Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site — Attraction in Del Rio

Awesome state park with primitive camping, plenty of hiking trails, and even RV spots with full hook ups.

As others have said, you MUST do one of the guided tours and check out the 2000 to 4000 year-old pictographs. They are fading and won’t be around a lot longer.

It’s $5 to get into the park and $8 for the Fate Bell Shelter guided tour (you do not have to make reservations, just show up and sign up for it)

The Fate Bell Shelter tours are as follows: • June 1 – Aug. 31: Tours are at 10 a.m. • Sept. 1 – May 31: Tours are at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

It can get hot out there in May, and on the day we were there, they cancelled the 3pm tour due to the heat forecast – luckily, we were there for the 10am.

The Fate Bell Shelter tour is between 1.5 and 2 miles round trip and I think it lasted about an hour and a half. Hiking boots/shoes are not a necessity on this hike, but definitely wear a decent pair of tennis shoes. Some steep parts but most of them were stair steps with some hand rails. There were a couple of kids a little under 10 years old and they did just fine.

Theresa was our volunteer tour guide and she had an awesome expanse of knowledge about the pictographs as well as the geology and plant life in the park.

Plenty of hiking trails abound, but you can only get into “the canyon” on a guided tour.

There are two other guided tours to different parts of the canyon in the fall – check the TPWD site for the deets my peeps! Different pricing and length of tours for those - one of them is all day I believe.

Pets are allowed on the trails – but it’s hot out there so take care of them folks!

The visitor's center has free Wi-Fi, a museum you can tour for free, some drinks, and even a few camping supplies in case you forgot...

We tent camped here 6/2017. Don’t tent camp here in the summer; it’s too hot, there is very little shade, and it’s surprisingly humid because the large lake nearby. If you insist on camping in the summer, get a spot with electricity so you can at least run a fan. You will find there are about 5 hours during the day where it is just too hot to do anything and there are very few places to go to escape the heat: among them are the Seminole Canyon Visitor Center Museum, J & P Bar and Grille in Comstock, and the Roy Bean Museum and Travel Information Center in Langtry. We did hike to the Rio Grande, but to avoid the heat of the day we got on the trail at dawn and got back to camp before 11 a.m. Fortunately that trail was very flat and well maintained. The pictograph locations are accessible by guide only and there is a small fee. It’s worth going. The trail to the pictographs is uneven and requires a LOT of stair climbing on rough, uneven stairs. If you have physical limitations you will have trouble on this trail. The museum at the visitor’s center was interesting; you can get a 10 pound bag of ice for your cooler for a donation and Wi-Fi is available there. AT&T cell service was good. Behind the campground there is a bird watcher’s blind. Bathrooms were clean and well maintained. As for safety, the State Park is surrounded on 3 sides by steep canyons, therefore it is not a good place for human and/or drug trafficking. My daughter and I camped there for 3 nights and we felt safe even though there were few other campers in...

We booked our day trip reservation online to make it all easier. We paid $8 for 1 vehicle 2 people (as of 2024). While we also encountered a couple who bought their day trip pass in the center.

Drove from SATX to Seminole with a little bit over 3hrs. Note that you will pass a border patrol here.

Center and Service:

When we arrived we went to the center to get our ticket for the car. The center has a mini museum and shop that covers necessities and souvenirs. The staff were all so hospitable and helpful. Since we said it’s our first time they helped us to understand the map and the trails.

Trail:

On the trail we did the loop (Rio Grande and Canyon Rim Trail) from 3 7 6 5 4 and took us over 3hrs with over 8miles (Check the map to make sense). Then we went back to the center to do the Windmill Trail (.50miles, around 20mins)

They also offer a guided tour for the canyon.

Tip:

Bring water and wear enclosed shoes and comfortable socks to hike in a rocky trail. Wear something that covers your skin as it has a lot of spikey plants.

Check the museum before going to the trail.

I advised to hike this place in a non summer weather since it is pretty open and little to no shade at all. While for winter and with heavy wind bring a moisturizer for your face and lips as it will truly dries you out.

Overall we enjoyed our experience from people to the history and scenery of...