Overall Route Rating
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4.52 out of 5 Rider Rating 4.52
30 Reviews

Bend Region - Rio Grande River Road

Motorcycle Route Author

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By Guest (0 McR Points) on Jul 31, 2005

Rider Reviews

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Guest
December 6, 2010
Nice write up, but your map is incorrect. The…
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Guest
May 16, 2010
Spend a night at the motorcycle-friendly Prude…
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Written Directions

Start in Alpine TX and head south on 118 till you get to Study Butte TX where you need to go west on Farm to Market 170 road. Take that to Presidio TX where you need to get on US 67 and head north all the way up to Ft Davis.

Scenery

During the April-May time each year, this is the best Bluebonnet viewing and picture taking area in all of Texas. It is a very quiet country farm road with plenty of places to stop and take pictures. Take your time and enjoy the country. This is a good cruiser route with plenty of gas stops along the way.

Drive Enjoyment

This road is a very well maintained Farm to Market system with plenty of twists, turns, hills and flat straight-aways.

Tourism Opportunities

Good accommodations in Alpine, TX with several motels, etc. This is a college town. Study Butte has the Big Bend Motel and Mission Lodge and you can also stay within the National Park at the Chisos Mountain Lodge. Just don't venture too far during your travels without supplies and a full gas tank. At Contrabando, TX along the road to Presidio you can pull off and enjoy a permanent movie set that is still used for movies and commercials. There is also an old mission just outside of Presidio that you can visit. There are several pull-offs and you should just to breathe in the silence and isolation. This is also "open range" territory meaning that you may find livestock meandering on the road at odd intervals. Presidio has some accommodations also, but you might want to go up Route 67 out of Presidio towards Ft Davis and visit the sights there. Rt. 67 goes through Marfa, TX and Shafter, TX (a ghost town).

Motorcycle Road Additional info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .
 

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Buddyr3r
February 3, 2017
2 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
Just a good scenic ride. Will go back.
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75220CL
October 15, 2015
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
Just got back from a round trip ride from Dallas to Big Bend area. Incredible scenery, I'm a native Texan and never thought anyplace in Texas could be this stunning.

The ride on FM 170 from Terlingua/Lajitas to Presidio hugging the Rio Grande was the absolute highlight of the trip. This road has everything - scenic beauty, hills, curves, hills with curves, straightaways, and scenic turnoffs.

We only saw 2 other people on the road - one motorcyclist and one car coming the other direction. This is remote, so if anything breaks down - you're going to wait.

Do watch out for animals - we say javelinas and wild turkeys on the roadway. Also, there are low water crossings, so if it's been raining recently, there is probably gravel washed across the road.

Be careful and enjoy this ride, it's great!
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FJRFreak
March 16, 2015
43 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Sport - Touring
Did this ride just last week and I gave it 5 stars but I'd like to put an asterisk on that. The drive from Presidio to Lajitas along 170 is one of the prettiest, most fun roads I have ever been down anywhere. That section of road should be rated at a 7 or 8.
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