How We Spent One Day in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

During our Texas and New Mexico road trip to some of the Southwest USA National Parks, visiting Guadalupe Mountains was definitely on our priority list! This National Park only receives a little over 200,000 visitors per year, making it one of the less-visited parks.

We chose to spend a day there after our visit to Big Bend. And since this is a park known for their hiking, that’s mostly what we did. So here’s how one day in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, including what I loved (Devil’s Hall Trail) and what I didn’t (the Salt Basin Sand Dunes).

Where Is Guadalupe Mountains National Park?

First, let’s talk about where Guadalupe Mountains National Park is. Because it is a little bit in the middle of nowhere!

Guadalupe Mountains is located in Southwest Texas right below the border to New Mexico. It’s about one hour away from Carlsbad, which makes this a great park to pair with a trip to Carlsbad Caverns!

Planning a visit to Guadalupe Mountains as part of a road trip? Here are some helpful driving distances:

From Carlsbad, NM: 53 miles (about 1 hour)
From El Paso, TX: 110 miles (about 1 hour 45 minutes)
From Big Bend National Park: 235 miles (about 3 hours 40 minutes)
From Alamogordo, New Mexico (where White Sands National Park is): 181 miles (about 2 hours, 50 minutes)

The park itself is 86,367 acres, which is about middle of the pack as far as National Park size goes. It’s not super huge (for example, Big Bend has about 100,000 more acres), but it does have several different areas to explore that you will have to drive to.

It also doesn’t have any onsite lodging (except for camping) or restaurants, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. (We’ve got more tips about where to stay and food to eat at the bottom of this post!)

One Day Itinerary for Guadalupe Mountains

So let’s talk about how we spent our one day in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, plus what I loved and what I would do differently next time!

The biggest tip I have (and I’ll probably repeat this multiple times because it’s so important) is to get an EARLY start! Parking can be difficult as some of the more popular spots, especially during the busiest times of year (usually Spring and Fall).

Plus you’re in the desert, so it can get hot in the afternoon. So it’s a great idea to get some of your hiking done earlier in the morning before the day heats up too much.

Morning: Devil’s Hall Trail

Desert trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park featuring a twisted, leafless tree in the foreground, with cacti and shrubs scattered along the dry path. Rolling, rocky hills rise in the background beneath a cloudless blue sky, with two hikers visible in the distance. — This is early on in the Devil’s Hall Trail, before you get to the rock wash.

We started out early, arriving around 8:00. (We were there mid-March.) And we grabbed one of the last parking spots in the Pine Springs Parking lot (the main parking lot for the trail)!

Don’t stress if you miss this parking though. You can also park at the Pine Spring Visitors Center, but you’ll have to walk an extra 1/2 mile to get to the trailhead. So I was REALLY glad we didn’t add to our hike with this extra walk.

The Devil’s Hall Trail is 4.2 miles out and back (round trip) and in good conditions will take about 3-4 hours. We’re on the slow side, so it took us a little over 4 hours total, which includes awhile at the endpoint in Devil’s Hall sitting and relaxing.

It is definitely a difficult trail, with lots of rock scrambling, some uphill sections, and some tricky footing.

Rocky dry wash trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, surrounded by rugged cliffs, yucca plants, and sparse desert trees. The path leads toward a distant peak under a soft blue sky streaked with wispy clouds. — Here you can see some of the boulders and rocks we had to scramble over on the trail.

The trail starts out flat, but then you’ll turn into a rock wash bed and spend about a mile climbing through through rocks and boulders. Some places are definitely tricky. And I would definitely recommend doing this hike with other people, because there were times I was very glad to have Gerrit to help me balance as I jumped up or down from some big rocks.

When you get close to the end, there is a trickier uphill stair-like section to climb (like literally climb, not walk up).

Three hikers, including a child in pink leggings, climb a natural staircase made of layered limestone rock in the Devil's Hall section of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Steep canyon walls rise on either side, with sunlight filtering in and desert trees visible above the rocky steps. This trail is one of the most popular things to do during one day in Guadalupe Mountains National Park! — These are the steep stairs we had to climb. To be honest, they were a little unnerving!

Keep going a bit and you’ll get to the actual Devil’s Hall, which is a short canyon area full of the rock wash. I thought it was REALLY cool and am so glad we made it all the way to the end!

I was also SUPER proud of myself that I did this hike just one-year out from my ACL surgery! It was the longest and most difficult hike I had done post-surgery to that point.

Really, this is such a unique hike and I loved it so much! It was definitely entertaining the whole time. And even though it’s long, this can be a fun hike for kids because of all the rocks you climb over.

Narrow canyon trail known as Devil's Hall in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, flanked by steep, layered rock walls in warm sandstone tones. The rocky floor is scattered with large white boulders, leading toward a small tree growing in the distance under a sliver of blue sky. — The actual Devil’s Hall at the end of the trail.

After the hike, we drove over to the Pine Springs Visitor Center, where there was still parking. There is a small museums here, and we were able to get our National Parks Passport Book stamps. But I definitely recommend waiting until after you hike Devil’s Hall to go to the Visitor Center so you don’t miss out on parking!

Mid-Afternoon: Frijole Ranch & McKittrick Canyon

White stone house at the Frijole Ranch Museum in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, partially shaded by leafless trees. The building features a steep roof, shuttered windows, and a small sign pointing to the entrance, with grassy grounds and a fence in the background. — The Frijole Ranch Cultural Museum, once part of a working ranch.

After our morning hike, we wanted something a little easier, so we headed to Frijole Ranch. It’s about a 1.5-mile drive from the Devil’s Hall Trailhead parking lot.

Frijole Ranch was established in the late 1800s, and today it gives you an idea of what ranching looked like in the area. I really enjoyed the peek inside the house and seeing how the spring system was set up.

There are also several hikes you can do from here, like the 0.5-mile Manzanita Spring Trail or the 2.3-mile Smith Spring Trail Loop.

We just spent about 30 minutes here checking out the Frijole Ranch Museum, but you could definitely spend more time here if you wanted.

Then we headed over to McKittrick Canyon. Honestly, this was probably not the best order of events, but because we weren’t sure what time we would be back in this area after our next stop at the Sand Dunes, we went ahead and knocked this out since it closes at 5.

Really though, I think it would make more sense to just spend more time here and skip the Sand Dunes (I’ll tell you more about that in a minute).

There are LOTS of trails in this area, including the popular trail to Pratt Cabin (which is 4.8 miles). But we didn’t feel like we had another long hike in us, so we did the short 1-mile McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail, which I thought was nice and easy and really showed off the desert beauty of the area.

Dry, rocky path winding through desert vegetation on the McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Surrounded by yucca plants, shrubs, and low trees, the trail stretches toward the horizon under a bright blue sky with wispy clouds. — McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail

Late-Afternoon: El Capitan Lookout and the Salt Basin Sand Dunes

Late-afternoon for us is where things went off the rails a bit. Because you know, no trip is ever perfect.

First we stopped at the El Capitan Lookout. This was GREAT and definitely something you should plan to do on your Guadalupe Mountains trip. It’s a great spot to see the landmark of the park, and is accessible to everyone because it’s just a pullout on the side of the main road.

El Capitan peak in Guadalupe Mountains National Park stands tall under a clear blue sky, with its sheer limestone cliffs rising above the layered, rocky slopes of the desert terrain. Sparse vegetation and rugged textures dominate the foreground. — View of El Capitan from the overlook

Really we should have done this earlier, because it’s just about 10 minutes south of the Pine Springs Visitor Center. So just note that for your own trip.

Then we decided to head to the Salt Basin Sand Dunes. First of all, I clearly didn’t do my full research here (which you probably know is VERY unlike me!) because I thought that since they are Salt Flat, Texas, there would be some element of salt flats here.

But there really isn’t. It’s just sand dunes, and they aren’t nearly as impressive as the dunes in White Sands, which was where we were heading next.

It also took a VERY long time to drive here. From the El Capitan Lookout, it’s about 47 miles, and took us about an hour to drive there. And it is very much in the middle of the desert on a road that it kind of doesn’t feel like you should be on. (But you can, I promise.)

A dusty gravel road cuts through the dry desert landscape leading toward the distant Guadalupe Mountains, viewed from the approach to the Salt Basin Dunes. Pale grasses and low shrubs stretch across the flat terrain under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. — The dirt road that leads to the sand dunes.

When you get there, there’s a 1-mile trail to the sand dunes, and from there you can see the all the dunes set against the backdrop of the Guadalupe Mountains.

I’m not gonna lie, it’s a beautiful view. But to be honest, after a full day in the park already I think I just didn’t have the energy to enjoy this.

White gypsum sand dunes of the Salt Basin in Guadalupe Mountains National Park stretch across the foreground, dotted with sparse desert grasses and shrubs. In the distance, the rugged ridgeline of the Guadalupe Mountains rises sharply beneath a clear blue sky. — Salt Basin Sand Dunes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The other con for me? It was in the opposite direction of where we were staying Carlsbad, so it took us almost 2 hours to get back to the hotel.

Some people LOVE this spot in the park. But it didn’t quite hit the the spot for me. And if I could do it differently next time, I would have spent more time in McKittrick Canyon instead.

Tips for Visiting Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Here are a few tips for making your trip to Guadalupe Mountains smoother:

Get there early. At the most popular trails, parking can be a hot commodity. So plan to start your day early.
Bring plenty of water! You are in the desert, so even if it’s not hot outside you’ll still need more water than you might expect. My recommendation is to stop by Wal-Mart in Carlsbad and pick up several gallons of water you can keep in your car.
Bring food! There aren’t any on-site restaurants in Guadalupe Mountains, so I recommend bringing plenty of snacks and a picnic lunch. Again, a stop at the store the night before will be key!
Plan to visit in the Spring or Fall. This is when the weather is the most pleasant! Winter is chilly, but generally not unbearably cold. Summer however can be super hot with temperatures in the upper nineties and even reaching 100 degrees F.
Fill up on gas. You’ll be driving to all the spots in this park, and there aren’t gas stations. So fill up in gas in Carlsbad before you head there in the morning.
Plan to lose cell service. We didn’t have cell phone service for most of our visit, so plan to download maps and other resources you made need to use offline.
Check the time. Guadalupe Mountains is in Mountain Time, but your phone may pick up the nearby Central Time Zone.

More Things To Do in Guadalupe Mountains

If you’re planning to spend more than one day in Guadalupe Mountains, here are some more things to do and see:

Hike to Guadalupe Peak. This is the highest point in Texas! It’s a difficult hike that will probably take most of a day if you want to do it.
Hike to Pratt Cabin in McKittrick Canyon. This is an easy but long hike (about 5 miles out and back) and it’s one of the other most popular hikes to do in Guadalupe Mountains.
Hike to the Grotto in McKittrick Canyon. Past Pratt Cabin you can keep hiking and reach the Grotto, which is a neat cave-like rock formation.
Hike the Tejas Trail in Dog Canyon. Dog Canyon is another area of the park, and the Tejas Trail is probably one of the most popular and it also leads to other hikes. I definitely recommend stopping and talking with a park ranger about the best hikes for you.

Is One Day Enough for Guadalupe Mountains National Park?

There is SO much hiking you can do in Guadalupe Mountains. So if you are a big hiker and really want to see every corner of this park, I would recommend planning multiple days here.

However, we were really just interested in doing one or two hikes and seeing the major attractions of the park. So we really felt like one day was enough time for us!

Where to Stay Near Guadalupe Mountains

ront view of the Hyatt House Carlsbad hotel, featuring a modern design with stone and beige paneling, large windows, and a covered entrance. A few small trees and shrubs line the front, with a blue sky in the background. — We thought our stay at the Hyatt House Carlsbad was great!

Carlsbad, New Mexico is the best spot to stay when visiting Guadalupe Mountains.

We stayed at the Hyatt House Carlsbad and thought it was fantastic. (And after our lovely but more rustic stay at Ten Bits Ranch, I was very happy for the potable water and standard hotel room!).

There’s also a Home 2 Suites by Hilton that looks like a great option.

Both the Hyatt and the Hampton in are closer to the South side of Carlsbad, which will put you closer to both Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns.

On the north side of town there is a Holiday Inn Express. Or you could choose somewhere unique and stay at the Fiddler’s Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Here’s a map of more Carlsbad hotels:

You can also choose to camp in Guadalupe Mountains. There are three campgrounds: Pine Springs Campground, Dog Canyon Campground, and Frijole Horse Corral Campground (this last one is for camping with horses and only has one campsite).

You can make reservations for these up to six months in advance, because there are only a total of 51 campsites in the park.

Where To Eat Near Guadalupe Mountains

You’ll definitely want to bring food WITH you while you are in the park because there aren’t any restaurants.

But there are some great spots to eat in Carlsbad when you’re not actually in Guadalupe Mountains!

Blue House Bakery & Cafe — We really enjoyed this bakery housed in an adorable house!
Yellowbrix Restaurant — We had dinner here one night and I thought the food was great!
Trinity Hotel Restaurant — One of the nicer spots in Carlsbad (but still relatively casual). It’s in a historic hotel and I enjoyed both the food and the atmosphere.
Guadalupe Mountain Brewing Company — A great place for pizza and a beer, and it’s totally fine to show up in your dusty hiking clothes (which is what we did).