Dates we visited: March 30th - April 3rd
Where we stayed: Carlsbad KOA

Right next door to Carlsbad Caverns, and across the New Mexico / Texas border is Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This lesser known park shares much of the same terrain as Carlsbad, but offers more of a focus on the above-ground landscape. Millions of years ago, a gigantic reef formed when this area was all underwater. As plate tectonics did their thing, the mountains rose, the water disappeared, and now it’s possible to find fossils of sea shells in this desert that sits between 5,000 and 8,000 feet of elevation.

Our Visit

While the land area of this park is relatively large at 135 square miles, there are not a lot of options for driving through it. There is not a "scenic drive” to speak of, but the area does have a multitude of hiking trails. The trails weave their way throughout the mountains.

Our first stop was at the Pine Springs Visitor Center, where we checked in to get Owen his Junior Ranger materials, and then completed a short hike out to The Pinery Butterfield Stage Station Ruins. This spot was briefly a stop on a stagecoach route that delivered mail back in the 1850’s, and we were able to see what’s left of buildings here.

Variety

One of the things that makes Guadalupe Mountains interesting is that it straddles a few different ecological boundaries. Parts of the park showcase the desert ecology of the area, while other sections offer a more mountainous ecosystem. We took a drive up to the McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center which is the launching point for several trails that wind up through the canyon. The trails here were a bit more strenuous than we wanted to tackle on our visit, but this area looks beautiful, and i’d imagine even more so in the fall time.

As one of the lesser visited National Parks, Guadalupe Mountains offers a more intimate experience. There were fewer visitors than the more well known parks, and plenty of great trails. This would be a great location for us to come back to and camp inside the park in the future. Additionally, it’s proximity to Carlsbad Caverns makes it a nice destination to be able to experience the area from a few different perspectives.