Presidio County
The region’s newest state park isn’t set to open until 2032, but a handful of folks will be allowed to enter the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area on a guided hike this upcoming New Year’s Day. The excursion is being hosted by the Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park, with all proceeds going to benefit the Friends’ mission of supporting public lands in Far West Texas.
The Chinati Mountains SNA is nearly three decades in the making, opening up a window into a mountain range historically tucked away on privately-owned ranches. The property encompasses 39,000 acres of rugged landscapes that range from desert wetlands to high-elevation juniper groves, and will someday feature dozens of miles of hiking trails to showcase these unique ecosystems. The land’s former owners, Heiner and Philippa Friedrich, also built a series of rustic cabins to serve as backcountry shelters—structures that will be repurposed by the future park to be enjoyed by generations to come.
The Friedrichs—two-thirds of the visionary Dia Art Foundation—donated the former Mesquite Ranch to the state via the R.K. Mellon Foundation in 1996. The land was donated with a corresponding endowment to help make up for the loss to the county through property taxes. “This novel approach to conserving the Mesquite Ranch land protects the taxpayers of Presidio County and the 40,000 acres in the Chinati Mountains at the same time,” the office of then Governor George Bush told Big Bend Sentinel. “This is a unique way to support conservation while generating revenue for the local community.”
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine confidently reported in 1997 that the park would be open “probably sometime in the next year or so,” but securing easements for the public to be able to actually access the land turned out to be a more frustrating process than the Friedrichs and the state of Texas anticipated. For decades, agency funding and land deals never seemed to line up at the same time.
Fast forward to 2024, and an access road into the Chinati Mountains SNA was added to a list of TxDOT projects to roll out over the next few years. An open park is becoming a tangible reality—but nature lovers still have a few years to wait before they can add hiking in the Chinatis to their regular Big Bend regional rotation.
The Friends of Big Bend Ranch, a nonprofit organization that supports the park beyond what the state budget can provide, worked with Texas Parks and Wildlife staff to open up the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area for a guided hike to a select group of raffle winners on New Year’s Day 2026. Raffle tickets are $10 a piece and can be purchased through Saturday, December 13.
From Sunday, December 14, through Christmas Day, the Friends will announce one raffle winner per day through their social media. For more information, visit the friendsofbigbendranch.com or visit them on Instagram or Facebook.
