Tabby has a goal of visiting all of the National Parks in the USA. One of those parks happens to be located near Terlingua Texas, on the boarder of the USA and Mexico. It’s a very remote area, and as an example, the nearest Walmart isn’t within any reasonable driving distance. It’s even 50 miles to the closest Dollar General, and as we all know, Dollar Generals pop up any place.
What Terlingua does offer is a small market to buy groceries, a couple of gas stations, several places to buy handmade items, very close access to the entrance to Big Bend National Park, and several RV parks. One of those RV parks is the Roadrunner Travelers RV Park in Terlingua.
Old Town with a History
Terlingua is an old Mercury mining town. You can still see the old mine shaft and lots of old iron carts and scraps laying around to depict the hard work that had to have been put into the area, way back when it was a profitable mine. There are even still foundations to many of the old homes and businesses from the mining time. The people that inhabit this area now still try to hold on to that old rustic feel and use it to demonstrate a little of what living in that era must have been like.
The area in general, has a lot of old and run-down buildings, dirt roads, dull grey and brown buildings covered in dust, and remnants of a mining history strewn about. It’s clear that the area is only sustained on the visitors to the local parks. You can even see Tiny Homes littered across the hillsides, where locals make income by renting to tourists. If I were describing most any other area this way, it would sound grim. But, here in Terlingua, all of this adds to the charm of the area. Once you know the history, you start to see a long story play out in every open space, every old structure, and every old dirt road.
A Perfect Park for Our Stay
We are members of the Thousand Trails RV Campground Club and we generally try to stay in a “TT’ park, because its free for us. However, when there isn’t a TT park nearby, we have to visit other parks. This was our motivation for staying at Roadrunner Travelers RV Park. It had good reviews on Google, was close to Big Bend National Park, close to Big Bend Ranch State Park, and was near the Terlingua Ghost Town. It ticked all the boxes for us, when booking a location without being able to visit it first.
When we first arrived at the park, we were stunned by the view. It’s nestled along the Chisos Mountains, and the openness of the area provides a perfect view of the mountainous skyline. Roadrunner Travelers RV Park is a wide-open park that blends in perfectly with its desert surroundings. If you are looking for a shade tree to park under, you won’t find it here. What you will find are beautiful cactus gardens and park decor that is well taken care of and kept clean. You get the idea that the park is fairly new and is also constantly adding new features. You can see new roads being made, and their webpage makes it known that new amenities are on the way.
We spent a week in this area and spent every day out exploring the parks and the town. In our opinion Roadrunner Travelers RV Park was the nicest park we found in the area, in terms of its cleanliness, maintenance, and views. While they haven’t yet added some amenities, like restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, it covers all the basics that we needed.
The sites were all very large and accommodating. They offered us full hookups to our utilities, including 50-amp service. Between each site is a picnic table, fire ring, and well cared for plants to add a cozier feel. There was a large area designated for pet walks, including toys and obstacles for your pets to play around. Located in the park was also a large community area. It included a picnic area, games such as horseshoes and cornhole, and a place to meet and sit with your neighbors around a fire. The park offers Wi-Fi, but we used our Starlink.
The Pros and Cons of Roadrunner Travelers RV Park
The Pros:
- Quiet!
- Very Close to both of the major parks in the area.
- Located perfectly to visit any market, shop, or restaurant. (We recommend having dinner at the Starlight Theatre or the High Sierra
- Very clean and well-kept park
- Great views!
- Really big sites
- Full Hookups and 30- and 50-amp service
- Wi-Fi
- Off Leash area for your pets
- Great area behind the camp for exploring unimproved land
- Easy access to trails and local horse and jeep rentals.
- Across the street from a great coffee stand!
- Easy online booking and check-in
The Cons:
- As of Fall of 2024 no laundry, restroom, or shower facilities.
- River rock sites that can give 2-wheel drive vehicles a little trouble.
- A little hard to distinguish between park roads and the parking sites. (Everything is basically rock and the same color.)
Overall, we highly recommend this park for your stay near all of the Big Bend activities. While I felt like I had to list a couple of “Cons,” we really found very little faults with this park, considering its remote location. It really was a perfect place for our stay, and from our explorations, it was the best place in the area for our camper. We felt safe, had plenty of privacy, and felt welcomed to the park.
