A short drive down the road from Carlsbad Caverns National Park sits Guadalupe Mountain National Park, a sprawling parcel of land encompassing canyons, mountain peaks, and miles of desert. With the short 30-minute drive between the parks, you could go from the depths of New Mexico to the top of Texas in one whirlwind weekend.

Getting to the Park/Where to Stay

     To give you an idea of the remoteness of Guadalupe Mountain National Park, the park brochure warns visitors that there is no gas/services for 35 miles in either direction of the park on US 62. So unless you are planning to camp, I would recommend doing what we did and staying in the city of Carlsbad and driving into the park for the day. There are plenty of hotel options within Carlsbad but not many promising food options (all the restaurants seemed to fill up early and fast!!!), be prepared to wait, eat early, or eat at the grocery store! Carlsbad also makes a natural jumping off point for combining Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountain National Parks into one trip.

     If Camping is more your speed there are a couple of options within the park. Permitted camping is available within the park at Dog Canyon Campground, Frijole Horse Corral Campground, and Pine Springs Campground. As with many National Parks, make sure to secure permits ahead of your visit via recreation.gov. Also available on the site is a Wilderness permit for the park, which allows you to camp at a number of backcountry sites throughout the park. It’s important to note that the reservation you make via the site is NOT your permit and you must stop at the Pine Springs Visitor center to pick up your permit and talk to a ranger. If either the front country or backcountry camping options is of interest to you, check both the parks site and recreation.gov for full details (and timing regarding when reservations open).

Planning Your Visit

     Windy, windy, WINDY!!! The first thing the park ranger said to our party when we stopped by the visitor center was that the park is known for its wind. I am here to report that this is not a joke and is something that should be taken very seriously, you can read more about annual weather patterns on the parks site.

     If you are planning to summit Guadalupe Peak (more details on that below), look at the weather report for the day you plan to make your attempt, check it again when you stop by the visitor center, and be willing to turn back during your hike if the winds begin to pick up. In the fall and winter winds can reach 70+ mph! Make sure you bring, ear protection, gloves, and a good wind break as well as breathable layers. There are several challenging hikes within the park, which, when coupled with its naturally difficult terrain, make a good case for trekking poles!

     Wind and wild temperature differences aside, when we asked the park ranger what her favorite trail was, she let us in on some insider information. She recommended the McKittrick Canyon trail for its ability to quash the stereotypes a visitor might have of what Texas looks like due to its variety of tree, plant and animal life unlike elsewhere in the park (or in this part of Texas!). In years where there has been rain the canyon trail is awash in gorgeous fall colors that might be more closely associated with the American East Coast.

     One very important note; however, is regarding time zones. Most of Texas is on Central Time but Guadalupe Mountain sits in Mountain Time zone along with a small chunk of northwest Texas. This seems like it would be very straightforward, but within the park your cellphone may ping off nearby cell towers, tricking your phone into thinking that it’s an hour later than it actually is. This can become problematic when park gates close at specific times, so I recommend that you or someone else in your party leaves your phone on airplane mode or that someone carries a watch or other timekeeping device that is on airplane mode and won’t update to the incorrect time. Again, the park is on mountain time and the gates do close promptly at listed times!!