Did you know that Texas has mountains? Well it hadn’t really crossed our minds as a thing that Texas is known for, but we discovered that the highest peak in Texas is found in the Guadalupe Mountains! They are part of a national park that is right on the border of New Mexico and Texas.
Below is our recommendation for a fun-filled day at Guadalupe Mountains National Park:
8:00 a.m. – Snag a campsite (only ~20 sites) at the Pine Springs Campground which is first-come first-serve. Each site has a nice, flat spot for a tent and a picnic table (no fires are allowed in this park). Make sure you set up your tent to secure your site. Once you’ve picked your site, make sure you register at the kiosk in the adjacent parking lot for RVs (only $8/night!). Below is a picture of our campsite.
Pine Springs Campground in Guadalupe Mountains National Park
9:00 a.m. – Find the Guadalupe Peak Trailhead which is in the parking lot where the camp site registration is. This is the trail to the highest point in Texas! The signs/brochures at the park say this trail is about 8.5 miles, but per the AllTrails app (which by the way is an awesome app that has info on almost every hiking trail) and my Apple Watch, the trail to the Guadalupe Peak is closer to 7.5 miles. The hike up is pretty intense with switchbacks for about the first 1.5 miles, but then it levels out a bit. It gets quite windy toward the top, so be sure to pack a windbreaker and other warm gear depending on the weather. This hike is totally worth it because one, you’ll get to the highest point in Texas and two, you’ll see some other awesome views like the two below. The park recommends to budget 6-8 hours for this hike, but it took us about two hours to get to the peak and a little under two hours to get back down to the campground.
The highest point in Texas at the top of the Guadalupe Mountains!
El Capitan
View from the summit!
The highest point in Texas at the top of the Guadalupe Mountains!
El Capitan
View from the summit!
1:00 p.m. – Eat lunch while you rest your legs for another hike!
2:00 p.m. – Next, try a shorter, about 3-mile, hike with a totally different vibe. We recommend the Devil’s Hall Trail which is partially up a dry creek bed. About 1.5 miles in, you will run into the Devil’s Hall, which is a natural staircase! This hike is much easier than the Guadalupe Peak hike, but it is fun because you get to do some scampering on large river rocks. We took this hike nice and slow, so it took us a little under an hour each direction. Just after the Devil’s Hall is a wonderful place to find a rock and enjoy the quiet away from the commotion of the campground.
The dry creek bed on the way to Devil’s Hall
Devil’s Hall!
The dry creek bed on the way to Devil’s Hall
Devil’s Hall!
5:00 p.m. – Enjoy some dinner at the picnic table at your campsite while you watch the sun set behind the mountains. Do another short hike or just play some games at the campsite until the sunset.
8:00 p.m. – Head to the amphitheater to see if the park rangers are putting on a program. The amphitheater is walking distance from the campground on the road back toward the visitor center, just past the campground host’s site. We went to one where they taught us about constellations and set up the telescope to see the moon!
Timing will depend on what time of year it is, but get out of your tent before the sunrise, so you can see the beautiful colors!
Beautiful sunrise seen from our campsite in Guadalupe Mountains National Park
While you are in this area, we recommend you head right to the Carlsbad Caverns!
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