Author: Desert Toad; Published: Dec 14, 2010; Category: Current Events, In the Media, Mountain Bike Event, Trails; Tags: Festival, Mountain Bike; One Comment
Rock Quarry Trail - Big Bend Ranch State Park
Prime time on the trails is now. There’s mucho ground to cover and fine weather to pull you along this winter. Trails are in good shape and ready for mountain biking enthusiasts.
Yes, it’s buzzing about mountain biking in Big Bend. Big Bend Trails Alliance and Desert Sports have paired up with Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park and Lajitas Golf Resort & Spa to offer some outstanding mountain biking for all levels of riding. From the challenging jeep roads in the national park to the smooth packed trails of Lajitas to the rugged, epic of the state park.
Did I just say epic? Just getting here can be epic, but now much of the Big Bend Ranch State Park trail/jeep road system, known as the Fresno-Sauceda Loop, has been deemed EPIC by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA). Jeff Renfrow of Big Bend Trails Alliance applied for this honored status, and now it’s time for cyclists to celebrate this fine award.
Join us for the Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest on February 17-19, 2011! We’ll be featuring some of the outstanding riding in the Big Bend. Old Ore Road in the national park on Thursday, Lajitas trails on Friday, and portions or, if you dare, all of the state park’s EPIC loop on Saturday. Family and Kid rides on Friday and Saturday. And, of course, there will be celebrating. Details about the fest are still on the ironing board, so we will be posting very soon on the Desert Sports website.
In the meantime, check out ‘the buzz’….
“Mountain Bike Dream Ride in Big Bend Ranch”
by Karen Hoffman Blizzard
Texas Parks and Wildlife
“IMBA Unveils Six New Epic Rides”
“The 2010 Epic Rides”
IMBA Trail News Fall 2010 newsletter – hard copy only
Cover photo by Crystal Allbright of KT Misener on the Rock Quarry Trail, Big Bend Ranch State Park
“Biking in Big Bend Ranch State Park is Truly Epic”
by Pamela LeBlanc
Austin American Statesman
“Are IMBA’s Six New ‘Epic” Trails Really Epic?”
by Chris Lesser
Adventure Journal
Mountain Biking Big Bend Ranch State Park
a Texas Parks and Wildlife Film
This piece will air on TPW TV in March.
and then, a bit dated but never posted…
Biking Big Bend
a video by Crystal Allbright, music by Julian Mock
Author: Desert Toad; Published: Oct 3, 2010; Category: Current Events; Tags: hooping; 7 Comments
Dust off your hula hoops for WORLD HOOP DAY on Sunday – 10.10.10! Have fun, stay fit and exercise your imagination. We’ll be hooping all day at Desert Sports with a group hoop from 5 pm – 7 pm. Don’t have a hoop? We have a fleet of hoops to try and a few for purchase…all sales go to making hoops for the young ones at Casa Hogar Orphanage in Ojinaga, Mexico. Give a kid a hoop and watch the smiles. Can’t make the Terlingua gathering? Join the world of hoopers wherever you are hanging out, and plan for next year’s date – 11.11.11!
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 28, 2010; Category: Tours; Tags: Canoeing, Mountain Bike, Rafting, Tours; 2 Comments
With the launching of Desert Sports’ newly revamped website we have decided to post a few of our favorite trips as our “Featured Trips”.
Most of these trips are going to be our backcountry tours that require a minimum number of folks to book. If you have wanted to go on one of our mountain bike, hiking, or combination tours and cannot put together a group to meet booking requirements, this is your chance.
We also posted dates for our Lower Canyons 8-Day River Tour. This is one of our favorite river trips anywhere, and we have featured it with a couple of dates over the next few months.
You can check the dates for these trips in the sidebar here on the BLOG page or in the sidebar for each type of tour. Aside from being able to join with a group of folks that enjoy the same interests as you, we are also able to offer the Group pricing for everyone joining the tour. Final tour prices will be based on the total number of people on the trip. Check our Reservations page for details on booking.
Have a trip you want to do and don’t see it on the list? Let us know and perhaps we can get some dates posted. Check back frequently for updated postings of our Featured Trips – we’ll be adding itineraries and dates throughout the year.
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 28, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Current Events, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Big Bend Info, Canoeing, passport, Rafting, Rules & Regulations; 3 Comments
Ok, here is the latest update on Passport Requirements for going on river trips on the Rio Grande in the Big Bend area of Texas. We are in receipt of a letter from the National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, that relates policy changes for River Usage on the Rio Grande along the Texas/Mexico border. These statements reflect changes in the enforcement of existing regulations by US Customs and Border Patrol.
The following are direct quotes from the letter we received from Big Bend National Park:
“First, a U.S. Passport is not required to use the river in Big Bend National Park or the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. Additionally, a U.S. Customs declaration form is no longer required for river trips.
Second, visitors and river outfitters may not use the Mexican bank of the river, as international border crossing is only legal at a Port of Entry. Visitors may not hike into Mexico or the side canyons of Mexico. Visitors additionally may not plan a trip to camp in Mexico or on the Mexican shore. The exception is in cases of emergency: visitors may land on the Mexican side of the river to scout rapids, to bail out a boat, to repack gear, and for other safety reasons.”
These policy changes were presented to us in a letter dated August 20, 2010.
If you have questions on how this new interpretation of the regulations will affect Desert Sports river trips, give us a shout (either email or give us a call). While these changes will have an effect on some of our camps and hikes, we are still able to visit the fantastic canyons of the Rio Grande. Stay tuned for more updates.
If you have questions on the new enforcement of these regulations and how they affect the current NPS policy changes we suggest contacting the following folks:
Bill Wellman, BBNP Superintendent; bill_wellman@nps.gov
David Elkowitz, BBNP Chief of Interpretation, david_elkowitz@nps.gov
Bill Brooks, Customs and Border Patrol, Marfa Sector, william.brooks@dhs.gov
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 26, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Big Bend Info, Canoeing, Rafting, Rio Grande; No Comments
The dam release on the Rio Conchos is still flowing. As of this morning, August 26, 2010, it has increased up to a bit over 2000 cfs (61 cms). This release has not reached the Rio Grande, but we would expect to see an increase in the gauge at the Presidio Bridge in the next 24 to 48 hours. The flow of the Rio Grande should come up a bit above the nice flow rates we have been having for the last few weeks.
Again, we do not have information on the duration of the Mexican Release and have no idea how long we can expect to have good flows in the Rio Grande. If you are planning a river trip for the fall, come on down while the river us UP!
