Mule Ears Spring Trail, Texas, United States
4.0 (39 reviews) Spent Ranking #24 in Big Bend National Park Hiking Trails
Seen across the park
The Mule Ears are a set of twin volcanic dikes that were left as pointed projections into the sky. They can be seen from most any location in the eastern half of the park and are a good spatial reference. We saw them from Ross Maxwell, Terlingua, Santa Elena and even the mountains of the South Rim. At dawn returning from Santa Elena around Cerro Castellan the sky gave the appearance from Mordor in Lord of the Rings. They are a signature feature for Big Bend.
Address
, Texas, United States.
Mobile
Website
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/desert
Current local date and time now
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 1:15
User Ratings
4.0 based on (39 reviews)
Excellent
43%
Good
36%
Satisfactory
18%
Poor
3%
Terrible
0%
Reviews
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4Davis K 5:00 PM Jan 19, 2014
Wash Behind the Ears
The Mule Ears Spring hike was very scenic and relaxing, with an interesting variety if deserts plants and of course the Mule Ears formation. We took dozens of photos of plants and lizards we don't see in the Sonoran desert. The spring itself is a lush oasis with ferns, rushes and many other plants. This is a great place to have lunch, enjoy the sound of the wind, a gurgling spring and birds just singing their little hearts out. Approximately 50 feet before the springs, we noticed a sign directing us to Smokey Creek trail. We felt like extending our hike and are glad we did. This trail takes you around behind (and up close if you want) the "mule ears" for a very different view. Apparently, there is enough of a change in rainfall or elevation that the plants were surprisingly different from those we had seen between the parking lot and the spring. Along the trail we found a number of deposits of calcite crystals which looked to us like smokey quartz. We didn't meet anyone on either leg of the hike. We highly recommend the hike to the springs and encourage you continue on the Smokey Creek trail.
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3Rachel P 5:00 PM Jan 8, 2022
Mule ears
The “mule ears” can be seen from the road. We did several hikes in the park, this was my least favorite. Just my personal opinion. It was beautiful, and I loved the trail itself and feeling like I was in the middle of no where. I just did not like that the mountains were so far away. We did not finish the trail because I was “bored” and needed a trail among the tall mountains. Again just my opinion.
