Guadalupe Mountains National Park: Things to do and where to stay

Current Ranking: #19/19

I won't lie to you, this park will never beat out amazing parks like Zion or the Tetons but there is still beauty in this park to explore for those interested in increasing their National Park collection.

Both of my visits to this park were fortunately made convenient by us living in El Paso, TX which is roughly an hour away! I think this is important to emphasize because there is NOTHING around this park. The camping sites are first come first serve and even more unfortunate there are only 20 of them unless you want to go back country or drive 8 hours.... We found this out the hard way when we thought we could get a spot around 3pm on a friday and there was nothing left. We opted for sleeping in the back of a truck in a camper spot which was more expensive but it worked. Definitely keep that in mind when visiting this park.

First hike and one that I recommend making time for is Guadalupe peak. This is one of the more strenuous hikes coming in at 8.4 miles long and up to the tallest point in Texas! After you summit you can say you made it to the top of Texas ;)

Personally, I do not regret making this a sunrise hike (See the sun rising -->) especially since this park is still in the desert. We had a chilly hike up but by the time we started reaching the base we had stripped to tank tops and shorts; in November.

The top of the mountain has a cool pyramid monument for the top of Texas point. Great opportunity to celebrate your accomplishment and snap a photo. We opted for coffee as we watched the sunrise as well.

My second trip to Guadalupe was to explore a favorite for those who hike here: Devil's Hallway!

This one is known for its beautiful fall leaf change and is one of the few places in the area that you can view it. I was unfortunately a bit late but more of the colorful leaves were grounded and still added some beauty. Less strenuous but still a little bit of scrambling is require for this on at 4,2 miles. If you only had time for a day hike in the park, I would recommend this one!

I am trying to be as positive as possible about this park considering it is at the bottom of my current list. There are just so many amazing parks that this one leaves a lot to be desired. It is far lower on the list than the other Texas Park (Big Bend) and with so little to do around it, so few breath taking views, so little accommodations for campers and too many negative interactions with park rangers, I don't see it being above many other parks as the list gets longer. I just hope that people find this useful for traveling through this area and giving the park a fair shake.