Authors Note: I have yet to do this trip. I would love to, but if you attempt this and it ends in disaster, I do not take responsibility. Also, none of the photos are mine. Please see appropriate citation.
Two National Parks; one showcasing a gallery of underground wonders and the other holding eight of Texas’ highest peaks. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in southern New Mexico, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in west Texas, are just a short drive away and complement the other quite well. Compiled here is a curated itinerary, by me, to see them both.
Day 1
Fly into El Paso
Ok, so, step one of this trip is to fly into El Paso International Airport. It’s the largest city in west Texas and has the biggest airport. All major airlines have at least one flight into the airport. Allegiant Airlines has a few catering to the budget clientele (aka me).
Drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park
After orienting yourself with the city, grab a rental and make the eastern trek to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It’s about 106 miles or 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Pine Springs Visitor Center
Personally, I feel it’d be criminal to not make the first stop in the national park the visitor center. It closes at 4 p.m., so be mindful of that. If you’re not going to make it, there will be other times.
Frijole Ranch History Museum Area
The first area of the park we’re exploring is between Pine Springs Visitor Center and the lodging in Whites City. The small ranch home has been converted to a museum and is the starting point for several trails.
Smith Spring Trail
The first hike of the trip takes us 2.5 miles to two springs in the desert. It’s a relatively easy loop, the perfect place to warm up for tomorrow’s big hike. The lush springs are gorgeous and feel incredibly out of place in the arid surroundings. The rest of the trail is a great overview of desert plant and wildlife. Keep your eyes open for wildlife, a number of hikers have seen foxes!
Accommodations: Whites City Cavern Inn
Ok what’s better than a kitschy roadside motel minutes from a national park? Literally nothing. This hotel is right outside of Carlsbad Caverns National Park which will prove beneficial for the upcoming days. From Guadalupe, it’s about half an hour away.
Day 2
From the hotel, assuming it’s Whites City Cavern Inn, it’s about half an hour to Pine Springs Visitor Center area.
Considering it’s a busy day of hiking, it’s going to be an early start to ensure ample time. We have to reach the summit before the oppressive heat takes over. I’m thinking starting the hike around 6 a.m. will suffice.
Guadalupe Peak Trail
This eight mile hike is up to Texas’ highest peak. I know it sounds daunting, but it’s the park’s best. Be sure to bring water, the hike climbs almost 3,000 feet. On the summit, there’s a stainless steel pyramid erected (strangely) by American Airlines to commemorate an old stagecoach route.
Devils Hall Trail
What better way to recover from a hike than with an easier four mile one? The trail cumulates in a narrow “hallway” of rock. Also along the way are pretty mountain views, rock scrambling and a geological formation called “the staircase.” If this seems too much after literally climbing a mountain, we can do this hike a day earlier.
Day 3
McKittrick Canyon is known for having East Texas’ best fall foliage. Depending on the timeframe for this trip, it would be cool to take advantage of that. From Highway 62, there’s a gate that’s locked promptly at 5 p.m., so it’s essential to be done before then.
As yesterday was a pretty strenuous day of hiking, I selected one trail to dedicate the day to. The rest can be spent covering anything we missed in the park or spending time at the hotel’s pool.
Permian Reef
The total length of this trail is 9.2 miles, but we can do however long the group is comfortable with. It showcases fossils and other geology from the Permian age, almost 300 million years ago!
Day 4
Today we will be exploring Carlsbad Caverns National Park! Here are some of the top things to do:
Carlsbad Caverns
OBVIOUSLY the park’s best thing to do is its namesake caverns. In my opinion, the coolest part about this park is that they let you tour the cave on your own. This is done through a few curated trails. The first, at 1.25 miles, takes visitors around The Big Room, the largest cave chamber on the continent. The other, which is also 1.25 miles, winds down into the cave’s natural entrance and passes a few rock formations on the way. Other than self-guided, the park has ranger-led tours to some of the other sections of the cave.
Walnut Canyon Desert Drive
The nine mile unpaved road snakes through the desert and gives a scenic tour of the park’s surface-level. It takes about an hour to complete.
Bats
Every night around sunset, visitors gather inside Bat Flight Amphitheater to watch the park’s 17 species of bats take flight. During the summer months, the park hosts ranger programs. At other times, the bats still fly, but to a lesser extent. If we’re feeling an early morning, the bats return to the cave sometime between 4 – 6 a.m. and are just as astounding to watch.
Visitor Center
Of course the visitor center is a must visit. Carlsbad Caverns’ has a few interpretive exhibits and a 15 minute film about the park.
Nature Trails
The half mile Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail provides information on some of the flora and fauna around the desert. Slaughter Canyon, also a half mile, leads hikers to an overview of the cave with the same name.
Stargazing
Depending on the time of year we’re visiting the park, there might be ranger-led telescope star viewing parties. The park sometimes hosts nighttime hikes through the desert too! Any other time will just feature the gorgeous array of stars.
Day 5
Drive back to El Paso
From Whites City Cavern Inn, El Paso International Airport is a little over two hours.
Hueco Tanks State Park
About a three-quarters of the way between Guadalupe Mountains National Park and El Paso is Hueco Tanks State Park. The natural rock basins collect rainwater and create a source of freshwater in the desert. There are a few short nature trails that lead to some of the pools of water.
Fly Home
And that’s the end of this adventure!
Literally all that’s left is to book this trip. If you’re one of my friends, text me “Jonathan, let’s do Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe!” And we can coordinate dates.
If I don’t know you, please go on this trip and let me know how it is!!
Turquoise Skies 