Hiking and Camping at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Our family made the trek to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and we were not disappointed. This national park is one of the more remote national parks with few visitors through the year, but definitely a must see. Not only did we enjoy the views along the hikes, but the scenic drives were spectacular too. And who can resist hiking to the tallest point in Texas? Well, we did but only because it was a little too long for our kids.

Camping near Guadalupe Mountains National Park

There are a few options for camping locations when visiting Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We looked at camping on the national park itself, but decided against staying on the national park this time. There are two campgrounds to choose from: Pine Springs and Dog Canyon. Our biggest motivator for looking for an alternative site was the lack of hook ups at both campgrounds. Both campgrounds offer flush toilets, but neither has showers. With camping in the desert, we definitely wanted showers! They also both report having no dump station either.

White’s City RV Park

We elected for a campground just outside the park at White’s City Cavern Inn RV Park in New Mexico. This campground provided full hook ups for our RV. While it does have full hook ups, this RV is little more than a parking space. The website states all RV sites are pull-through, but we received a back-in site. We happened to receive an easy in and out camping spot right on Carlsbad Cavern Hwy. We basically camped in a gravel parking lot off the main road. While it wasn’t much, the campground did continue off the highway as well, but these spaces were similar just farther from the highway.

A Different World

First, this is a small business. While most camping reservations come with an email confirmation, White City RV Park did not. We even called to confirm our reservation with them just in case. Everything was good to go! Checking in was easy, just stop by the Information Center. There is a smaller parking lot here, but there were so few cars in the lot that we had no problem parking our RV for a few minutes while we checked in.

Our site was super close to the Information Center, so it was a quick drive to our campsite. Our site was an open gravel lot right off the main road. There was no divider between the parking lot and the main road, so be sure to keep an eye on children. During our stay we didn’t see much traffic drive by. However, we were close to both an old fashioned playground and the restrooms. While the playground was older, our children didn’t seem to mind and even enjoyed playing in the grass. But do know that it is nothing special. It was enjoyable to see them play on a playground reminiscent of our childhood.

Amenities in White City, New Mexico

White City is a very limited town. It does offer the last gas station before reaching El Paso, TX. The gas station is very close to the RV park too. It has a small restaurant, The Cactus Café which does serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both of these are located super close to the RV Park.

There is also a small convenience store on site that carries a few essentials. However, we would definitely recommend stocking up on food before arriving in White City. The store had no fresh produce and offered no meat either. There was a limited selection of other essentials, but think more gas station than store. The bathrooms both at the Information Center and the campground were clean and well kept.

Our final reason for choosing this campground was the location. We were within 10 minutes of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Further, we were within 30 minutes of the McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center. It was closer to 45 minutes to the main visitor center at Pine Springs, but a beautiful drive. While the campground is nothing spectacular, the location and availability of hook ups was worth it for our family.

Hiking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

We planned two full days for hiking at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This was perfect for our family full of young children from 2 years old to 11 years old. However, I must caution you that we are a family who enjoys hiking and our children can handle a bit longer hikes. In addition, we brought along our back pack carrier for our little one. So our youngest that hiked all the trails was actually 6 years old. Our 2 year old did choose to hike on occasion, but also rode in the carrier more often than not.

Hikes near Pine Springs Visitor Center

Devil’s Hall Trail

We set out early in the morning on our first day for Pine Springs Visitor Center. Our children picked up their Junior Ranger books, always a first stop for us.

Then we set off on the Devil’s Hall Trail, which is around 4.2 miles round trip. The first mile is a constructed, pretty well marked trail. However, then you turn left and follow through the rock wash which has very limited markings. On occasion, large rocks formed a path, but for the most part we wondered randomly through the wash. There were no trail signs throughout the wash, however, there is one trail sign at the end of the hike.

You will know that you are getting close to the end when you come to a steep, slippery rock staircase. The layers of rock stack to form a tall but very small stairway to the top. Again, there is not a trail head here, but you are close to the hall. From the top of this staircase, there is just about 0.15 mile to hike to reach the Devil’s Hall, which resembles a hallway made of tall rock on each side. This is an out and back hike, so our trip back went much quicker. This area does get very windy, so be sure to secure your hats and keep your children close by.

The Pinery Trail

Next we went on a short hike to allow our little one to stretch her legs. We completed The Pinery Trail, which was only 3/4 mile round trip. It was paved for most of the trail and ended at the Butterfield Trail stagecoach station marker. This was a neat plaque at the end of the trail for us to learn more about the history of the Butterfield stagecoach. This is one of the activities in the junior ranger books so be sure to bring your books along or plan to snap a photo of the sign.

Smith Spring Trail

After lunch, we ventured on one more hike. We had planned to hike to Frijoles Pioneer Cabin and Manzanita Springs, only about 0.6 mile round trip, but our children wanted to see Smith Spring. So we made the 2.3 mile round trip hike, which allowed us to see the Frijoles Pioneer Cabin, Manzanita Springs, and Smith Spring.

This trip was well worth the distance! Firstly, the Frijoles Pioneer Cabin is another activity in their junior ranger books and a wonderful site to see. Manzanita Springs was a little less awe-inspiring, but Smith Spring was well worth the trip. The spring was a little over half way into the hike. We had to rock jump the stream here a bit, nothing too tricky, but added so much fun for the children.

There was a beautifully secluded space to sit and enjoy a picnic or snack. We had a nice cool breeze, beautiful trees and plants, and some wonderful wildlife to enjoy. Our 2 year old mostly hiked this trip with a little assistance from daddy here and there.

Hikes near McKittrick Visitor Center

Day two, we spent at the McKittrick Visitor Center. We planned for a 7 mile hike today, packing in our lunch and snacks for this hike. We hiked the McKittrick Canyon Trail to the Grotto and it was definitely worth the hike! McKittrick Canyon does have hours of operation limited to day time hours only, so do plan to start early so you can finish before the area closes for the evening.

This hike offers beautiful scenery, so many new and different plants to see. Do plan to cross a few creeks here. However, this hike has very limited trail markers after splitting from the Permian Reef Geology Trail. The first stop on this trail is the Pratt Cabin which was a great place to pause for a snack. There were picnic tables to sit and eat. In addition, our children had plenty to explore and read at this stop.

The next stop is only a mile further to the Grotto. This was our favorite place on this hike, so definitely try to make this extra mile! The grotto area offered picnic tables for lunch which was much appreciated. We snapped a bunch of pictures and enjoyed the scenery here. This is another out and back hike, so our trip back was much quicker. Being in the canyon most of this hike, we were better protected from the wind, but there are places were the wind does pick up quite a bit.

Longer Hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

If you have a little older crew, or a group who is more experienced in hiking, we heard about a few other hikes that were well worth the time. Guadalupe Peak is an 8.4 mile strenuous hike to the highest point of Texas. This shares some trail with the Devil’s Hall Trail. We skipped this one because Devil’s Hall, a moderate hike at half the distance, was more than enough for our family. Moreover, you can extend the Smith Springs Trail with the Bowl Trail, which is an 8.5 mile strenuous trail. This one climbs up into the mountains and offers a view from Hunter’s Peak.

In the McKittrick area there is the Permian Reef Geology Trail, another 8.4 mile strenuous hike. Finally, there is Dog Canyon Visitor Center at the complete other end of the park. We didn’t venture over here, but there is another 0.6 mile hike and two other longer trails to try as well. The other campground in the National Park is up this way too and it definitely seems like a more secluded area. Consequently, it might be a nice area to stay and look for some wildlife.

Tips

Guadalupe Mountains National Park follows Mountain Time, not Central Time. This was big for us as White’s City RV Park is in New Mexico, so also on Mountain Time. There is no gas in the park, so plan to stop in White City or El Paso to fill up. Guadalupe is not a big driving park like some of the other national parks, however, it is at least a 30 minute drive from White’s City RV Park and that is to the closest visitor center.

Most of the hikes at Guadalupe Mountains National Park are longer hikes, so plan for 2 – 4 hours per hike. For our family, this meant bringing plenty of food and water. We made sure to apply plenty of sunscreen and wear our sun hats. We also packed our rain gear, but didn’t need it. However, we did have a brief snow flutter while we were in McKittrick Canyon, so you never know. Trekking poles would have been nice but the hikes were possible without. That being said, as soon as we arrived home, our children received trekking poles.

If you are planning to travel to Big Bend National Park next, please read our post on Driving Guadalupe to Big Bend. A park ranger at Guadalupe Mountains National Park really saved us with some great advice for the drive! We also have national park guides for White Sands National Park.

If you plan to camp with your children and are looking for some help with meal prep, try our post Camping Meals with Kids. If you have camped or hiked Guadalupe Mountains National Park, please leave a comment below and let us know about your experience. Thinking about making this trip? We’d love to hear that as well.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.