🥾 ActiveWeekend · from El Paso, TX

Guadalupe Peak & McKittrick Canyon

Two active days in Guadalupe Mountains National Park — the Guadalupe Peak summit hike on day one and the McKittrick Canyon trail on day two. McKittrick Canyon is one of the most biologically surprising places in the American Southwest: a spring-fed riparian canyon that cuts into the east face of the Guadalupe Mountains, supporting a lush canyon woodland (bigtooth maple, velvet ash, Texas madrone, gray oak) in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert. In fall (late October-November), McKittrick Canyon's bigtooth maple turns brilliant gold and orange, producing a fall color display visible for miles across the desert; it is one of the most dramatic fall foliage events in Texas. The McKittrick Canyon trail (9.8-mile RT to the Grotto and Pratt Cabin) passes through an almost improbably lush green canyon in an otherwise arid landscape — the spring that feeds McKittrick Creek emerges from the limestone karst system and has flowed continuously since the Permian sea retreated 250 million years ago.

Day 1 — Guadalupe Peak: 8.4mi RT summit hike to 8,749ft (highest point in Texas), overnight Carlsbad NM or White CityDay 2 — McKittrick Canyon: 9.8mi RT to Pratt Cabin and the Grotto (spring-fed canyon, Texas madrone, maple, limestone walls), return El Paso
Day 1 — Guadalupe Mountains NP — Guadalupe Peak

Day 1 — Guadalupe Mountains NP — Guadalupe Peak

🚗 2 hr 35 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
El Paso, TX → Guadalupe Mountains NP — Pine Springs Visitor Center
1 hr 40 min8:00 AM → 9:40 AM
Guadalupe Peak Trail — Summit Hike
Guadalupe Peak Trail — Summit Hike
★ 4.7
The Guadalupe Peak Trail to the 8,749-foot summit — 8.4 miles round trip with 3,000 feet of elevation gain through Chihuahuan Desert, pinyon-juniper, and ponderosa pine. The summit marks the highest point in Texas and the crest of the Capitan Reef, a 265-million-year-old Permian limestone reef formation. The El Capitan cliff (8,085ft) and the Chihuahuan Desert panorama to the south are the defining summit views.
9:40 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Guadalupe Peak — Summit Rest
Guadalupe Peak — Summit Rest
★ 4.8
The Guadalupe Peak summit at 8,749ft — the four-state view (Texas, New Mexico, Chihuahua, Sonora on clear days), the Butterfield Centennial pyramid, and the exposed limestone summit ridge. The descent covers 4.2 miles back to Pine Springs; the Pinery Butterfield Stage ruins at the trailhead are worth a 10-minute stop.
10:40 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Pine Springs Trailhead, Guadalupe Mountains NP → Carlsbad, NM
55 min12:00 PM → 12:55 PM
🌙
Evening
Carlsbad, NM — Hotel Overnight
Carlsbad, NM — Hotel Overnight
Overnight in Carlsbad, NM — the nearest town to both Guadalupe Mountains NP and Carlsbad Caverns NP. The Holiday Inn Express Carlsbad and the Hampton Inn are the best-equipped options near downtown Carlsbad; the Trinity Hotel (1892, First National Bank building) is the most historic downtown option. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park (Carlsbad) and the Pecos River make Carlsbad itself a pleasant stopover.
5:00 PM📍 See location
Day 2 — McKittrick Canyon — Return to El Paso

Day 2 — McKittrick Canyon — Return to El Paso

🚗 2 hr 55 min driving📍 2 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Carlsbad, NM → McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center — Guadalupe Mountains NP
55 min8:00 AM → 8:55 AM
McKittrick Canyon Trail — Pratt Cabin
McKittrick Canyon Trail — Pratt Cabin
★ 5
McKittrick Canyon Trail to Pratt Cabin — a 4.9-mile one-way trail following McKittrick Creek through the most biologically diverse canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains. The canyon is spring-fed (the McKittrick Spring emerges from the Permian limestone karst continuously); the lush canyon woodland of bigtooth maple, velvet ash, gray oak, Texas madrone, and chinkapin oak is entirely incongruous in the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert. The Pratt Cabin (1932, stone, the Pratt family's desert retreat) is 2.4 miles from the trailhead; the Grotto (a limestone overhang with canyon views) is at 4.9 miles. The 9.8-mile RT is the standard day hike distance.
8:55 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
McKittrick Canyon — The Grotto & Return
McKittrick Canyon — The Grotto & Return
★ 4.9
The Grotto at McKittrick Canyon — a massive limestone overhang at the canyon narrows, beyond which the trail continues into the high Guadalupe Mountains backcountry. The creek emerges cold and clear from the limestone floor below the Grotto; the canyon walls rise 400-600 feet above the creek in this section. In October-November, the bigtooth maples turn gold and orange in this enclosed canyon, producing the most striking fall color in the Southwest desert states.
9:55 AM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains NP → El Paso, TX
2 hr5:00 PM → 7:00 PM
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