Big Bend Ranch State Park – Canyons and Sunset

Closed Canyon

Closed Canyon is a short trail that lies right off the main road. There is a parking lot from which you can quickly hike down to the stream bed and walk to the canyon’s entrance. The canyon cuts through the mesa to the Rio Grande, but you can’t hike all the way down to the river because it gets steep and involves rock climbing. Below is a crop from a satellite view showing the canyon between the highway and the river.

Once you get in the canyon, you are mostly in the shade and it is very pleasant. The first part of it is a very easy hike, but as you progress farther into the canyon you begin to have obstacles to climb. I hiked along until it looked like more trouble that it was worth and then headed back. The sun shines high up on the walls…