Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of the least visited National Parks but it’s well worth the trip. Big Bend has become the park in Texas to visit and Guadalupe Mountains gets ignored a lot. So much so, I didn’t even realize how close it is to Carlsbad Caverns, which is a much more popular National Park.
I recently learned they are only 30 minutes apart which makes it the perfect combination trip. Each park is also pretty small and can be done in 1-2 days. We sent a long weekend in the area and had time to do everything we wanted and have downtime. Here’s how to do it.
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Guadalupe Mountains to Carlsbad Caverns
No matter what national park you’re visiting, to me, they are all worth it but the lesser visited ones seem even more important to me. They are the reason we need National Parks. When someone doesn’t know about a place, it can seem irrelevant to them, which is why I want to see them all.
I want to share them with the world because our National Parks are the best thing about this country. We have to protect them for future generations. Guadalupe Mountains National Park isn’t a place a lot of people know about but it’s worth preserving.
When to Visit
Before we can get to where each of these parks are and what to do at them, you have to decide when you want to visit them. Guadalupe Mountains is in Texas and Carlsbad is in New Mexico and yes, they are only 30 minutes from each other. Because of this, I recommend going before it’s too hot or too cold.
We went in February and it was great. I wouldn’t go much later than that as it was getting hot in the afternoon for hiking. I’d wait until later in the year and go in fall if you can’t make it in January or February. If you’re camping, be sure to check the weather reports.
Where is Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains is in West Texas. Expect to see desert surrounding the mountains and high winds. It’s about a 7.5 hour drive from Austin.
What to do at GMNP
Aww the good stuff. What should you do at GMNP? A lot of people travel there to climb the highest peak in Texas but honestly that’s not what I recommend. Sure, you can climb it, but then you are standing on what you came to see. Personally, I would do a couple of other hikes, hit the visitor center, and stop at Frijole Ranch. Here’s a run down of how I would do 1 day in the park:
- Morning: Up for sunrise from where you’re staying. We stayed at the Campfire Adventure Ranch outside of the park. It had everything we needed and spectacular sunrises and sunsets.
- After sunrise and breakfast, head to the park. The visitor center opens at 8 so start there and get your bearings.
- Start your first hike from the visitor center. I definitely recommend the Devil’s Hall Trail. It’s 3.7 miles out and back with fun rock scrambles. If you start early you’ll beat the heat as even if it’s cooler weather, it’s the desert and gets hot.
- Afternoon: After your morning hike, you can do the nature walk around the visitor center, have some lunch and then drive to other parts of the park.
- After lunch, head to Frijole Ranch History Museum. Hopefully, there will be a volunteer there to tell you all about the history of the place.
- Early Evening: For us, it started to get quite hot so we didn’t do any more hiking that day but if it’s not too hot, I recommend the McKittrick Canyon. This can be as long as you want. We went as far as Pratt Cabin but going all the way to the Grotto is recommended if you have the time and it’s not too hot. We did this hike in the morning before heading to Carlsbad so we didn’t have time to go that far. It’s a little over 4 miles to Pratt Cabin (round trip) and a little over 7 (round trip) to the Grotto. Earth Trekkers has a great breakdown of this trail here.
Where is Carlsbad Caverns
From Guadalupe Mountains you can head straight up to Carlsbad Caverns. We did a morning hike in GMNP and then drove up for an afternoon at the caverns. The Caverns are always cooler so it’s great to do in the afternoon if it’s hot. It is located right on the other side of the boarder in New Mexico from Guadalupe Mountains.
What to do at Carlsbad
For Carlsbad, you’ll need to book a time slot to enter the caverns. When we were visiting, there were no guided ranger tours, you were able to go into the caverns on your own which is great. You can also choose whether to walk down into the cavern or take an elevator. We opted for the elevator and don’t regret it. Here’s what you need to know to visit the Caverns in a quick list:
- Book your time slot ahead of time
- The elevator is good enough to get you down there
- You can take yourself into the Caverns
- Expect to spend about 2 hours exploring
- Take time to visit the gift shops and visitor center
After you explore, grab dinner in Carlsbad at the Yellowbrix Restaurant.
Final Thoughts
We spent three nights in Dell City and had two full days which was plenty for us to explore everything we wanted at our pace. We drove in from San Antonio and took a detour to Marfa which is a fun little artsy town to check out. These parks are great as you can see them both in the span of 2 days easily.
