El Capitan in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. (Miguel Vieira / flickr)
You have to go a LONG way to see this west Texas beauty, but once you’re deep in its desert scrub and sky-reaching mountains, you’ll find the 350-mile drive from Santa Fe, N.M., worth your while. The Guadalupe Mountains are as rugged and impressive as anything else in the desert Southwest.
WHAT TO DO - Receive a warm Chihuahuan Desert welcome by hiking the 2.3-mile loop to Manzanita and Smith springs, which you can find near the Frijole Ranch History Museum. Keep your eyes open for and limbs clear of cacti, but once you reach the spring, remain vigilant for javelina or desert reptiles (yes, including the western diamondback rattlesnake; it’s the Old West, after all). As you continue on, you’ll come to discover that deserts aren’t just dust and nothingness; that gardens actually grow in the midst of all that heat and dryness, including the madrone tree with it peeling-skin back and pink flowers.
Looking for something more laid back? The National Park Service promises 11,000 visible stars at night. “To gaze at such a dazzling array can both humble us, as we recognize our insignificance, and inspire us as we identify with something larger than ourselves,” the park service says on the park website. That makes staying at the $8-per-night campgrounds quite attractive (if you can live without showers because they don’t have ‘em).
A Texas Madrone tree grows in Guadalupe Mountains NP, one of the few that can survive. (cwsteeds / flick)
For the hardier types, Guadalupe Mountains National Park has a total of 85 miles of backcountry trails weaving through those rugged West Texas peaks. Beth Nobles at WestMountainTrail.com says work your way to Route 137 and the Dog Canyon Ranger Station at the park’s northern border, where you can pick up a backcountry permit, and you can access the Tejas Trail. From there, the park is yours. Go where few tread, like the 8,631-foot Bush Mountain or to West Dog Canyon, South McKittrick Canyon and McKittrick Ridge. Check with the park service for route information such as closures.
FAUNA - Guadalupe Mountains National Park is home to deer, mountain lions and other desert mammals, but perhaps most astonishing are its bats – all 16 species of them. And if you happen to be in the park at night, keep your eyes open for the hog-nosed skunk and the ringtail, both nocturnal animals. Says the park service: “The hog-nosed skunk is a rooter that uses its long claws and pig-like snout to dig in the ground for beetles, grubs and worms. And the rocky canyons are home to the nocturnal ringtail. The ringtail, which looks like a cross between a fox and a weasel … uses its large eyes and ears to hunt for insects, lizards, small rodents, and berries.”
DID YOU KNOW? - Ye many years ago, this national park sat beneath a massive inland sea. In fact, the mountains once existed as reefs in that ocean. Also, Texas’s highest mountain (Guadalupe Peak) rises to 8,749 feet above sea level and is located in the heart of the park’s backcountry.
GET THERE - Let’s be honest – Guadalupe Mountains National Park lies a long, long way from any sizable town. That’s how they do it in Texas with all that space. From Santa Fe, N.M., give yourself a good seven to eight hours to drive there. From Carlsbad, N.M., follow U.S. 180/62 West for 55 miles before turning right into the park headquarters.
CONNECT - The park website can be found by clicking here.
