TERLINGUA — On Monday evening, Big Bend National Park employees and Terlingua residents gathered at the Red Pattillo Community Center for a presentation about major changes coming to the Chisos Basin in May 2025. Acting Superintendent Chad Tinney led the discussion, hoping to help both community members and contractors prepare for closures while the Chisos Basin Lodge and the adjacent water system are overhauled over an estimated two-year period.
Last spring, the park announced that the lodge — a retro mid-century structure with a gift shop and restaurant overlooking the famous Window — would eventually be demolished. Because it was built on unstable soils, the necessary renovations would be less cost-effective than tearing the old structure down and replacing it with a new one. (The motel and historic “Roosevelt Cabins” attached to the lodge have not been slated for renovations, but park officials say they may be tacked on to future projects.)
The lodge has a significant place in many visitors’ memories of the park, but as visitation grows, park officials felt that the Basin needed a fresh start. When the lodge was built, the park had a sixth of the annual visitors it has now and has become a major cash cow, earning third place in the rankings of top Brewster County hotel occupancy (HOT) tax contributors.
Next year’s construction in the Basin won’t be limited to just the lodge: the Basin’s aging spring-fed water system will also see a major overhaul. Around $16 million in federal grant money will go to replacing sections of line and putting in new pumps and water tanks. “The two projects are married together,” Acting Superintendent Tinney explained.
To accommodate construction vehicles, the vast majority of what the park calls the “Lower Basin” — where the lodge, visitors center, convenience store and parking lot currently sit — will be entirely closed off, and visitor activity will shift up the road to the group campground. “The campground will now be a hub of activity and temporary structures,” he said.
Tinney said that the park has been “doing a lot of math” to figure out how to accommodate as many people as possible. Around 1,000 people drive through the Basin on the park’s busiest days; Chief of Interpretation Tom VandenBerg estimated that 60-70% of total visitors to the park make a pit stop at some point during their visit.
The real number crunch is parking. The Basin will lose 178 parking spaces during construction, and park staff will have to implement major restrictions: no more bicycles, pedestrian traffic or oversized vehicles (defined as anything larger than a Sprinter van) will be allowed down the road for the duration.
The new rules will be enforced by a staffed gate. Overnight campers, licensed park contractors and authorized day users will be allowed to enter and exit the park from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. While those staying in the Basin can leave anytime, they will only be allowed to re-enter during open hours.
To accommodate some day users, the park plans to make 45 no-cost permits available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested visitors can drop by the Panther Junction Visitors Center to ask for a day-use permit, which they can use the following day anytime after 6 a.m.
Terlingua resident Brynn Moore, who owns the Leapin’ Lizard Guest House in Terlingua, was concerned that most of her guests wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the day permit process. Guests staying for two nights typically check in around late afternoon, making it difficult for them to get permits at the visitor center during their regular 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule.
Tinney explained that the park wanted to implement next-day passes to accommodate people on longer day hikes and backpacking trips who wanted to hit the trail early before the visitor center opens. “That’s one of the things we’re still talking about,” he said.
The biggest unknown is whether or not the park will also implement a shuttle service to accommodate visitors beyond the lucky 45 day-pass holders. The shuttle — a service that would be contracted out to a private company — would ideally have stops in Study Butte and within the park, allowing near-normal levels of visitation to the Basin. “This could be the one piece that falls off,” Tinney cautioned.
Terlingua residents and business owners raised a number of concerns: how would cuts to Basin visitation affect short-term rentals in the area? Would limited access during peak season push more visitors to come in the summer? If someone failed to show up for their shuttle or hand in their pass, how would the park handle that? And where would the contractors be taking their construction-related trash?
Tinney didn’t have all the answers but anticipated that the park would have more information once the project officially goes out for bid in December of this year. The goal was to gradually roll out the changes after next year’s spring break, giving visitors and staff time to adjust during the slow season.
Erin Little of Big Bend Boating and Hiking Company — a commercial outfitter that runs day hiking and backpacking trips in the Basin — was encouraged by the presentation. “When I first heard of this project some time ago, I heard that they’d just close it down completely,” she said. “To have access to this point is stunning — I’m so excited to keep it open for the businesses and for the community.”