07 Sam Nail Ranch
In 1916, Sam Nail built a two-room adobe house on the banks of Cottonwood Creek. He soon married, and he and his wife raised a family there. Today, you can wander through their homestead. Look for the remains of the original house, its adobe walls melting back into the desert. Sit in the shade of the orchard and look for remnants of their garden. Find the chicken coop shaded by soapberry trees. Imagine a day when the old, wooden windmill pumped water up to a tank on the top of Burro Mesa for the Nail's cattle.
The Trail
An easy, well-maintained walking path loops through the Nail homestead. Most of the trail passes through desert scrub vegetation. At the bottom of the loop, you'll enter an oasis created by the shade of giant pecan, walnut, willow, and soapberry trees. Water, pumped to the surface by a windmill, spills out on the ground, attracting birds and other wildlife.
Sam Nail Ranch is one of the many homesteads once active in Big Bend. Remnants of the ranch remain along the 0.5 mile Sam Nail Ranch Trail, including a windmill that still pumps water.
Sam and Nena Nail chose this spot to create their home in the desert. They dug a well, put in a garden, and built holding pens for horses, chickens, and a milk cow. Like other ranchers in the area, they ran stock and dealt with drought, predators, and isolation.
The Nail Family has left Big Bend, but the well they dug still pumps, keeping the plants and shrubs on the property green. Today the ruins of an adobe ranch house and two windmills provide shade and habitat for desert wildlife. If you look closely, you’ll be able to spot the non-native fig and pecan trees they planted.
The Sam Nail Ranch Trail is an easy, mostly flat, 0.5 mile loop trail. The well-maintained trail leads through the old Nail Ranch homestead. This is a beautiful desert oasis and a great spot for birding and wildlife viewing. If you sit quietly on a trailside bench long enough, you may hear javelinas moving through the brush, or see painted buntings, green-tailed towhees, and mockingbirds.
Read MoreThe Trail
An easy, well-maintained walking path loops through the Nail homestead. Most of the trail passes through desert scrub vegetation. At the bottom of the loop, you'll enter an oasis created by the shade of giant pecan, walnut, willow, and soapberry trees. Water, pumped to the surface by a windmill, spills out on the ground, attracting birds and other wildlife.
Sam Nail Ranch is one of the many homesteads once active in Big Bend. Remnants of the ranch remain along the 0.5 mile Sam Nail Ranch Trail, including a windmill that still pumps water.
Sam and Nena Nail chose this spot to create their home in the desert. They dug a well, put in a garden, and built holding pens for horses, chickens, and a milk cow. Like other ranchers in the area, they ran stock and dealt with drought, predators, and isolation.
The Nail Family has left Big Bend, but the well they dug still pumps, keeping the plants and shrubs on the property green. Today the ruins of an adobe ranch house and two windmills provide shade and habitat for desert wildlife. If you look closely, you’ll be able to spot the non-native fig and pecan trees they planted.
The Sam Nail Ranch Trail is an easy, mostly flat, 0.5 mile loop trail. The well-maintained trail leads through the old Nail Ranch homestead. This is a beautiful desert oasis and a great spot for birding and wildlife viewing. If you sit quietly on a trailside bench long enough, you may hear javelinas moving through the brush, or see painted buntings, green-tailed towhees, and mockingbirds.
