State Parks and National Parks

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park preserves a region of rugged beauty and one of the finest ancient marine fossil reefs in the world.

The 86,416-acre park contains Texas' highest peak and 80 miles of trails that weave through deserts, canyons and highlands.

Visitors can hike to the summit of Guadalupe Peak or to other high peaks on trails that range up to 14 miles. A short trail, accessible to wheelchairs, leads from the Pine Springs visitor center to the Pinery, the ruins of a stagecoach station that served the Butterfield mail route in the mid-1800s.

One of the most popular areas is McKittrick Canyon. In the twisted gorge of this canyon, visitors witness a unique ecological transition from desert to lush forest, an environment rarely found in Texas. Here there is prickly pear cacti as well as ponderosa pine, jackrabbits, elk, steep canyon walls and a spring-fed stream.

There are two drive-in campgrounds and 10 backcountry campsites.

Bikes are prohibited on the trails and in the backcountry except for the Williams Ranch Road on the park's west side.

Photo credits in order: Photo by Russ Finley, courtesy of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Photo by Russ Finley, courtesy of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Photo by Russ Finley, courtesy of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.