 acres, the second largest park in the state system
10Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso: almost 27,000 acres, where driving on dirt roads and trails is not allowed

Source 1

Heat, water and the shape of the year

Texas is not one climate. NOAA’s state summary says normal annual precipitation runs from less than 10 inches in the far west to more than 60 inches in the extreme southeast, and that January minimum temperatures range from about 20°F in the northern Panhandle to about 50°F near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The Office of the Texas State Climatologist records a state high of 120°F, at Seymour in 1936 and again at Monahans in 1994, and a state low of minus 23°F, at Tulia in 1899 and Seminole in 1933. Anything you plan has to name a region and a month.

In the desert parks the season is the cool half of the year. The Park Service gives November through April as Big Bend’s peak visitation season. Texas Parks and Wildlife warns that at Big Bend Ranch temperatures typically exceed 100 degrees by late morning and can reach as high as 130 degrees in the sun. Black Gap opens its general visitation only from March 1 through August 31, and restricts it to the roads reaching the Rio Grande corridor. Guadalupe Mountains closes Williams Ranch Road in some years from June to October because summer rain damages it.

Water is the hazard that moves. Big Bend says the River Road regularly becomes impassable after rains. TxDOT’s instruction for a flooded roadway is to turn around, and it publishes live highway conditions on DriveTexas. NOAA counts more than 85 tropical storms and hurricanes crossing Texas between 1900 and 2020, 46 of them hurricanes, which is the reason coastal beach driving is a tide-and-forecast decision rather than a date on a calendar.

Fire is a county matter. Texas A&M Forest Service explains that a burn ban is put in place by a county judge or commissioners court when drought conditions exist, and collects every county’s current status into one statewide map. Check that map and the managing agency for the ground you are on before you plan a fire, and remember that Big Bend prohibits ground fires and wood fires outright.

Source 5

What Texas asks of a vehicle

The two agencies that run the hard roads publish the same standard, and it is more specific than most. The Park Service defines a high-clearance four-wheel drive as an SUV or truck with at least 15-inch tire rims, a low-range transfer case, and at least 8 inches of clearance from the lowest point of the frame, body, suspension or differential to the ground. It says the River Road and Old Ore Road are not passable to passenger cars, minivans, motorhomes or small crossover SUVs, and that four-wheel drive is required at all times on Black Gap Road. All-wheel drive is not what these pages mean.

Texas Parks and Wildlife’s guide to the unmaintained roads of Big Bend Ranch reads like a packing list from someone who has recovered people. It recommends two well-maintained four-wheel-drive high-clearance vehicles travelling together, load range E tires with six-ply as the absolute minimum, two inflated spares, a high-lift jack of at least 48 inches, at least 5 gallons of drinking water beyond personal canteens, and food for two days. It says there is no gas or diesel available in the park interior, that fuel is sold at Presidio, Lajitas and Study Butte only, that cell coverage in most of the park is almost nonexistent, and that the roads are not patrolled on a regular basis.

Size and length decide some of it for you. The Chisos Basin Road is not recommended for trailers longer than 20 feet or RVs over 24 feet because of sharp curves and grades as much as 15 percent. Motor homes and oversize vehicles are prohibited on the Hot Springs Road. Big Bend Ranch does not recommend motor homes or trailers at all, and says the ranch roads were built narrow. On the Sam Houston multiple-use trail, an off-highway vehicle must be no wider than 50 inches and quieter than 96 decibels.

Everywhere else in Texas the limiting factor is salt, sand and distance. Beach driving means soft sand, saltwater spray and a tow bill the Park Service describes as several hundred to several thousand dollars, because it does not tow private vehicles itself. Deep East Texas means mud and humidity. The Panhandle means wind and cold. A vehicle set up for one of them is rarely ready for the next without a look underneath.

Source 22

Passes and routes

Skyline Drive, Davis Mountains State ParkPaved

Five miles in the park, on a 75-mile loop from Fort Davis

The park sits between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, which in Texas is another climate, and the five-mile Skyline Drive is the high road through it. It is one leg of a 75-mile loop that begins and ends in Fort Davis and takes in the mountains around it. Paved, and the easiest high country driving in the state. 52
The road to the floor of Palo Duro CanyonPaved

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the winding road down into what the state calls the second largest canyon in the country, and the park opened in 1934 before the work was finished. At about 28,000 acres it is the second largest park in the Texas system. The descent is the attraction and the reason to check brakes and cooling before a summer visit. 49
Caprock Canyons and the Trailway

The Trailway runs 64.25 miles, South Plains to Estelline

The park covers 15,313.6 acres including the 1,217-acre Trailway, about 100 miles southeast of Amarillo in Briscoe County, and it opened in 1982. The Trailway is a rail conversion that crosses 46 bridges and passes through the Clarity Tunnel, and it is walked and ridden rather than driven, but the park roads that reach it are the way into the Caprock escarpment. 50
Trans-Mountain Highway, Franklin Mountains State ParkPaved

5,120 ft

Almost 27,000 acres, about 40 square miles, inside the city limits of El Paso, with over 100 miles of trail and North Franklin Mountain at 7,192 feet above it. The Trans-Mountain Highway crosses the park at 5,120 feet. The park is explicit about the rest: do not drive on any dirt road or trail, in a car or on an ATV. 51
Caddo and LBJ National Grasslands

Two blocks of national grassland northeast and northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, carrying nearly 75 miles of multipurpose trail in the LBJ multiuse system. The Forest Service publishes no acreage on the page, so none is stated here. It is the nearest public ground with a road network to four million people, which shows at a weekend. 19
River Road, Big Bend National Park

51 miles

Rio Grande Village and Castolon, across the southern edge of the park

The longest primitive road in the park and the one people come for. The Park Service calls it a 51-mile primitive route between Rio Grande Village and Castolon, says it is currently in very poor, unmaintained condition, that the western section is generally rougher, and to allow a full day to drive it end to end. Primitive roadside campsites along it need a backcountry permit at $10 a night. 30

Vehicle
High clearance and true four-wheel drive. Not passable to cars, minivans, motorhomes or small crossover SUVs

Season
Cool months. The park says it regularly becomes impassable after rains
Old Ore Road, Big Bend National Park

26 miles

Rio Grande Village at the south end to Dagger Flat Road at the north

Three to four hours end to end along the foot of the Dead Horse Mountains. The Park Service gives 26 miles on the road’s own page and 25 on its primitive roads overview, so both figures are in print. A run of primitive roadside campsites along it, all permit only, makes it the easiest of the park’s hard roads to turn into an overnight. 31

Vehicle
High clearance and true four-wheel drive. Off-highway vehicles and ATVs are not allowed

Season
Cool months. Unmaintained and rough at any time
Black Gap Road, Big Bend National Park

8.5 miles

Glenn Springs Road to the River Road

Short, not maintained, and the only road in the park where the Park Service states that four-wheel drive is required at all times rather than recommended. It is the connector that turns the eastern half of the River Road into a loop, and the park tells you to study its photographs of the route before you commit to it. 32

Vehicle
Four-wheel drive required at all times

Season
Cool months
Old Maverick Road, Big Bend National Park

14 miles

Maverick Junction to Santa Elena Canyon, along the Terlingua Creek badlands

The park classes this one as an improved dirt road rather than a primitive one, which makes it the usual first dirt road for a visitor: 14 miles of graded surface between the west entrance and the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon. The other improved roads are the seven-mile Dagger Flat Auto Trail, Grapevine Hills Road at 6.4 miles, which usually needs four-wheel drive after rain, and the two-mile Hot Springs Road, where motor homes and oversize vehicles are prohibited. 23

Vehicle
High clearance and four-wheel drive recommended

Season
Year-round in dry conditions
Ross Maxwell Scenic DrivePaved

30 miles

The main park road to Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon

The paved way to the western side of Big Bend and the best road in the park for a vehicle that has no business on the primitive ones. The park lists it at 30 miles among its paved roads, alongside the 6-mile Chisos Basin Road, 21 miles from Panther Junction to Rio Grande Village, 23 from the Maverick entrance station to Panther Junction and 28 from Persimmon Gap. 24

Vehicle
Any car

Season
Year-round
The unmaintained roads of Big Bend Ranch State Park

Nearly 70 miles of the 153 open to visitors

Sauceda Ranger Station, 27 miles of dirt from FM 170, out to the Cienega, Solitario, Los Alamos and Bofecillos road systems

When the state bought the ranch in 1988 there were about 700 miles of old ranch and mining roads on it and about 50 miles stayed open. The 2008 public use plan allows 153 miles, nearly 70 of them unmaintained, and all of them dirt. Access to the unmaintained roads is by permit only, from Barton Warnock, Fort Leaton or Sauceda. The state recommends travelling in two vehicles, load range E tires with six-ply as the minimum, two inflated spares, a 48-inch high-lift jack, 5 gallons of spare drinking water and two days of food. There is no gas or diesel in the park interior and cell coverage is almost nonexistent. 43

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive, by special use permit. Motor homes and trailers are not recommended

Season
Cool months. Temperatures typically exceed 100 degrees by late morning in summer
Camino del Rio, FM 170Paved

Presidio to Lajitas and Study Butte, along the Rio Grande

The river road between the two Big Bend parks. Texas Parks and Wildlife says the ranch gave an easement for the river access road to the Texas Highway Department and that the road is now the scenic Camino del Rio. It links Fort Leaton at Presidio with the Barton Warnock Visitor Center at Terlingua, the west and east check-in points for Big Bend Ranch, and it reaches the three places that sell fuel out here. The state publishes no length or grade for it, so neither is given. 42

Vehicle
Any car

Season
Year-round
Williams Ranch Road, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

7.3 miles one way

US 62/180 to Williams Ranch, under the west escarpment of the Guadalupes

The only backcountry drive in a park that says no roads pass through its heart. Check in at the Pine Springs Visitor Center for road information and the gate key, then lock two gates behind you, one at the highway and one 0.75 miles in. The drive takes about an hour each way over bedrock and washes, under El Capitan and the western cliffs. The park uses the same definition of a high-clearance four-wheel drive as Big Bend: 15-inch rims, low range, 8 inches of clearance. 37

Vehicle
High clearance and four-wheel drive, with a no-fee permit and a gate key from the visitor center

Season
May be closed from June to October, when summer rain damages it
South Beach, Padre Island National Seashore

60 miles of sand

The end of the pavement south of Malaquite down island toward the Mansfield Channel

The longest legal beach drive in Texas. Two-wheel-drive vehicles are allowed on North Beach and on South Beach from mile marker 0 to 5 only, and four-wheel drive is recommended even there. The speed limit is 15 mph from mile 0 to 2.5, then 25 mph from the day after Labor Day through February and 15 mph from March 1 to Labor Day. No permit is needed to camp on the sand but park entrance fees apply, with a limit of 14 consecutive nights and 28 nights a year. The park does not tow private vehicles, and says a private tow down island can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars. 33

Vehicle
Two-wheel drive only to mile 5. Four-wheel drive always required from mile 5 to 60

Season
Year-round, subject to tide and weather
Rosita Flats and Blue Creek, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area

The Canadian River south of the lake, off Highway 87/287, and Blue Creek off FM 1913

The one piece of federal land in Texas set aside for off-road driving. Rosita Flats is an off-road area on the Canadian River, and at Blue Creek the use is in the creek bed only. Riders must stay below 3,000 feet at Rosita, wear a DOT-approved helmet and eye protection, and fit ATVs with a whip and flag. The NPS permit costs nothing but has to be applied for by email with the vehicle year, make, model and VIN. Camping across the recreation area is mostly free and first come, up to 14 consecutive days in any 30 and no more than 60 days a year. 39

Vehicle
Off-road vehicles with a free NPS permit and a current Texas OHV decal

Season
Permits run January 1 to December 31 and are renewed yearly
Sam Houston National Forest Multiple-Use Trail

85 miles

Trailheads in the forest between Huntsville, Conroe, Cleveland and Richards

The Forest Service is blunt about the scarcity: the multiple-use trail in the Sam Houston is the only trail open to off-highway vehicles in the national forests in Texas. Its 85 miles are shared with hikers, bikers and horses. An OHV has to be under 50 inches wide, fitted with a spark arrestor that keeps it to 96 decibels or less, and carry a current Texas OHV decal. Day use is $5 per person at self-pay stations, ATV riders must carry proof of an operator education course, and cross-country travel off the system is not permitted. 15

Vehicle
Registered off-highway vehicles no wider than 50 inches, with a Texas OHV decal

Season
Call the ranger district for trail status before you drive out
Black Gap Wildlife Management Area driving tour

10 miles

The headquarters road at FM 2627, 55 miles south of Marathon

Ten stops over 10 miles through roughly 103,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert next door to Big Bend, with the Sierra del Carmen to the south. The tour is free and needs no entry permit, which makes it the cheapest legal look at this country. Everyone else on the area, other than boaters, needs an Annual Public Hunting or Limited Public Use permit, and on-site registration is required for all land access except the driving tour. Camping is only at designated sites, and you bring your own water. 46

Vehicle
The state publishes no vehicle class for the tour, so none is given here

Season
General visitation is March 1 through August 31, restricted to the Rio Grande corridor roads

Rules worth knowing

Big Bend defines high clearance four-wheel drive in writing: Most backcountry roads in Big Bend require four-wheel drive and high clearance, and the park says what it means by that: sturdy tires on 15 inch rims or larger, and at least eight inches of clearance from the lowest part of the axle or frame. It also lists what to carry, a good spare, a tire repair kit and pump, spare belts and hoses, tools to change a tire, and extra coolant or water for the radiator. A crossover with road tires does not meet that definition however capable it feels on gravel. 27
In the Big Bend country, distances between services are the hazard: The park states it plainly: distances between towns and services are considerable. It is 26 miles east from Study Butte to park headquarters, 70 miles south from Marathon, and Alpine is 100 miles from headquarters. The nearest EV charging is 130 miles away in Fort Stockton. Plan fuel by the tank rather than by the gauge, and treat every town as the last one. 28
Cell service in Big Bend is a small list of places: The park describes coverage as very spotty throughout the entire Big Bend area, with fairly reliable service only in the Chisos Basin, and there only on one network, and near Panther Junction. The park runs from under 1,800 feet on the Rio Grande to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chisos, and peak season is November through April, which is also when the weather makes the long drives pleasant. 29
Big Bend publishes two different road mileages: One page of the park’s own site gives over 100 miles of paved road, 150 miles of dirt road and about 200 miles of hiking trail; another section of the same page gives over 120 miles of paved and 180 miles of backcountry dirt. Both are the park’s figures and this guide states them as the range rather than picking one. What is not in dispute is that the dirt network is longer than the paved one, which is the reason to come. 21
Camping on South Beach needs no permit, but the entrance fee still applies: At Padre Island the seashore protects about 66 miles of undeveloped beach, and no permit is required to camp on South Beach, though park entrance fees still apply. The stay limit is a maximum of 14 consecutive nights and no more than 28 calendar nights a year. Camping is not permitted on Malaquite Beach at all, which is the stretch most people arrive at first. 35
Lake Meredith allows camping almost anywhere, for free: Visitors may camp at any location within Lake Meredith National Recreation Area for up to 14 consecutive days in a 30-day period, and no more than 60 days a year. Most sites are free and first come, first served. In a state that is over 93 percent privately owned, that is one of the few places where the default answer to where to sleep is yes. 40
No road passes through the heart of the Guadalupes: The Park Service states it in one line: no roads pass through the heart of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The drives it publishes run around the edges, and the Williams Ranch road is subject to damage from summer monsoon rain and may be closed from June to October because of it. The highest country in Texas is walked, not driven. 38
Black Gap: the driving tour is free, everything else needs a permit: At the 103,000-acre Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, 55 miles south of Marathon and 18 miles down FM 2627, the ten-stop, ten-mile driving tour is free and requires no entry permit, while all other general users need one. Camping is only allowed at designated sites for resource protection, and visitors bring their own water and pack out all rubbish. General visitation is allowed only during published periods, so the dates matter as much as the permit. 45
The largest state park in Texas is dirt road and heat: Big Bend Ranch State Park runs to over 300,000 acres, bought by the state in 1988, with nearly 70 miles of unmaintained dirt road for high-clearance four-wheel drives and the Sauceda Ranger Station 27 miles of rugged dirt from FM 170. Motor homes and trailers are not recommended. The park warns that temperatures typically exceed 100 degrees by late morning and can reach 130 in the sun, which is a vehicle cooling problem as much as a human one. 41
The four forests and two grasslands, by the acre: The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas is a single administration covering four forests, Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine and Sam Houston, and two grasslands, Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson. Sam Houston contains 163,037 acres between Huntsville, Conroe, Cleveland and Richards, fifty miles north of Houston; Sabine 160,656 acres beside the 185,000-acre Toledo Bend Reservoir; Angelina 153,179 acres on the 114,500-acre Sam Rayburn Reservoir; Davy Crockett more than 160,000 acres in Houston and Trinity counties. Dispersed camping and hiking are generally free, though some developed areas, group camps and special uses need a fee or permit. 13
State land is not public land in Texas: The General Land Office manages 13 million acres of state land, and its pages describe leasing, energy development and veteran land sales rather than recreation. It states no public right of access, so this guide claims none. Texas Parks and Wildlife is the department that opens ground to the public, and its state parks division oversees more than 640,000 acres across 89 parks, historic sites and natural areas. 10
The BLM office for Texas is in Oklahoma: The Bureau of Land Management’s Oklahoma Field Office manages 7.4 million acres of federally owned land and minerals across Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, and publishes no Texas-only surface figure. The Congressional Research Service counts 11,947 BLM surface acres in the state, which is the number this guide uses. Either way, BLM is not a category of Texas travel the way it is two states west. 11
The heat records are the planning document: The state climatologist records highs of 120 degrees at Seymour on 12 August 1936 and at Monahans on 28 June 1994, and lows of minus 23 at Tulia on 12 February 1899 and at Seminole on 8 February 1933. Those are the outer edges of a climate that spans a continent’s worth of ground, and they are the reason a Texas build is about cooling, water and shade first and everything else second. 6
The Texas OHV decal reaches plated four-wheel drives: Chapter 29 of the Parks and Wildlife Code requires an off-highway vehicle decal for anyone operating an OHV at a legal OHV venue on the public lands of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife says plainly that street-legal motorcycles, street-legal full-sized vehicles, full-sized two-wheel drives and four-wheel drives all need a Texas OHV decal when trail riding on public land. The decal is $16 per fiscal year, and the year runs September 1 through August 31 whatever date you buy it. 47
The backcountry roads come with permits: A backcountry permit is required for all backcountry camping in Big Bend National Park, including every primitive roadside campsite, at $10 per night or $5 with a Senior or Access pass. Reserve up to 180 days ahead on recreation.gov or collect one in person at Panther Junction. On Big Bend Ranch the unmaintained roads themselves need a special use permit, obtained by checking in at Barton Warnock, Fort Leaton or the Sauceda Ranger Station. At Lake Meredith the off-road permit is free but must be applied for in advance. 25
Designated roads only, everywhere: Big Bend states it in one line: motorized vehicles and bicycles are permitted only on designated public roads. Off-highway vehicles and ATVs are not allowed on Old Ore Road. On the Sam Houston multiple-use trail, cross-country travel is not permitted. Franklin Mountains State Park asks visitors not to drive on any dirt road or trail, in a car or an ATV. With 93 percent of Texas in private hands, there is no unmarked ground to fall back on: if an agency has not designated the route, it is closed. 26
Size and length close roads before difficulty does: The Chisos Basin Road is not recommended for trailers longer than 20 feet or RVs over 24 feet because of sharp curves and grades as much as 15 percent. Motor homes and oversize vehicles are prohibited on Big Bend’s Hot Springs Road. Big Bend Ranch does not recommend motor homes or trailers, and its own road guide warns that the ranch roads were cut narrow and that a wide vehicle will meet more brush and more hazards. An off-highway vehicle on the Sam Houston trail may be no wider than 50 inches. 24
Beach driving is a local permit question: There is no statewide beach driving permit. At Padre Island National Seashore no permit is needed to drive or camp on the sand, but park entrance fees apply and camping is capped at 14 consecutive nights and 28 nights a year. At Port Aransas the city requires a $12 permit to park along the beach from Marker 0 to Marker 62, with free parking between the jetties and Horace Caldwell Pier and between Markers 52 and 58, a three-night camping limit in any three weeks, and fires no larger than three feet square. Check the city or county before you park anywhere else on the coast. 53
Burn bans are set county by county: Texas A&M Forest Service explains that when drought conditions exist a burn ban is put in place by a county judge or county commissioners court, and the agency collects every county’s status into one statewide map. That map is the place to look before you plan a fire anywhere in Texas. On top of it, Big Bend National Park prohibits ground fires and wood fires outright, allowing pressed charcoal briquets in grills at roadside backcountry sites only, with the ash packed out. 54

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.

Towns

Fort Davis In 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
Alpine On 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
Marathon On 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 Horn On 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 Paso Far 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
Amarillo Where 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
Canyon At 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 Stockton Where 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
Terlingua Study 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
Presidio West 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
Quitaque At Caprock Canyons State Park and the Trailway, 100 miles southeast of Amarillo in Briscoe County. 2,577 ft
Del Rio On US 90 at Amistad National Recreation Area, and the nearest full-service town to the Devils River State Natural Area. 965 ft
Huntsville On 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
Lufkin Headquarters of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, and the service town between the Angelina, Sabine and Davy Crockett forests. 313 ft
Corpus Christi The mainland base for Padre Island National Seashore. Last full services before the causeway and the 60 miles of drivable beach. 7 ft
Port Aransas On 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 Peak The highest point in Texas, in Culberson County. No road reaches it 8,749 ft
Mount Livermore High point of the Davis Mountains, inside the 75-mile loop out of Fort Davis 8,338 ft
El Capitan The cliff at the south end of the Guadalupe escarpment, above the Williams Ranch road 8,095 ft
Emory Peak The high point of the Chisos Mountains, in Big Bend National Park 7,818 ft
Panther Pass The saddle the Chisos Basin Road crosses on its 6 paved miles into the basin 5,778 ft
Trans-Mountain Highway summit Trans-Mountain Highway, Franklin Mountains State Park 5,120 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.

Sources for this page

Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Tables 1 and 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System and 3D Elevation Program point query. Elevation of the 3DEP surface at the GNIS coordinates of the named place, rounded to the nearest foot. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Texas State Climate Summary 2022 (NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 150-TX). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Office of the Texas State Climatologist, Texas A&M University. Texas Extremes. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Private Landowners and Listed Species. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Land Fragmentation in Texas: Meeting the Challenge. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. State Parks Division. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas General Land Office. Land. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Oklahoma Field Office, which administers Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Sam Houston National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Sam Houston Multiple-Use Trails. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Angelina National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Sabine National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Davy Crockett National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Things To Do. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Primitive Dirt Roads. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Improved Dirt Roads. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Paved Roads. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Backcountry Use Permits. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Backcountry Regulations. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Be Safe on Backcountry Roads. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Directions and Transportation. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Basic Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. River Road. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Old Ore Road. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Black Gap Road. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore. Driving Down Island. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore. South Beach, Mile 5 to 60. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore. Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore. Basic Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Drive to Williams Ranch. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Scenic Drives. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area. Off Road Vehicles. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area. Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Big Bend Ranch State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Big Bend Ranch State Park History. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Roads to Nowhere: A guide to unmaintained 4X4 high-clearance roads in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Black Gap Wildlife Management Area: Rules. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Black Gap Wildlife Management Area: Driving. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Frequently Asked Questions about the Texas OHV Program. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Where to Ride OHVs in Texas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Palo Duro Canyon State Park History. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway History. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Franklin Mountains State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Davis Mountains State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
City of Port Aransas. Beach Parking Permit Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas A&M Forest Service. Burn Bans and Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Whitney Lake: Undeveloped Camping Areas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Lewisville Lake: Undeveloped Camping Areas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Texas Department of Transportation. Severe Weather Driving. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

Reviewed September 19, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.

Who manages Texas

The agency on the sign decides where you can drive and where you can sleep. Choose one to see how much of the state it holds and what that means for a trip.

Texas
1.9% 3,191,777 acres

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Table 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Federal land here means the five agencies shown; state, tribal and private land make up the rest of each bar.

The public land map of Texas

Agency boundaries, the BLM and Forest Service roads and trails open to vehicles, wilderness, and BLM campgrounds. Select any point for who manages it.

Map layers

Find a place

Layers

Federal land Who manages the ground, by agency

State and local land State forests, parks and wildlife areas, county and city land, nationwide

BLM roads and trails Routes managed for public motorized use

Forest roads and trails Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map

Wilderness BLM Wilderness and study areas, closed to vehicles

Camping and trailheads BLM campgrounds, OHV areas and trailheads

Base map

Map Topo Satellite

Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

State land
County and city land
Regional agency or district
Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Open the full map