Hot Springs Historic Walk

The Hot Springs Historic Walk is one of the most varied short trails in Big Bend, combining a natural thermal hot spring on the Rio Grande bank with a historic motel ruin, Native American pictographs, and sweeping river views — all in a two-mile loop. The trail begins near Rio Grande Village and follows the canyon wall above the river before descending to the hot spring itself, where 105-degree water flows from cracks in the limestone directly into a rock tub at the river's edge.

The pool sits partially shaded by canyon walls and accommodates a dozen soakers; it is accessible year-round at no charge beyond the park entrance fee. At low water, bathers can prop against the warm rock while watching the Rio Grande slip past a foot away and the Mexican Sierra del Carmen ridge glowing in the distance. Along the trail, a series of Comanche and Chisos pictographs on the canyon wall depict anthropomorphic figures and geometric symbols estimated to be several hundred years old. The ruins of J.O. Langford's early 20th-century health resort — he believed the hot spring had curative properties — add another layer to a walk already rich in natural and human history.