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A National Parks Hub Park Guide
Lat 31.8943° N
Long 104.8217° W
Elevation3,650 – 8,751 ft

Texas · Park 43 / 63

Guadalupe Mountains

National Park · Established 1972

The highest point in Texas, rising out of the Chihuahuan Desert as the fossil remains of an ancient Permian reef.

Area86,367 acres
TrailheadSalt Flat, Texas
Visitors220k / yr
Scroll to begin the ascent
Live · Pine Springs & McKittrick Canyon open McKittrick Canyon gate closes at dusk, no exceptions 1 active alert 78°F desert floor · cooler in the high canyons Live layer, from the National Park Service
Best windowOct–Nov for McKittrick Canyon fall color · Mar–May mild Getting there1.5 hr from Carlsbad, NM · 2 hr from El Paso Fee$10 / person · 7 days
★★★★★ 4.7 from 1 travelers 1 visitor stories 220k annual visitors Grounded in live NPS data
Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 01 · The Story

The highest point in Texas,
built from an ancient reef.

Guadalupe Peak, at 8,751 feet, is the highest point in Texas, and it's not a typical mountain at all but the exposed remnant of a massive Permian-age reef that formed at the edge of a tropical sea roughly 260 million years ago, long before the Rocky Mountains existed. El Capitan, the sheer limestone cliff at the range's southern tip, served as a landmark for travelers for centuries, from Indigenous peoples through the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route in the 1850s.

McKittrick Canyon, often called the most beautiful spot in Texas, cuts a green ribbon through the surrounding desert, with maple trees that turn brilliant red and orange each fall in a display that draws visitors from across the state during a narrow window in late October and November. The canyon's gate closes strictly at dusk, one of the more firmly enforced rules in the park, since the access road beyond it is otherwise unlit and remote.

Come for the highest point in the state. Stay for McKittrick Canyon, if your timing allows it. Read the story, plan around the gate hours, and when you leave, mark it visited.

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“
McKittrick Canyon is a confluence of diversity: trees of the east, north, and west, the grasses of the plains, and the cactus and succulents of the desert join here.
Adapted from National Park Service interpretive writing on McKittrick Canyon
El Capitan, Above the Desert
"The mountains are calling and I must go."
John Muir
Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 02 · The Essentials

Best Things to Do in the Guadalupe Mountains

Six ways to spend your time, from the highest point in Texas to a canyon that looks nothing like the desert around it.

Do

Summit Guadalupe Peak

An 8.5-mile round trip to the highest point in Texas, with a metal marker at the top and views stretching for miles.

The signature climb
See

El Capitan

A sheer limestone cliff visible from Highway 62/180, a historic landmark for travelers long before the park existed.

Everyone · roadside view
Do

Walk McKittrick Canyon

A trail into a lush canyon with maple trees, especially spectacular during the narrow fall color window in late October.

The signature canyon · gate closes at dusk
Explore

Pine Springs Visitor Center

Exhibits on the park's geology and history, and the starting point for the Guadalupe Peak and Devil's Hall trails.

Everyone · 30 min
Do

Hike Devil's Hall Trail

A rocky scramble along a dry streambed to a narrow natural passage between towering canyon walls.

Half day · moderate scrambling
See

Salt Basin Dunes

A remote field of white gypsum dunes on the park's western side, a striking contrast to the surrounding mountains.

Half day · high-clearance recommended
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Guadalupe Mountains · Provisions
Gear for this parkvia AvantLink
4L+ hydration packREI
Wide-brim sun hatBackcountry
Trekking poles (Guadalupe Peak)Osprey
Stay nearbydirect · no commission
Pine Springs Campground · Van Horn, TXGuadalupe Mountains has no in-park lodge or verified nearby cabin resort, so this is the honest version: in-park camping and the gateway town.
In-Park CampgroundPine Springs Campground
Check dates →
Gateway TownVan Horn, TX
See hotels →
Full lodging guide for Guadalupe Mountains →
Free Guadalupe Mountains checklistdigital · $0
The printable trail and packing checklist in the park-guide style. Take it, join the trail list.
The Trail Map · Real Trails & Boundary

Every Trail In Guadalupe Mountains

Guadalupe Mountains National Park at a Glance
1  Pine Springs Visitor Center
2  Guadalupe Peak Trailhead
3  McKittrick Canyon
4  Devil’s Hall Trailhead
5  El Capitan Overlook
6  Frijole Ranch & Smith Spring
Stops shown in visit order. Build a plan above and this map updates to your exact stops.
Real trail lines & NPS park boundary © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap · pick a trail to highlight it, tap a pin for the name
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Your adventure, printed
Park-guide posters and the passport book, from our shop.
When the Crowds ComeMonthly visitors · tap a year
Illustrative shape · wires to official NPS visitation stats · summer peaks shown in gold
McKittrick Canyon in Fall Color
"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."
Edward Abbey
Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 03 · Trails & Viewpoints

Best Hikes in the Guadalupe Mountains, by Difficulty

Every trail rated honestly, with distance, climb, and a reminder to carry serious water in this exposed desert range.

Guadalupe Peak Trail

Strenuous
8.5 mi+3,000 ft6–8 hr

A steep, switchback climb to the highest point in Texas, with steady exposure and a final rocky push near the summit. No permit.

Devil's Hall Trail

Moderate
4.2 mi+600 ft~3.5 hr

A rocky streambed scramble ending at a narrow natural passage between sheer canyon walls. No permit.

McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail

Easy
0.9 miflat~45 min

A gentle loop near the canyon entrance, good for a short taste of the canyon without the longer hike. No permit.

McKittrick Canyon to the Grotto

Easy–Mod
6.8 mi+400 ft~4 hr

A longer walk up the canyon to a small cave-like grotto and the historic Pratt Cabin. Gate closes strictly at dusk. No permit.

Smith Spring Trail

Easy
2.3 mi+250 ft~1.5 hr

A loop from Frijole Ranch to a rare desert spring, one of the park's better birding spots. No permit.

Permit · overnight camping

Tejas Trail (to the high country)

Extreme
11.6 mi one-way+3,200 ft2–3 days

A remote climb into the high backcountry connecting to trails across the range. Backcountry permit required for overnight camping.

No permit for day hikes · free backcountry permits for overnight camping · McKittrick Canyon gate closes strictly at dusk

Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 04 · Life on the Ancient Reef

Wildlife in the Guadalupe Mountains: Animals You Might See

Tap any animal to learn its story. Soon, the app will let you log what you spot and keep a life list for every park.

Reintroduced to the range, now working the steep limestone cliffs throughout the park, occasionally visible from lower trails.

Present throughout the range's rugged canyons and high country, rarely encountered by day hikers.

Nests on the range's sheer cliffs, occasionally visible riding thermals near El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak.

Common throughout the park's lower elevations, especially visible near Frijole Ranch and McKittrick Canyon.

Found near the park's rare, permanent water sources, including the springs feeding McKittrick Canyon.

One of the largest wasps in North America, with an intensely painful sting rarely directed at people, common in the desert lowlands.

A nimble, nocturnal relative of the raccoon found in the park's rocky canyons, almost never seen by day visitors.

Plant Life in the Guadalupe Mountains: What Grows Here

A relic of the last Ice Age, surviving in the cool, moist microclimate of McKittrick Canyon and producing the park's famous autumn display.

A defining plant of the Chihuahuan Desert, common across the park's lower, drier elevations.

Found in the park's higher elevations, identifiable by its distinctive checkered, alligator-skin-like bark.

Spends decades as a low rosette before sending up a single towering flower stalk once, then dies.

Found in the park's shadier canyons, notable for its smooth, peeling reddish bark.

A yucca relative common throughout the park's grassland zones, historically used for fiber and food.

Fun Facts About the Guadalupe Mountains

Fact 01

Guadalupe Peak, at 8,751 feet, is the highest point in the state of Texas.

Fact 02

The range is the exposed remnant of a Permian-age reef that formed at the edge of a tropical sea roughly 260 million years ago.

Fact 03

McKittrick Canyon's bigtooth maples are relics of a much wetter, cooler climate from the last Ice Age, surviving today only in this sheltered microclimate.

Fact 04

El Capitan served as a landmark for travelers on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route through the 1850s.

Guadalupe Mountains · Before You Go

Guadalupe Mountains National Park FAQ

The questions people actually ask, answered from the park’s own current guidance. Fees and permit rules change every year, so each answer links back to the National Park Service page it came from.

A standard pass is $10 per person, ages 16 and up, and covers 1 to 7 consecutive days. If you'll visit more than once a year, the park's own annual pass costs $35 and is good for 12 months from the month you buy it. Source: NPS.gov

You don't need a permit for day hiking, including the trail up Guadalupe Peak. Overnight backpacking is different, you need a Wilderness Use Permit, which runs a $6 non-refundable reservation fee plus $6 per person per night, reservable up to three months ahead or picked up as a walk-up permit at Pine Springs Visitor Center. Source: NPS.gov

The Guadalupe Peak trail is an 8.5 mile round trip with about 3,000 feet of elevation gain, climbing what the park calls the Top of Texas. The National Park Service rates it very strenuous, so plan on a full day out there and start early. Source: NPS.gov

Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 05 · From the Field Journal

Go Deeper on the Guadalupe Mountains

Stories, guides, and hard-won tips from the trail. The full Guadalupe Mountains deep dive lives on the blog.

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Traveler Story

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Read the guide →
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Free Guadalupe Mountains checklist
The printable trail and packing list, in the park-guide style.
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Your passport

One visit,
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Guadalupe Mountains · Mile 06 · Where to Next

Keep the Journey Going

Next park

Carlsbad Caverns

Thirty minutes north into New Mexico: from the highest point in Texas to a cave that breathes.

Open Park 26 → The collection

All 63 Parks

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View the map → Plan

Build a Trip

Turn Guadalupe Mountains into a road trip with a custom, day-by-day itinerary.

Start planning → Go deeper

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Fire is part of how a forest renews itself, and a century of putting out every fire made today's fires worse.

Read it →
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Twenty parks remain
"The parks do not belong to one state or to one section... they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona."
Stephen Mather · first director of the National Park Service
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Field Notes

The parks do not perform for anyone. They stood here before the road, and they will stand here after it.

Sixty-three parks. One park guide system. Every mile grounded in what is actually there.