Upper Burro Mesa Trail
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
Flash floods can fill desert washes with little warning, even when skies above you look clear. A storm over the mesa miles away sends water downstream fast. Check the forecast before you go and exit the wash immediately if you hear rumbling or see the sky darkening upstream.
Rattlesnakes den in the rock outcroppings near the pour-off rim — never reach onto a ledge you cannot see, and watch where you place your hands during the scrambling sections.
The pour-off edge is an unguarded 100-foot vertical drop. Keep a buffer of several feet from the rim and keep children and dogs within arm's reach at all times.
Trail Details
- 1
Start no later than 7am in any month warmer than February — the wash offers zero shade and the rock scrambling near the rim radiates heat back at you. You will feel the difference of even one hour.
- 2
Bring at least a liter more water than you think you need. Big Bend has no water sources on this trail and the dry desert air dehydrates you faster than the effort level suggests. Two liters minimum for two people on a cool day; triple that in spring or fall.
- 3
The pour-off rim is unfenced and the edge is undercut in places. Walk parallel to the rim in both directions for the best angle — looking straight down into the canyon from slightly offset gives you the full 100-foot scale that the straight-on view flattens out.
