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A field of dry grass near Bandera, Texas, with low wooded hills and big white clouds
Polina Portnaya / Unsplash

Bandera 100K, 50K and 25K map and aid stations

A 31 mile loop of rocky hills and sotol west of San Antonio, run once for the 50K and twice for the 100K.

January 9 to 10, 2027 Hill Country State Natural Area, Texas

Tejas Trails started Bandera in 2003. It's run at Hill Country State Natural Area: 5,369 acres of former ranch land about 10 miles southwest of the town of Bandera. The race page sums it up as "No whiners, wimps, or wusses" and warns that everything out there "cuts, stings, or bites".

All three races use one 50K loop, run counterclockwise from the Group Lodge. The 100K goes around twice, starting Saturday morning, and the 50K goes around once on Sunday. The 25K, also on Sunday, cuts across after Equestrian and rejoins the loop before YaYa.

The line on the map is the organizer's GPX, a recording of the 100K's two laps at the 2023 race; the 50K's line is its first lap. There's no line for the 25K. Put this map on your phone, or your crew's. It pins every aid station on all three courses.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Bandera Endurance Trail Race. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Bandera course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Save it in Goat Maps for a recce or race day. GPS shows where you are even without a signal.

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Bandera courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
100K62.3 mi (100 km)Sat, Jan 9, 7:30 AM25 h
50K31.1 mi (50 km)Sun, Jan 10, 8:00 AM11 h
25K15.5 mi (25 km)Sun, Jan 10, 8:30 AM10 h 30 min

Bandera 100K

Two laps of the 50K loop, starting Saturday morning and running into the night.

Distance
62.3 mi (100 km)
Start
Sat, Jan 9, 7:30 AM
Time limit
25 h

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

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You start at 7:30 AM Saturday and have 25 hours, until 8:30 AM Sunday. Start your second lap by 8:00 PM or you're cut. The loop climbs and drops on steep, rocky trail nearly all the way round; the only consistently flat stretch is either side of YaYa, which the organizer calls the Race Track. Expect about 6,600 feet of climbing in all.

The longest gap between aid stations is Equestrian to Nachos, 7 miles; the others are 4.1 to 5.8. Lodge, Equestrian and Chapas serve hot food. Pacers can join once you've finished the first lap, and if you're 60 or older, from the start.

aid stations

miWhereCutoff
0Lodge (start and finish) Crew
5Boyles Crew, Drop bag
9.4Equestrian Crew, Drop bag
16.3Nachos Crew, Drop bag
21.2Chapas Crew, Drop bag
27YaYa Crew, Drop bag
31.1Lodge (start and finish) Crew, Drop bag, PacersSat 8:00 PM
36.2Boyles Crew, Drop bag, PacersSat 10:02 PM
40.5Equestrian Crew, Drop bag, PacersSat 11:47 PM
47.5Nachos Crew, Drop bag, PacersSun 2:36 AM
52.3Chapas Crew, Drop bag, PacersSun 4:32 AM
58.2YaYa Crew, Drop bag, PacersSun 6:52 AM
62.3Lodge (start and finish) CrewSun 8:30 AM
A rocky dirt path under bare trees and green brush in a nature preserve in Austin, Texas
Melanie Magdalena / Unsplash

Bandera 50K

One lap of the loop on Sunday, through all six aid stations.

Distance
31.1 mi (50 km)
Start
Sun, Jan 10, 8:00 AM
Time limit
11 h

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The Sunday 50K starts at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM, an 11 hour limit, with cutoffs at every aid station. No drop bags are delivered for the 50K: if you want one, set it out yourself the day before.

A few 50K runners can start on Saturday at 8:00 AM instead, half an hour behind the 100K, with the 100K's cutoffs. They count as official finishers and get the medal, but aren't eligible for overall awards. You have to register for that start specifically.

aid stations

miWhereCutoff
0Lodge (start and finish) Crew
5Boyles Crew, Drop bagSun 9:47 AM
9.4Equestrian Crew, Drop bagSun 11:19 AM
16.3Nachos Crew, Drop bagSun 1:47 PM
21.2Chapas Crew, Drop bagSun 3:30 PM
27YaYa Crew, Drop bagSun 5:33 PM
31.1Lodge (start and finish) CrewSun 7:00 PM
A wooded Hill Country ridge near Bandera in low golden light, with a pale clearing in the foreground
Braden Collum / Unsplash

Bandera 25K

The first nine miles of the loop, a cutover after Equestrian, and back to the Lodge.

Distance
15.5 mi (25 km)
Start
Sun, Jan 10, 8:30 AM
Time limit
10 h 30 min

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the aid stations are.

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The 25K starts Sunday at 8:30 AM and follows the full loop through Boyles and Equestrian, then cuts across to rejoin it before YaYa. You still get a good share of the hills. After a short flat section there's one last climb and drop before the straight run to the finish. The finish closes at 7:00 PM.

aid stations

miWhereCutoff
0Lodge (start and finish) Crew
5Boyles Crew, Drop bagSun 10:17 AM
9.4Equestrian Crew, Drop bagSun 11:49 AM
11.3YaYa Crew, Drop bagSun 5:33 PM
15.5Lodge (start and finish) CrewSun 7:00 PM

Registration

Entry is on RunSignup. When this page was checked, the 100K was $245, the 50K $160 (Saturday or Sunday) and the 25K $139. Sign up by December 1 if you want the race shirt; later entries get a different swag item.

Transfers to another runner must be requested at least a week before the race. Deferrals to another Tejas Trails event are on a sliding scale: the full amount 90 or more days out, down to nothing from nine days out, less a $10 fee. Picking up your packet checks you in, and after that you can't defer.

Getting there and camping

A field of dry grass near Bandera, Texas, with low wooded hills and big white clouds
Polina Portnaya / Unsplash

The park is about 45 miles west-northwest of San Antonio, at 10600 Bandera Creek Road. Coming from Bandera, the road turns to dirt; cross the low water crossing, pass park headquarters, and follow the main park road past Equestrian and YaYa to the Group Lodge, which is the race hub. Cars park in the back lot behind the corral.

Packet pickup runs Tuesday to Thursday at iRun Texas (Dominion) in San Antonio, then Friday 1:00 to 7:00 PM and race mornings at the Group Lodge. Camping in the field by the race hub is $25 a person for the whole weekend, first come, first served, with no water or electricity. RV sites with hookups at Equestrian and Chapas are $40 a night. The organizer's host hotels are in Bandera and Boerne.

Crews, drop bags and pacers

Crews are welcome at every aid station, and most of them are right beside the main park road. Parking is very limited at Equestrian and Chapas, and there's none at Boyles, Nachos or YaYa. Boyles is about half a mile up a jeep road from the Group Lodge parking, and for YaYa you park at Equestrian and walk about 200 yards down a dirt path.

You can leave your own drop bags at any aid station the day before. For the 100K only, the race delivers bags to Nachos and Chapas: leave them at the Lodge by 7:00 AM Saturday. Pacers must sign up (it's free), and only one can run with you at a time. They can't carry anything for you.

Weather and what to bring

A prickly pear cactus with yellow flowers and a heart-shaped pad in South Texas
Joseph Corl / Unsplash

The park averages a January low of 31°F, by Texas Parks and Wildlife. At NOAA's Medina station, north of the park, January averages a high of 63°F and a low of 35°F. The 100K goes on through the night, so plan for the cold after dark.

Every Tejas Trails race is cupless: carry a bottle or a soft cup for drinks at the aid stations. If you forget, collapsible cups are handed out at packet pickup. The course is marked with yellow arrows, caution tape at open intersections and reflectors for the dark, so you won't need to navigate, but keep looking up: the markings aren't color-coded by distance.

Bandera aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Lodge (start and finish)

    29.64855, -99.20016

  • Boyles

    29.64447, -99.20003

  • Equestrian

    29.63420, -99.18547

  • Nachos

    29.62536, -99.20152

  • Chapas

    29.61842, -99.16987

  • YaYa

    29.63810, -99.18473

Bandera FAQ

When is Bandera 2027?

January 9 and 10, 2027. The 100K starts Saturday at 7:30 AM, the 50K Sunday at 8:00 AM and the 25K Sunday at 8:30 AM.

Is Bandera a Western States qualifier?

Yes. Finishing the 100K within 18 hours qualifies you for the Western States lottery. The 50K and 25K don't.

How much climbing is there at Bandera?

The organizer says roughly 3,300 feet of gain and the same of loss per 50K lap, or about 6,600 feet for the 100K. The hills are short but steep and rocky.

Can you have a pacer at Bandera?

Only in the 100K, after you finish the first 50K lap. Runners 60 and older can have a pacer the whole way. Pacers join and leave at aid stations and must register (it's free).

Can you run the Bandera 50K on Saturday?

Yes, in a small non-competitive group that starts at 8:00 AM Saturday with the 100K's cutoffs. You finish officially and get the medal, but you can't win an overall award. Register for that start specifically.

Do you need a cup at Bandera?

Yes. The race is cupless, so bring a bottle or collapsible cup for drinks. Hot food like soup comes in foam cups, but drinks go in your own.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.