- The Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park was recently named one of the best trails in the world.
- It offers stunning views of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains.
- With a relatively high elevation, this trail can feel pretty cool, even in summer.
There are trails that make you work for views and those that give you the beauty right up front. The Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park is of the latter variety.
Just one mile into the 4.8-mile out-and-back trail, you’ll reach a saddle that gives hikes stunning views of the Chisos Mountains, including Casa Grande Peak and Juniper Canyon.
And though there are 80 official trails in Big Bend National Park that explore all the unique topography of the park from mountains to flatlands, the Lost Mine Trail is arguably one of the park’s most rewarding hikes. It winds through the shade of juniper trees and piñon pines high above the Chihuahuan Desert floor.
While you should always carry water with you and exercise a healthy amount of precaution during warm-weather hikes in Texas, including slathering up in sunscreen, the trail’s high elevation (at about 1,100 feet of elevation) makes it a bit cooler than other options in the park. The effort—and sweat—is all worth it, though. You’ll find a sense of solitude and quiet wonder in the quintessential Big Bend vistas the trail offers—and that’s what many hikers say leaves the most lasting impression on them.
So, it comes as no surprise that this Texas desert hike was named one of AllTrails’ “25 Trails to Explore in 2025.”
Though most people tend to take this hike on during the day, one AllTrails community member recommended experiencing it during the night of a full moon. “The switchbacks were illuminated by the moon and the stars, which was incredible,” they wrote.
Big Bend National Park sits within the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve, which is currently the world’s Dark Sky Reserve at 9 million acres. Big Bend shares on its website that the park also “has the least light pollution of any other national park unit in the lower 48 states.”
The Lost Mine Trail takes most hikers between two and three hours to complete. The route is rated as “moderate” on AllTrails.
Lost Mine Trail was selected by AllTrails from more than 450,000 trails around the globe, which included routes in New Zealand, the Alps, and Costa Rica. Here are the top 15 trails:
- Peace Trail, Segment 28: Contrin Refuge – Fedaia Pass (Trento, Italy)
- Cerro Pelón (Michoacán, Mexico)
- Boston’s Freedom Trail (Massachusetts, United States)
- Alice-Toxaway and Edith Lake Loop (Idaho, United States)
- Hump Ridge Track (Southland, New Zealand)
- Slaughter Pen: All American, Seed Tick, Medusa, and Tatamagouche (Arkansas, United States)
- Nachi Falls – Kumano Nachi Taisha – Daimonzaka (Nachikatsuura, Japan)
- Smarts Mountain via Appalachian and Ranger Trail (New Hampshire, United States)
- Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval – Pas du Boret – Le Bout du Monde (Haute-Savoie, France)
- Firefly Trail (South Carolina, United States)
- Lost Mine Trail (Texas, United States)
- Hoh River Trail to Mineral Creek Falls (Washington, United States
- Coast to Coast Walk Segment 1: St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge (Cumbria, England)
- Medicine Root and Castle Trail Loop (South Dakota, United States)
- Katy Trail (Missouri, United States)
For the full list, visit alltrails.com.
