| Guadalupe Mountains National Park | |
Things to Do:
A good place to begin your visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park is by stopping off at the visitor center at Pine Springs. Here you can ask staff questions and gather information to plan your itinerary, view a slide presentation, or enjoy geology and natural history exhibits. The Frijole Ranch History Museum, located nearby, is an 1870s ranch house that serves as a cultural history center, preserving artifacts of frontier life. Also located near the park visitor center at The Pinery are the crumbled remains of the walls of the 1858 Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Station. A guide to the colorful history of the Pinery is available at the visitor center.
Located northeast of the park visitor center off US 62/180 is McKittrick Canyon, a day-use area of the park that is famous for its spectacular fall foliage. Thousands of people come to visit this area that is tucked between 2,000-foot-high limestone walls. The McKittrick Canyon Contact Station, staffed most of the year, includes outside exhibits and offers a trail guide for the canyon.
Williams Ranch, located in the southern section of the
park, is accessible via four-wheel drive vehicle. The road offers
excellent views of the western side of the Guadalupes, a close look at the arid
reaches of Chihuahuan desert landscape, and ends with the stark historic
presence of a lonely and isolated ranch house, well preserved by the dry desert
air. To visit Williams Ranch, check in at the Headquarters Visitor Center to
obtain a key and information brochures. Williams Ranch is designated as a day
use area.
Dog Canyon, located in the remote north section of the park near the New Mexico
state line, offers picnicking, tent and RV camping, and stock corrals (by
reservation) for horseback riding.
More than 80 miles of trails located throughout the park offer excellent opportunities for hiking, backpacking, and bird watching. Trails lead to Guadalupe Peak, around the base of El Capitan, up into the high country and across the top of the escarpment, and into McKittrick Canyon. Self-guided nature trails are located at McKittrick Canyon, Pinery trail at Pine Springs and Indian Meadow Trail at Dog Canyon. Trails range from easy to strenuous.