Black Gap Road

Not very challenging, we had 6 jeeps and the dust was horrendous.

Not overly difficult, the one major obstacle has a lot of stacked rocks to form a ramp. Conditions were dry,

Drove this on a Sat as part of a complete loop around the park (Glenn Springs, Black Gap, River Road). Beautiful weather in the mid 70’s with very little wind. Only a few others on any of the trails. Easy drive. Even the obstacle at Black Gap Pass is pretty simple these days.

Nice road, and a good option is bringing a Jeep to Big Bend. Most everything around here is dirt road suitable for everyday passenger vehicles, and you will find a few to get out to Black Gap. There is only one obstacle that is a little challenging and that is only when you are shooting the gap. It has a small 24" ledge at the beginning if coming in from the north, but then most any high-clearance vehicle can make it through the rest.

This trail is a must if you're in the Big Bend area with a Jeep! It's not a difficult trail but has some fun spots. The views are well worth the visit alone. We ran the trail north to south and then again south to north to shorten the drive out. The northern part we did air down and disconnect and then used 4-lo to in spots. We climbed right up the Gap as there were many rocks stacked. No pinstriping as of yet... The trail entrance is really fun, with a hill descent (from the north) then a hard left through shallow water. Yes, water in Big Bend when it's dry! The Overlook area is a great lunch spot. Take binoculars!

This trail gets a lot of mixed reviews. To many it's too easy for the rating Jeep gives it in the Badge of Honor system but I think it's spot on. If you think about how far Big Bend National Park is from just about everything and just getting there is a journey itself. Once there you still need to get to Black Gap which is about about an hour inside the park gate. That is just to start the trail. The trail works best alone, because of just how desolate it is. You make a mistake here, its not gonna be fun. In a group (which is recommended) you have less concerns. I was out there alone and I loved the feeling of absolute isolation. No cel signal, never saw another person for hours! This is a test of how prepared you are out there and how you would react to your environment. The scenery beautiful. The one obstacle if you can call it that is the "Step" which is just a small incline. I recorded it but unfortunately my cam gave out just on the ascend. My Mojave had zero issue but I can see some lower clearance vehicles having issues. If you want to avoid this ascend, I'd take the trail south to north. This would have you come down the step as opposed to going it up from north to south. I would definitely recommend the north to south say though. The summit in the beginning is just amazing to look out at the canyons. Definitely love this trail and highly recommend it to all beginners and experts!

I have a stock taco sr5 with 30 inch AT tires. Great trail, no problem going north. The rock ledges just north of the drop required good tire placement, wish I had rear lockers. May be time for a new truck!

Had a lot of fun on this trail. We decided to make a loop of this by driving Glenn Springs Road south to BGR then once off of BGR we ran River Road east and then back north on Glenn springs Rd.

Hit this one for the BOH. Fun trail, worth the time if you're down there. Couple spots will get your attention, but nothing serious.

As other commenters have said, Black Gap offers about as much rugged 4x4 terrain as you can expect in Big Bend. The terrain is beautiful and very remote, but experienced 4-wheelers won't struggle getting through the route. Still, if you're looking to escape crowds/cities, this is a terrific place to do it.

A nice change of pace from River Road. Much of this trail had my 4Runner off camber but nothing that tire placement couldn't overcome. The Black Gap itself was uneventful, but you could move rocks out of the way for more of a challenge. Full size vehicles could do the road but there are a couple washouts that make the trail tight. Really fun trail, highly recommend.

My friend and I went to big bend to do this trail for the Jeep BOH. We feel the trail was very easy. We drove it 3 times and the last time we drive it was at night "King of the Hammers"style. But, it was fun. For those going there and you like to rock crawler go to Smugglers Canyon, it is a wash with big rocks and a nice "Gate Keeper". I am in a2014 JK Rubicon 3.5 lift and at the time 35's now on 38's (thanks to Smugglers Canyon, lol)

Had a blast. Not very difficult with my 2016 Wrangler with 3.5 lift and 35's, but was definitely worth the drive. We came up the north side of the road to head out to the mercury mines along the River Road. Only took us about three hours to complete. Still had a good time and highly recommend.

Did the Black Gap Road from South to North in my 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the 4WD Low, Air Suspension, and stock 18" rim tires. Had no issues even though it has rather a long wheelbase. Never scraped anything to include the skid plates and rock rails. No pin-striping occurred. Didn,t engage the 4WD much as the AWD was quite up to the trail tasks. Did use it a bit though when I got tired of some of the longer rocky parts. It sure is nice to engage that cruise control, let the Jeep control the throttle and brakes, and just steer. Really a nice setup! Pretty area and some striking scenery. Full disclosure: as equipped (stock) this jeep has a bit more clearance than a stock Wrangler on the same size tires. It is not exactly my first rodeo either. So you might want to reconsider using something with say 6" or so clearance.

decent trail for site seeing but difficulty rating is questionable. I went through all of Black Gap in slightly modified 03 rubicon towing trailer. Never engaged 4wd trail was not technical in any way except for wash by spring when entering trail head due to flooding. I actually found old ore rd to be more challenging along with being far more interesting. There are a few grave sites along black gap if you know where to look

A somewhat technical trail with great views of the Chisos Mountains and the desert. It is not maintained and I have driven it several times over the years and it's constantly changing. The step in the Black Gap has deteriorated over the years and may be difficult climbing for some low clearance vehicles. Worth all the driving to get to. Be sure to visit Mariscal Mine while in the area.

black gap was my first off road trail. it was amazing, a little butt puckering for a first trail but we made it. it was a awesome experience. very beautiful in some spots.

I really enjoyed Black Gap Road! The breathtaking views were fantastic, along with the feeling of being way off the beaten path! For those of you looking for a challenge, you won't find it here if you're a seasoned off-roader, there is only one technical section that was fairly easy in my lifted Tacoma, we had a stock jeep wrangler with a newbie off-roader behind the wheel make it through with some spotting. My friends and I hiked up to the nearby Quick Silver Mine and that really added to the fun! Prepare for a long day (pack a lunch and snacks/water), the trail has much ground to cover and can take a while, especially if you have a big group.

The trail itself was not difficult. I took my stock Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and didn’t have any issues with scraping. The trail is a little narrow for a full sized truck so be prepared for some pretty decent pinstripes. The only thing to look out for is the areas where water has washed the trail out, I could see how it would make the trial extremely difficult after a good flood.