Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park lies 110 miles east of El Paso in Texas. It protects what the Park Service calls the world's most extensive Permian fossil reef and the four highest peaks in Texas. It was established on 30 September 1972. In 2025 it had 206,423 recreation visits, and March was the busiest month, with 30,339.

The park calls itself a largely roadless wilderness, with over 80 miles of trail and no lodge, restaurant or petrol inside. We checked the figures below on 28 October 2026 on the park's own pages and alerts, its Superintendent's Compendium, Recreation.gov and NOAA's normals. Many of the park's pages were last updated in 2022 or 2023, and we say so where it matters.

Who pays Guadalupe Mountains' $10 per-person fee?

Guadalupe Mountains charges $10 for each visitor aged 16 or over, valid for one to seven consecutive days. There is no vehicle fee, children under 16 need no pass, and parking is free. The figures come from the park's fee page, last updated in May 2023.

The park is not on the 2026 list of eleven parks that add $100 for every non-resident aged 16 or over. Two adults from abroad therefore pay $20 for up to a week. The $35 park annual pass is listed as available to US citizens and residents only. The last fee-free day of 2026, 11 November, is for US residents too, so a visitor from abroad pays then as well.

The fee page's text says to pay by credit card at the Pine Springs Visitor Center, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, or by card at a self-pay station at any trailhead. At a trailhead you fill in a green envelope, tear off the stub and leave it on the dashboard.

The same page's table lists cash or credit/debit at those places, so carry a card and do not count on cash. The park store has been cashless since 14 August 2025. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains when an annual pass pays off.

How long does the Guadalupe Peak trail take, and when should you turn back?

Guadalupe Peak, at 8,751 feet, is in the Park Service's words "the highest point in the state of Texas". The trail to it is 8.4 miles round trip with 3,000 feet of climb, and the park says it takes six to eight hours. It rates the hike "very strenuous".

The trail starts at the Pine Springs Trailhead, half a mile from the visitor centre. The first mile and a half is the steepest part. Higher up it climbs through pine and Douglas fir on a north-facing slope, passes a false summit after nearly three miles and crosses a wooden bridge. A stainless steel pyramid, put up by American Airlines in 1958, marks the top.

The park warns that winds over 40 mph are not uncommon on the peak. The summit is at least ten degrees cooler than Pine Springs and its wind at least ten mph faster. There is little shade, so carry at least a gallon of water per person and turn around when half of it is gone. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer, and the park says the descent is often harder than the climb.

Guadalupe Peak is the park's most popular hike. The trailhead has 44 parking spaces plus two accessible ones, and on a busy weekend they can run short by mid-morning. The overflow is at the visitor centre. Cell reception is little to none in most of the park. Pets are not allowed on the trail.

When are McKittrick Canyon's leaves at their best?

McKittrick Canyon's autumn colour usually runs from mid-October to mid-November and is best in the last week of October and the first week of November. The source is the Park Service's fall-colour page, last updated in February 2023. We found no 2026 colour report on the park's pages or in its alerts.

McKittrick Canyon is day use only, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time, and the gate on US 62/180 is locked at 5 p.m. The compendium of 18 September 2026 prints that time. A 2021 park news release gave 6 p.m. before the clocks change and 4:30 p.m. after, but every newer page shows a flat 5 p.m.

Sunset at Pine Springs was 6:13 p.m. on 28 October 2026. After the clocks go back it falls to 5:09 p.m. on 1 November and 5 p.m. on 15 November, so from mid-November the gate and the sun close together.

The canyon is 7 miles north of Pine Springs on US 62/180. Its visitor centre car park has 40 spaces, nine of them for oversized vehicles, and on autumn weekends much of the park can fill to capacity. The park encourages weekday visits and says not to park along the highway when the car parks are full. Upper Dog Canyon often turns a week or two before McKittrick, and entering the canyon's stream is prohibited.

Which Guadalupe Mountains trails fit into one day?

Guadalupe Mountains' day hikes start from Pine Springs, McKittrick Canyon and the Salt Basin Dunes trailhead. The distances below are the Park Service's, round trip.

The park's pages do not all agree on the McKittrick figures: Pratt Cabin is 2.3 miles one way on the trails page and about 2.4 on the Notch page.

On 28 October 2026 the park's alert rated the hike to Devil's Hall strenuous, with rock scrambling in a wash that is dangerous when wet. The Smith Spring Loop starts at Frijole Ranch, a mile north of Pine Springs. Every trail is closed to pets except the paved Pinery Trail by the visitor centre.

How do you reach the Salt Basin Dunes on the park's west side?

The Salt Basin Dunes are white gypsum dunes covering about 2,000 acres on the park's west side. The Park Service's directions run 23 miles west on US 62/180 to Salt Flat, 17 miles north on FM 1576 and 7.5 miles east on William's Road to the car park. That makes 47.5 miles one way.

William's Road is clay, and the park calls it unsafe to travel when wet. After summer storms it can be impassable for days or weeks. The speed limit is 25 mph, and the park warns of livestock on the road.

The dunes are day use only, and the park prohibits camping there. The park's dunes page opens them from sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, while its trail page says sunrise to sunset. The dunes page puts the walk from the car park at about 1.5 miles each way and the trail page at about 1 mile. Its tallest dunes are sixty feet high on one page and rise 100 feet on another.

The trailhead has shaded picnic tables and pit toilets but no water, and the trail has no shade. In summer the temperature can pass 100°F, and in winter and spring the wind can make the area inhospitable. Fires, cooking devices and glass are banned there. The park points to Dell City for water, food and petrol.

Why does Guadalupe Mountains keep Mountain Time when its county is on Central?

Guadalupe Mountains National Park keeps Mountain Time by its own rule, set out in its Superintendent's Compendium of 18 September 2026. Federal law, 49 CFR 71.7(e), draws the line between Central and Mountain time down the east line of Hudspeth County. Culberson County lies east of that line, so by law it keeps Central Time.

The Census Bureau's geocoder places the Pine Springs Visitor Center, Guadalupe Peak, McKittrick Canyon and Dog Canyon in Culberson County, and the Salt Basin Dunes trailhead in Hudspeth. The compendium says the county line runs inside the park. It gives the park's nearness to El Paso and Carlsbad along US 62/180 as the reason for Mountain Time.

Every hour the park posts is Mountain Time. Phones there can switch between the two zones, and Recreation.gov suggests setting yours to Mountain and turning off the automatic setting. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on 1 November 2026. The park is then at UTC−7, and Big Bend, in Central Time, is an hour ahead.

How windy and how warm are the Guadalupe Mountains through the year?

November to March is the windy season in the Guadalupe Mountains, according to the Park Service. Winds above 30 mph are frequent then, with gusts of 50 to 80 mph. Recreation.gov's Pine Springs notice says gusts over 50 mph are common, especially in winter and spring. Dog Canyon, on the north side, is sheltered from strong gusty winds in winter and spring.

The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, average high and low. The Pine Springs station is the one behind the park's own weather table, with 15.99 inches of rain a year and 29.8 days at 90°F or more. A second station at the visitor centre records only 9.78 inches, so figures for the park depend on the station.

June to August are the hottest months, and the rainy season runs from May to September, with locally heavy thunderstorms and some flash flooding. Snow and freezing fog are common in December and January. Dell City, the station nearest the dunes, averages 129.7 days a year at 90°F or more.

Can you still get a campsite at Pine Springs or Dog Canyon this autumn?

Pine Springs and Dog Canyon, the park's two campgrounds, take reservations only, through Recreation.gov, up to six months ahead. In 2026 an individual site costs $20 a night and a group site $60, and the $10-a-person entrance fee is extra. There is no lodge in the park.

On 28 October 2026 Recreation.gov showed Pine Springs full that night, with one to four sites free on each night from 29 October to 5 November. It had none on 6–7, 13–14, 21–24 and 26–27 November. Dog Canyon had three to nine sites free on each night from 28 October to 5 November.

Wood and charcoal fires are banned; only stoves and lanterns with containerised fuel are allowed. There are no hookups, no dump station and no showers, quiet hours run from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., and stays are limited to 14 nights in 30 days.

You pick up a wilderness permit in person at the Pine Springs Visitor Center. A 2022 park page puts its cost at a $6 reservation fee plus $6 per person per night, and America the Beautiful passes do not cover it.

Where is the last petrol before Guadalupe Mountains?

Guadalupe Mountains sells no petrol, food or rooms. The Park Service says there is no gas for 35 miles in either direction from the visitor centre, no restaurant or grocery and no lodge. The visitor centre's bookstore carries limited camping and hiking supplies.

Whites City, New Mexico, is the last place with gas, diesel, food and ice for drivers coming from New Mexico, in the park's words. Our routing puts it about 36 miles from the Pine Springs Visitor Center. The park names Van Horn and El Paso as the nearest towns with full services, and Dell City for water, food and petrol near the dunes. We found no current hours or prices for any of them.

You can refill drinking water at Pine Springs, McKittrick Canyon and Dog Canyon. There is no public transport or shuttle in the park. Free Wi-Fi may be available in front of the Pine Springs Visitor Center, but Dog Canyon has no phone signal at all.

How far is Guadalupe Mountains from El Paso, Carlsbad Caverns and Big Bend?

Guadalupe Mountains lies on US 62/180, 110 miles east of El Paso and 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico, by the park's own figures. El Paso has the nearest large airline service, in the Park Service's words.

The Carlsbad, Van Horn and El Paso distances are the park's own figures and their drive times our own routing. The Carlsbad Caverns and Big Bend rows are our own routing alone, and the Dog Canyon time is the park's. You reach Dog Canyon by New Mexico State Road 137 across open rangeland, where cattle are often on the road.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, across the line in New Mexico, is under an hour away, with Whites City between the two. Big Bend National Park is about 262 miles away by our own routing.