Rio Bosque Wetlands Park Tour

Wetland oasis within the Chihuahuan Desert

Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

-is a 372-acre City of El Paso park the University of Texas at El Paso manages through its Center for Environmental Resource Management.

Located in southeast El Paso county near the town of Socorro, Texas, Rio Bosque is enclosed by irrigation canals and drains on three sides, and the western boundary of the park lies adjacent to the Rio Grande, which forms the international border between the U.S. and Mexico in this area.

Since 1997, several local entities including: the City of El Paso, El Paso Water, El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, UTEP, and the Friends of the Rio Bosque have worked tirelessly to restore this historical floodplain.

Slowly in some areas, more rapidly in others, native vegetation is reclaiming this wonderfully rich mosaic of habitats characteristic of the Rio Grande and its floodplain in pre-settlement days.

Virtual Tour:

Follow along this tour and immerse yourself into this unique wetland and riparian ecosystem. You can follow along in-person at the park, or virtually through your device.

If you are visiting the park, be sure to park at the second parking area along the levee. This will ensure you begin at correct trailhead on this virtual/self guided tour.

Visiting the Park:

• The park is open from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week.
• Be sure to wear proper clothing and foot attire according to the time of year you visit the park. During the monsoon season, mosquitos are quite abundant, so be prepared.
• Bring enough water to drink as the park does not have drinking water available.
• Park managers try to maintain the trails, however, there may be times that brush may overgrow into the trail; please navigate as best as you can while staying on the trail whenever possible.
• As part of efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, please keep your group size small when you visit, stay at least 6 feet apart from one another, and wear a mask when encountering other visitors.

When visiting the park, we ask that you leave nothing but your footprints and only take your pictures and memories with you. Please do your part to help keep our park clean and safe.

For more information about the park, visit: https://www.utep.edu/cerm/rio-bosque/rio-bosque-home.html

This tour was created with funding provided by EPA grant #NE-01F54901-0.

For questions or more information regarding this virtual tour, contact Dr. Jennifer Ramos-Chavez, jennifer@insightselpaso.org

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