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Start at 1. Sam Nail Ranch

Start while parked. Narration waits until you arrive at each stop.

Free audio tour8 stories

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Big Bend National Park, Texas

The road Big Bend's first superintendent laid out to show off the park's geology, from Sam Nail's windmill to the old cavalry post at Castolon. Ranchers, sotol, a 100-foot pouroff, a volcano's insides, the Mule Ears and a canyon cut through ash.

30 min of audio · 25 miles · Read the transcript

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    Getting started

    1. Start in the right placeThis tour begins at Sam Nail Ranch. Start while parked; the first story plays when you arrive.
    2. Let's hear itSelect this phone as the car's Bluetooth audio source and set a comfortable volume. Download the tour while you still have signal.
    3. Stories meet you thereYour phone's location starts each story automatically. Music flows straight into the narration. Keep this page open; it keeps the screen awake for GPS.
    4. You're ready to explorePress Start at the northern end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, where it leaves the main park road, or park at Sam Nail Ranch (the first stop, 3.4 miles in) and press Start there. The tour ends at Castolon, about 22 miles on: the paved road beyond Cottonwood Campground to Santa Elena Canyon is closed until further notice (NPS alerts page, checked 2026-11-11). Entrance fee $30 per private vehicle, card only, no reservation needed. Cell service is spotty across Big Bend: download the tour before you go.

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    Connect your Tesla account, then approve Plantrip in the Tesla app. Start sends the whole tour to the car's navigation while you're parked; narration plays from this phone through the car.

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    Facts from Big Bend National Park (NPS) place, history, geology and nature pages and wayside exhibit texts, the Homer Wilson Ranch National Register nomination (NPS, 1974) and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River (NPS) pages; stop locations © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Music: Albéniz, Asturias (Leyenda), guitar arrangement, Musopen (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). Narration is AI-generated. Not an official National Park Service product.