• Big Bend state and national parks attract visitors with the stunning Chisos Mountains and beautiful Rio Grande River.around the bend image by Nick Hemendinger from Fotolia.com
  
  West Texas is home to one of the country's largest national parks---Big Bend. Visitors to Big Bend can experience the landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert by hiking in the Chisos Mountains or rafting on the Rio Grande River. Bird watchers flock to Big Bend to observe the more than 400 unique species that live in the area. Families can enjoy touring the desert landscape together with off-road vehicle trips, group bicycle rides or guided horseback tours.
  
  

Chisos Mountaisn Lodge

• The only lodging available inside Big Bend National Park, Chisos Mountains Lodge is the perfect getaway for travelers looking to immerse themselves in the West Texas landscape. The lodge offers easy access to trail heads, allowing guests to spend more time exploring the park. Facilities for horseback riding and river rafting are located near the lodge.
  
  Chisos Mountains Lodge offers standard motel rooms with two double-size beds or personal stone cottages that each contain three double-size beds. All rooms have refrigerators and air conditioning.
  
  Enjoy expansive mountain views and dine on Tex-Mex specialties at the Chisos Mountain Lodge Restaurant, open for three meals a day.
  
  Chisos Mountains Lodge
  Basin Rural Station
  Big Bend National Park, TX 79834
  877-386-4383
  chisosmountainslodge.com
  
  

Lajitas Resort

• Situated between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park, the Lajitas Resort offers lodging in a convenient location for West Texas visitors. Staff at Lajitas can arrange several activities including golf, horseback riding, bicycle tours, hunting and rafting. The Agave Spa at the Lajitas Resort is ready to provide hotel guests with invigorating treatments such as hot stone massages and avocado moisture wraps.
  
  After a day of exploring, guests can return to the hotel to dine at the Candelilla Café, serving Texan and Tex-Mex cuisine that features locally-grown fruits, vegetables and herbs. The Thirsty Goat Saloon at the hotel offers casual dining and drinks plus weekend live entertainment.
  
  All 103 rooms at the Lajitas Resort are unique. Guests can stay in more traditional hotel rooms, two-room suites or a private 2,485-square-foot casita. All rooms include refrigerators and satellite televisions.
  
  Lajitas Resort
  100 Main St.

  Lajitas, Texas 79852

  432-424-5000

  lajitas.com
  
  

The Gage Hotel

• The 26-acre grounds that surround the Gage Hotel are lush with native Texas plants. Guests of the hotel can walk on the many paths and enjoy the flora as well as the birds and butterflies it attracts. The grounds include a quarter-mile jogging trail, a pond, water fountains, a putting green and an iron gazebo that serves as home to a large dance floor.
  
  An hour's drive from Big Bend National Park, the Gage Hotel is home to a state-of-the-art fitness center and the Desert Moon Spa as well as a heated swimming pool. Hotel guests can dine at the on-site restaurant, Café Cenizo, which features seasonal specialties and makes use of the property's orchards, home to a variety of trees including apples, peaches, pears, pecans and walnuts.
  
  Guests at the Gage have many lodging options. The property includes Los Portales, 20 adobe guest rooms surrounding a courtyard; the historic hotel built in 1927, which includes 16 rooms; and three private homes available for nightly rental.
  
  The Gage Hotel
  101 Highway 90 W.
  Marathon, TX 79842
  432-386-4205
  gagehotel.com