Big Bend National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required. $100 non refundable application fee paid via pay.gov. Allow at least 30 days for processing; no expedited reviews. Ceremonies limited to 2 hours. No chairs, tables, arches, or other installations. Throwing rice, birdseed, flower petals, butterflies, or birds is prohibited. Only artificial flowers allowed. Events not permitted between 10pm and 6am. Remote location, nearest city is 100+ miles away. Contact bibe_special_permits@nps.gov or 432 477 1185.

Planning Your Day at Big Bend National Park

One-Spot Day

Pick your zone before booking flights, because Big Bend is too big to do in a day. The Chisos Basin (Window) is a 7 mile mountain road climb to 5,400 ft and a different climate from the desert floor; Santa Elena Canyon is 30 miles southwest at the river; Hot Springs is 25 miles east at river level on a rough unpaved road. From basin to either river site is a 90 minute drive minimum. Plan ceremony at one site and portraits at one adjacent site, do not try to bounce between the canyon and the basin in the same day.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

All three approved ceremony sites take an NPS Special Use Permit, $100 non refundable application fee paid via pay.gov, 30 day minimum lead time. 25 person park wide cap, but the practical caps are tighter: Santa Elena 12 (creek crossing limits the group), Chisos Basin 20 (Window View Trail is paved and accessible), Hot Springs 10 (the spring pool itself only holds 6, ceremony stays on the bank). 2 hour ceremony cap. No chairs, tables, arches, or installations. Throwing rice, birdseed, flower petals, butterflies, or birds is prohibited. Only artificial flowers allowed. Events not permitted between 10pm and 6am. Contact bibe_special_permits@nps.gov or 432 477 1185.

A Note on Light

Big Bend has Bortle 1 dark skies (some of the darkest in the Lower 48) which means astrophotography is the signature post ceremony portrait if you have any night flexibility; the Milky Way core is up February through October. October through April is the booking window because summer regularly hits 110°F on the desert floor. The Chisos Basin runs 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the river sites year round because of elevation. Sunset through The Window is the signature Chisos shot; midmorning warm light inside Santa Elena Canyon (late morning sun lights the limestone walls); first light at Hot Springs catches steam rising off the spring against limestone cliffs.

Ceremony Spots at Big Bend National Park

• Santa Elena Canyon — Dramatic ceremony where 1,500 foot canyon walls frame the Rio Grande
• Chisos Basin (The Window) — Mountain framed sunset ceremony in a high desert basin with a natural rock window
• Hot Springs Historic District — Intimate riverside ceremony at a natural hot spring on the Rio Grande