Texas · National Park trail

Lost Mine Trail Stop #2

in Texas

In the early 1900s, black bears were common in the Chisos Mountains. By the time the national park was established in 1944, there were virtually no resident bears left. Shooting and trapping by ranchers, federal predator control agents, recreational hunters, and loss of habitat contributed to their decline.

Individual bears occasionally wandered in and out of the park from Mexico, but only scattered sightings were reported from the 1940s through the 1980s. In the late 1980s visitors began seeing bears in increasing numbers, and in 1988 a visitor photographed a female with three young cubs in the Chisos Mountains. Observations increased in the 1990s, and in 1996 visitors reported 572 sightings in one year!

Today, visitors regularly observe bears throughout the Chisos Mountains, and sometimes even in the desert areas of the park. The recolonization of the black bears in Big Bend is truly a remarkable natural event.

States: Texas
Trail type: National Park trail
Centroid coords: 29.2740°, -103.2857°

About Big Bend National Park

National Park

This trail is inside Big Bend National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.

Entrance fee: $30 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.

Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/lost-mine-trail-stop-2.htm

Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Lost Mine Trail Stop #2 and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.