Snapshot Planning Your VisitWhen we visited the park We visited the park at the end of March, and I am glad we did. The morning started off cool and windy, but quickly warmed up the further into the canyon we hiked. By noon, it was very warm and we needed to refill our water bottles. If you plan to visit here in the warmer months, plan on more water than you think you need. If you plan to visit in the winter months, plan for windy conditions. This park took us by surprise with its towering mountains and El Capitan like cliffs.  weather-us.com Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, how isolated this park is from everything else. The closes towns are about 1-2 hours away. The visitor centers here have limited resources as well, so make sure to plan ahead and pack everything you will need on for your time at this park. 2. This is desert, canyon, mountain territory. Make sure to pack more water than you think you will need, a hat, and sunscreen. Plan on it to be hot, but bring layers for morning and night in the desert. 3. Bring good shoes if you plan to hike here. Most trails are rocky and uneven surfaces. You may also want to consider hiking poles. 4. Check in with park rangers at the visitor center to see if there are any concerns or closures of trails. 5. To get to the north side of the park, it can take up to 2 hours of driving time. There are multiple entrances to different parts of the park, make sure you check your addresses or directions before you head to the park to see your desired destinations.  How to Get There Guadalupe Mountains are located about 50 minutes south of Carlsbad, NM and about 2 hours from El Paso, TX. There a multiple entrances to the park, so make sure you are taking the correct one along Hwy 62 to access your point of interest. From Carlsbad, NM Head south on National Parks Highway (Hwy 62). Turn right onto Madrone Circle to get to the Pine Springs Visitor Center. From El Paso, TX Head east on Montana Avenue (Hwy 62) for about 100 miles. Turn left onto Madrone Circle to get to the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Additional Maps Provided by the Park Where to Stay Camping Pine Springs Campground This 35-site campground is located just across from the Pine Springs Visitor Center. It is a popular site and often has many day hikers in the area. It is open all year and will cost $20 a night for a tent or RV site. There are no fires allowed here, and you should plan to bring all you need for camping before staying here. Be prepared for the elements here, and plan for days of high winds. Dog Canyon Campground This 14-site campground is located remotely on the northwest side of the park. It is about a two hour drive to the Pine Springs visitor center. Bring all supplies needed while camping here. There is no running water or flush toilets available. There are no fires allowed in this park, only camp stoves. There are tent and RV sites available here. It will cost $20 a night to reserve a site here. Frijole Horse Corral Campground This is a group site for people who have horses with them. It is open all year and will cost $20 a night to reserve a site. It is located about one mile up Hwy 62 from Pine Springs Campground. Be prepared for the weather conditions and high winds here. Outside the Park There is no lodging near this park. The closest cities are Carlsbad, NM about 50 minutes north, Van Horn, TX about 1 hour south, or El Paso, TX about 2 hours west.  What We Did We spent a morning exploring a small part of the Guadalupe Mountains. We weren't sure what to expect, and didn't do a ton of research before going. The first thing we did was stop at Pine Springs Visitor Center. This is one of the first places in the main part of the park. It is a smaller visitor center than some of the larger parks, but the rangers were extremely helpful with suggestions of how we could spend our morning. After leaving the visitor center, we went to the Guadalupe Mountain Viewpoint. These mountains are the tallest points in Texas. You can also get to the El Capitan viewpoint, but we did not go there. We drove up to the Pine Springs Campground and parking lot, just up the way from the visitor center. There are many hiking trails that begin here. We decided to take the Devil's Hall Trail, which is also the beginning of the El Capitan trail. This trail is about 4 1/4 miles back into the mountains. There is some small rock scrambling here, but there is not too much of an elevation change. It follows the left side of the raven. Across from the ravine is the Tejas Trail, which is more accommodating for horses. We walked about half of this trail, but then the kids wanted to turn around, so we didn't get to experience the whole thing. The last thing we did with our time before it got too hot in the afternoon was go up the highway to the Frijole Ranch historic site. This was a beautiful oasis in the park, where it shows how people lived and farmed here. The site is open at times, to show how the farm works. We then continued down the path to the Manzanita Spring. This is a paved trail that takes you about a mile out and back trail to a natural spring. It is an easy hike and has beautiful views of the surrounding mountain range. You can continue to Smith Spring from here too, but we did not do that. We headed back to the car for a picnic lunch before heading down to Big Bend. Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the third park we visited on our road trip. It was about the halfway point of our trip. The day before we had explored Carlsbad Caverns, and this was the first stop we made in Texas. It is about a 30 minute drive from Carlsbad Caverns on the same highway. After we hiked here, we drove down to the small town of Terlingua, TX, located just outside the west entrance of Big Bend. This drive was long and empty as we drove south, almost to the border. Make sure to fill up in Carlsbad before you get too far into Texas. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information.
Don't forget to follow along on Instagram @wanderlust_with_three
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed