Trans-Pecos Voyage Tips and guide

The Trans-Pecos is the part of Texas' Big Bend Country which lies west of the Pecos River. This region is part of the vast Chihuahuan Desert and contains some of the highest desert areas in the world, with all of Texas' highest peaks.

The stark, rugged terrain is very sparsely populated, with Brewster County being home to only 6,000 people in an area bigger than Rhode Island, with two-thirds of them living in Alpine. El Paso is the only sizeable city in the region. The area has a rich historical legacy left by the Spanish settlers who came to the region in the mid-17th century, as well as that of early pioneers and traders who fought off native tribal attacks until the 1880s.

The Trans-Pecos region consists of ten counties: Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Val Verde County, and Terrell.

Map of Trans-Pecos

• 30.360833-103.6655561 Alpine - Small desert university town.
• 31.759167-106.4886112 El Paso - Largest city of the region, with a uniquely Mexican culture.
• 30.578361-103.8921943 Fort Davis
• 30.891389-102.8854 Fort Stockton
• 29.261667-103.7766675 Lajitas - Nearest town to Big Bend National Park.
• 30.2075-103.243066 Marathon
• 30.311667-104.0244447 Marfa - Home of the mysterious Marfa Lights.
• 31.4156-103.58 Pecos - The town that brought rodeo into the world.
• 29.561389-104.3663899 Presidio - Small historic border town which provides lodging for jaunts into the mountains.
• 31.044167-104.832510 Van Horn - Has several hotels; where I-10 splits from US-90

• 30.9444-103.7831 Balmorhea State Park , north of Fort Davis. San Soloman Springs, a very large artesian well in the foothills of the Davis Mountains, offers a warm and unique place to swim or scuba dive. Camping and motel-like lodging is available.
• 29.25-103.252 Big Bend National Park
• Big Bend Ranch State Park, east of Presidio. Just west of Big Bend National park is Texas' largest state park, with over 300,000 acres in the wilderness of the Chihuahua Desert. Horse rentals, guided jeep tours, plus rafting excursions on 23 miles of the Rio Bravo and Rio Grande rivers. At its eastern edge is Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, which explores the range of geology and wildlife of the Chihuahuan desert.
• 30.5958-103.9333 Davis Mountains State Park , near Fort Davis. Hiking, mountain biking, and horse riding on 4 miles of trails in Texas' largest mountain chain. The trails connect with neighboring Fort Davis State Historic Site.
• 31.917778-106.0444444 Hueco Tanks State Historic Site
• 31.916667-104.8666675 Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The Trans-Pecos was defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the distinct portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas. It is the most mountainous and arid portion of the state, and most of its vast area (outside the city of El Paso) is sparsely populated.

The area is known for the natural environment of the Big Bend and the gorge of the Rio Grande, part of which has been designated a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. With the notable exceptions of Big Bend Ranch State Park, Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the vast majority of the Trans-Pecos region consists of privately owned ranchland.

• Transpecos, a 2016 American thriller film about border patrol agents who encounter a Mexican drug cartel.

Major airports can be found at either end of the region at El Paso and Midland-Odessa.

• bisects the region entering from Southwest New Mexico at El Paso and cutting across the region on its way towards San Antonio.
• branches from I-10 (at Exit 186/187) to go through Pecos and Midland-Odessa on its way towards Dallas.
• comes into the region from Carlsbad, New Mexico, through Guadalupe Mountains National Park to El Paso.
• serves as a continuation of Mexican Hwy 16 (into the American side of the border) from Presidio, through Marfa and Alpine, to Fort Stockton.
• comes in from San Antonio via Uvalde & Del Rio, traversing the southern portion of the region (through Sanderson, Alpine, Marfa) and ending at I-10 in Van Horn.
• enters the region from Carlsbad, New Mexico to the north. It passes through Pecos and Fort Stockton to US Hwy 90 in Sanderson.

• in the Mexican state of Chihuahua ends at the border crossing in Ojinaga-Presidio.
• From northern Chihuahua, Mexican Highways 2 and 45 at Ciudad Juarez connect to several border crossings at El Paso. Mexican Highways 2 continues west, along the U.S. border, towards Tijuana while Mexican Hwy 45 goes south into Chihuahua (City).

With great distances between sights and even communities, a car is an absolute necessity to get around the region. Car rentals are readily available in Midland-Odessa and El Paso.

• Historic forts built along the Chihuahua Trail and the San Antonio-El Paso road during the middle of the 1800s.
• Spanish missions built during the 17th century Spanish colonization efforts.

• 31.9919-106.58551 Wet'n'Wild Waterworld.   - located in Anthony

The Trans-Pecos region contains three American Viticultural Areas: the Escondido Valley AVA, the Texas Davis Mountains AVA, and a portion of the Mesilla Valley AVA, most of which is in New Mexico.