Walk the 1-mile loop through the Hot Springs Historic area in Big Bend for a trip through the park’s history. For as cool as the Rio Grande River feels in most parts of Big Bend National Park, it’s surprising to know there’s a natural hot spring connected to the river.
Langford Hot Springs is a popular swimming hole since it’s a great temperature and a very short hike from the parking area on the North Bank of the Rio Grande. Bring a swimsuit and a towel to the first part of the hike if you want to get in the water.
Hot Springs Historic Trail Basics
1 Hour
1 Mile Round Trip
Loop
200 Feet
Duration: 1 Hour
If you walk straight through, you can possibly do the trail in about 30 minutes. But to truly take it in and enjoy all of the ancient pictographs and historic points as well as the hot spring, you’ll want to plan for about an hour.
Distance: 1 Mile Roundtrip
The first half-mile of the hike is along the riverside and the second half-mile is in the rocky terrain of the cliffside.
Type: Loop Trail
After walking half of a mile along the Rio Grande, you’ll see a trail marker to turn left and go up the mountainside a bit to do the upper loop of the trail.
Elevation Change: 200 Feet
Most of the elevation change on this trail is when you make the turn away from the river at the halfway point. Then you’ll walk back down towards the parking lot.
Season: Spring, Fall
The trail is open year-round, but in the desert, the extreme temperatures of the summer heat dictate the best time to do the trails. At Big Bend National Park, the temperatures often climb over 100 degrees in the summer months and will dip into the 20s in the winter. We were there in March and, while we didn’t have hot weather, it did start to get warm on the top section of the trail.
Time of Day: Any
Hot Springs Historic Trail can be enjoyed at any time during the day. For the least amount of traffic and for the best chance at parking, try for first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Amount of Shade: Minimal
Trees along the Rio Grande provide some shade as you walk the first part of the trail. But once you make that turn to the upper ridge of the trail there is no shade at all.
Difficulty: Easy
The hardest part of this trail is climbing the rocky path up towards the historic home site. It’s still a pretty easy walk, though.
What Makes Hot Springs Historic Trail a Great Hike?
This 1-mile easy hike changes scenery throughout the walk with great views of the Rio Grande and the Chisos Mountains in the Chisos Basin. It starts as a dirt path past historic buildings with petroglyphs, passes the natural hot spring, and then turns up to a rocky cliffside that overlooks the Rio Grande and Mexico.
When you get about ¾ of the way through the Hot Springs Historic Walk, you will be looking down at the hot spring from the site of the J.O. Langford home. From that higher viewpoint, you can also look out at views of the surrounding park as well. From there it’s a short walk back to the parking area.
Scenery on the Hot Springs Historic Trail
Start of the Trail
Right as you enter the trail, there are a few historic buildings on your left from the early 1900s. You’ll see the old post office and an old motel. There are signs out front that discuss some of the history of these buildings and you can take a look inside although you can’t go into the buildings.
A short distance past the buildings are limestone cliffs that have old Native American paintings and petroglyphs. Along these walls were quite a few trees that made the rock art hard to see at first. Beware, the trees were humming with bumblebees throughout as we got closer.
On the Trail
About 0.25 miles down the trail, you’ll come across the hot spring on your right side. It’s said that the Native Americans first used the hot spring and built a small “tub” here. Later, when the bathhouse was constructed, it replaced the tub that they had built.
As you go up the bluff, you’ll have a great view of the mountains of Mexico, the Rio Grande River and Hot Springs below, and the rest of the park behind you. You’ll notice that the scenery changes vastly. You went from the shade of riverside trees to the hot rocks of the bluff. It is a good place to overlook the Rio Grande River, though.
End of the Trail
The trail descends towards the parking lot where you will come up behind the old motel and post office.
Notable Places on the Hike
When you are at the highest point on the trail, there’s a small area that sticks out to the left. You can see remnants of the Langford house that overlooked the Hot Springs. The home has disintegrated over time, but you can see the concrete slab and a few pieces of the walls left.
Hot Springs Historic Trailhead Information
Park Name: Big Bend National Park
You’ll find the Hot Springs Historic Trail near the eastern side of Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas, near the Rio Grande Village area.
Finding the Trailhead
Once you reach the parking area, the Hot Springs Trailhead will be on the left side if you are facing the river. To your right, you’ll see a crumbling historic building that you can walk through. This is called the Livingston House and was built around the 1930s.
Markers Along the Trail
The only marker you’ll see during the trail is at the point where you walk away from the river and start climbing up towards the historic J.O. Langford homesite. It will mark the Hot Springs Historic Loop to the left or the Hot Springs Canyon Trail continues all the way to the Rio Grande area, which is about another 2 miles all the way to Daniels’ Ranch.
Other Trails at this Trailhead
The only other trail here is, as mentioned above, the Hot Springs Canyon Trail which goes from the Hot Springs Historic District to Daniel’s Ranch.
Nearest Restrooms: Trailhead
When you get to the trailhead parking lot, you’ll find a vault toilet. Although the hot springs are near, there’s nowhere else to change in and out of a swimsuit. Either come in your swimming attire or you’ll have to change in the vault toilet.
Parking Area: Hot Springs Dirt Road
Getting to the parking lot is half of the fun on this trail! When you pull off of the highway you are immediately on a dirt road. It doesn’t seem too bad until it splits into a one-way loop. There’s only room for one vehicle on each side with a drop-off in the middle of the driving loop. Take your time as there are a lot of potholes in the road and tree branches that reach towards your vehicle. We had no problem in the large SUV we were driving, as long as we went slowly down the road. I wasn’t sure about small cars but we saw quite a few at the trailhead parking lot and on the other side as we were leaving so it is possible. If you are in a large vehicle such as motor homes, you will have to park in the first large parking area before getting to the one-way sections of the Hot Springs Road.
Tips for Hot Springs Historic Trail
- Even in the cooler months, it gets warm as you walk on the bluff with no shade. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen.
- The parking lot fills quickly, so try to get there early or later after most have left the area.
- Make sure you take time to explore the history of the area in the buildings near the beginning of the trail.
Accessibility Information for Hot Springs Historic Trail
Dirt & Gravel
Dirt Lot
Trail Type: Dirt & Gravel
This trail is not one that is accessible for those with mobility issues. You may be able to make it the quarter-mile walk on a dirt path to the hot springs, but once you ascend the bluff the ground is rock and gravel. There are a few stone and wooden steps that help hikers with the ascent.
Parking: Dirt Road
The parking lot is not paved but is a dirt lot.