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Lajitas is a remote unincorporated community in Brewster County, in the Big Bend region of far West Texas, set on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande at an elevation of about 2,200 feet. Its population was reported at 75 in 2010, and the community occupies a narrow ribbon of the Chihuahuan Desert between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Lajitas is best understood not as a conventional town but as a desert outpost and resort destination rooted in the Old West history of the borderlands. The community's centerpiece is the Lajitas Golf Resort, a 27,000-acre property known for its solitude, rugged natural beauty, and an 18-hole golf course, Black Jacks Crossing, designed by Lanny Wadkins. The resort's compact core is laid out like a small western town, with lodging, dining, a spa, and a pool within walking distance, and it has long served as a base for travelers exploring Big Bend. The area's history, including its use as a filming location for the television miniseries Streets of Laredo, adds to its frontier character. Life in Lajitas revolves around the desert landscape and the river. The Rio Grande, which forms the international boundary here, supports rafting and canoeing, while the surrounding national and state parks offer some of the most dramatic hiking, geology, and dark-sky stargazing in Texas. The community is reached by the scenic Farm-to-Market Road 170, and the nearest sizable towns and services are more than an hour away in the Terlingua–Study Butte area and Alpine. Permanent residents are few, and the community's economy is almost entirely tied to hospitality and recreation, reflecting its role as a gateway to one of America's least-developed regions.

Population 75

County Brewster County

Active Listings 78

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lajitas, Texas?

Lajitas is located in Brewster County, Texas, in the Big Bend region of far West Texas. The community sits on the Rio Grande between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.

What is Lajitas known for?

Lajitas is known for the Lajitas Golf Resort, a 27,000-acre desert resort with the 18-hole Black Jacks Crossing golf course designed by Lanny Wadkins, along with lodging, dining, and a spa in an Old West setting.

How large is Lajitas?

Lajitas has a very small year-round population, reported at about 75 residents in 2010. It functions primarily as a resort and gateway community for visitors exploring Big Bend National Park and the surrounding desert.

What is there to do around Lajitas?

Around Lajitas, the Rio Grande, Big Bend National Park, and Big Bend Ranch State Park offer hiking, rafting, canoeing, and dark-sky stargazing, along with golf at the resort's Black Jacks Crossing course.

City Guide

About Lajitas

Real Estate & Housing

Lajitas is not a conventional residential market but a resort and destination community. Property is dominated by the Lajitas Golf Resort, a 27,000-acre holding that includes lodging, amenities, and the Black Jacks Crossing golf course, along with a limited number of private homes and parcels in and around the community. The area's real estate is characterized by desert acreage, resort-related property, and occasional custom homes rather than subdivisions or tract development. Buyers and investors here are typically drawn by the Big Bend setting, dark skies, and the appeal of owning land or a retreat in one of Texas's most scenic and remote regions.

Neighborhoods

Lifestyle in Lajitas

Life in Lajitas is defined by remoteness and the desert landscape. The community has only a handful of permanent residents, and its rhythms follow the seasons of tourism and the operation of the Lajitas Golf Resort rather than a conventional town calendar. Days are spent outdoors, with golf, river trips, hiking, and stargazing among the primary activities, and the resort's compact, western-style core provides lodging, dining, and services in one walkable setting. For those who choose to live here, the appeal is solitude, wide-open desert, and direct access to some of the least-developed landscapes in the United States, at the cost of distance from everyday services.

Schools & Education

Getting Around

Lajitas is reached by Farm-to-Market Road 170, a famously scenic route that runs along the Rio Grande through the Big Bend country, connecting the community to Terlingua, Study Butte, and Presidio. The area is among the most remote in Texas, with the nearest sizable town, Alpine, and its services and regional airport, roughly two hours away by road, and larger cities such as El Paso and Midland several hours distant. Personal vehicles are essential, and travel here is often as much about the journey through the desert landscape as the destination. There is no public transit serving the community.

Parks & Recreation

Lajitas sits at the center of some of Texas's most celebrated outdoor recreation. Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park frame the community, offering hiking, geology, and wildlife viewing across vast desert and mountain landscapes, while the Rio Grande supports rafting, canoeing, and riverside camping. The region's exceptionally dark skies make it a destination for stargazing and astrophotography. Within Lajitas itself, the resort's Black Jacks Crossing golf course provides an unusual amenity in the desert, and horseback riding and Old West heritage experiences round out the area's recreational offerings.

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