This is the sixth post in our series about New Mexico parks, our fourth about day trips from Brantley Lake State Park. This post isn’t exactly about day trips, but rather about the hikes you can take if you are visiting Guadalupe National Park. Most of these hikes are near the Pine Springs section of the park, but I do give you one suggestion if you want to visit the more remote Dog Canyon section.
1. McKittrick Canyon Hikes
This area is known for its spectacular fall foliage. To be honest, I could have written about hikes only in this area as it has something for everyone. If you want a good day hike of 4 hours or so, then consider Pratt Cabin or The Grotto. If you just want a short hike, take the hour long McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail. They also have quite a few longer and backcountry hikes. Visit this page to find out information about all of them. The area does have a small visitor center with a display. Again, a very helpful ranger came out to visit with us and could give you any advice or information about the different trails.
2. Smith Springs Loop Trail Hike
The 2.3 Smith Spring loop trail was our favorite hike for the entire trip to New Mexico. I would definitely suggest taking this hike as early as you can, especially in the summer. You walk right past Frijole Ranch, which I would urge to save for the end of the hike on your way back. Your hike begins with no shade at all and breathtaking views of Guadalupe Peak.
You continue to hike up hill. We crossed some boulders and empty creek beds.
Then you enter an oasis, with a small waterfall, blooming flowers, and plenty of places to sit.
After resting for awhile, we descended back down. I am so glad we started this hike early as this portion would have been much hotter later.
3. Guadalupe Peak Hike
This is probably the most famous hike in the park. We chose not take this strenuous 8.4 mile roundtrip hike to the highest point in Texas. We put this hike on our bucket list for when we are in better physical shape. The National Park page will tell you more about this hike including the eleven essential items you need to bring, like a commercial toilet bag system. This hike will take the most energy out of all the ones we have suggested.
4. Pinery Trail Hike
Adjacent to the visitor center is the pinery trail hike. This easy wheelchair accessible hike allows visitors to see the ruins of Old Butterfield Stagecoach Route Pinery Station built in 1858. The walk is .7 miles each way. Also, we visited this train in the late morning in September, and we still got warm. The trail offers benches to sit, but no shade at all on the trail. Wear your sunscreen and bring water on this short hike.
5. Indian Meadow Hike
For this last hike, I move to the Dog Canyon section of the park. Dog Canyon is an hour and a half from the Pine Springs section, so you will need add a day to your trip if you want to enjoy both sections of the park. Again, we chose to hike at around sunrise.
After parking at the visitor center, we hiked down just a little bit to the .6 mile loop trail. The gravel trail is pretty flat, however, I would recommend long pants as the trail is a bit overgrown. That might be because they wanted to wait until after the wildflowers finished blooming before they worked on it.
If you want to see wildflowers, visit in September. The flowers and the sun rising over the mountains made for a peaceful, memorable morning.
Visit the park from mid-October to mid-November to see the fall colors. If you want a longer hike in the area, check out this page to find one for your fitness level.
Final Thoughts
Guadalupe National Park has been on our bucket list for many years, but was too remote for a quick trip, especially when our children were growing up. Now that we are empty nesters and we have found some places to camp within a reasonable drive, we look forward to exploring this area even more. I hope I have given you some ideas if you choose to visit this rugged area.