The Boquillas Port of Entry connecting Big Bend National Park with the Mexican village of Boquillas del Carmen remains closed Friday, Nov. 6, nearly three weeks after high water and unsafe conditions along the Rio Grande forced the crossing to shut down.
The closure is taking an economic toll on the small Mexican community, where tourism from Big Bend National Park is a principal source of income.
According to National Park Service daily reports, the crossing was closed by Oct. 19 because of high river levels and unsafe conditions. Although water levels have since receded, thick mud along the trail leading to the riverbank continues to prevent visitors from safely reaching the crossing.
In a Nov. 5 announcement, park officials said an inspection found approximately 100 feet of trail covered in extremely slick mud, with no safe alternative route around it.
The park confirmed that the crossing would remain closed Thursday and Friday, with another inspection scheduled for Friday evening to determine whether it could reopen Saturday, Nov. 7.
The closure has prompted residents and tourism operators on the Mexican side of the river to take matters into their own hands.
In a Facebook post, Boquillas Outfitters shared photographs of a man and a young girl working with shovels to remove mud from the crossing trail. The business identified the girl as Camila and appealed for the crossing to reopen.
“Please reopen our crossing. We are really hurting,” the business wrote.
The photographs show the two standing in thick, dried and partially hardened mud, attempting to clear a path through the material.
Park reports show the closure dates back to at least Oct. 17, when officials reported that the river was just below 11 feet and the path beyond a shaded structure remained dangerously slippery. A day earlier, on Oct. 16, officials had warned that river conditions could force the crossing to close for the weekend. That puts the documented closure at at least 21 days as of Friday, although the precise date it first closed has not been confirmed.
The extended closure is particularly consequential for Boquillas del Carmen, a village of approximately 200 residents across the Rio Grande from Big Bend National Park.
The community depends heavily on visitors who cross the river by rowboat, then travel into town to eat at local restaurants, purchase handmade crafts, hire guides and take excursions into the surrounding desert.
According to the National Park Service, tourism is the village’s principal industry. The crossing, which reopened in April 2013 after years of closure, was intended in part to restore economic opportunities to the isolated border community.
The closure also comes as the crossing transitions to its winter operating schedule. The park announced this week that normal hours are now Thursday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., when conditions permit.
For now, the reopening decision remains with park officials, who say visitor safety must come first.
For the residents and businesses of Boquillas, however, each additional day without visitors means another day without the tourism revenue on which much of the community relies.
No reopening date has been confirmed.
