Guadalupe Mountains National Park: McKittrick Canyon

McKittrick Canyon is a place that lies in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in the middle of nowhere, West Texas. Before I go into detail on this hike, I have a confession to make to all of you…I lived within a 40 minute drive to this hike – which is one of the top places to view fall colors in the whole state of Texas -for three years, and I never took advantage of it!!! Of course, I have the best of excuses, up to and including the fact that I DID drive allllll the way out to McKittrick Canyon at the height of the fall colors only to be turned away because they didn’t allow dogs on trails, and I wasn’t gonna leave my dog in the hot car for several hours. The first year, I didn’t even know about McKittrick Canyon, and the third year I was in nursing school, and in that month of October we had like 7 tests in 2 and a half weeks, so, yeah, not about to blow off study time to go and actually enjoy my life.

Despite the fact that I never saw the splendid fall colors, I did hike McKittrick Canyon in the beginning of one of my summers in Carlsbad, NM, so I guess I’m not a total failure at life.

(I really do feel better now that I have gotten that off my chest)

McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe National Park — McKittrick Canyon, the beginning of the trail!

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is not a very well known NP, however, it’s home to the tallest mountain in Texas as well as one of the best places to view fall colors in Texas. You look at the picture above and you wonder, “How in the heck is this one of the best places to view fall colors in the state of Texas??” Well, according to an old article in Texas Monthly, it is! You have to hike into the canyon a little ways before you start to see the different trees that change colors in the fall. Just to give you an idea, here’s a link to show you what McKittrick Canyon has to offer!

Directions to the Park: Guadalupe Mountains National Park is smack dab in the middle of nowhere on HWY-62. There are three ways (that I know of) to get there. You can either drive about 1 hour and 45 minutes east from El Paso (113 miles), you can drive about 1 hour southwest from Carlsbad (51.6 miles), or you can head due north from Van Horn, TX up TX-54N, and then merge on HWY-62 right before reaching your destination. From Van Horn takes about an hour (63.1 miles).

Directions to the trailhead: Stay on HWY-62 and follow signs for McKittrick Canyon (It’s very well marked from the highway). It is NOT the same turnoff to Guadalupe Peak trailhead, the turnoff for McKittrick is slightly north of that one.

Restrooms: Once you park there are restrooms at the Visitor’s Center by the Parking lot.

Distance: Depends on the route you take, it can range from 0.9 to 14.8 roundtrip. Refer to the link under “Tips” for trail summaries.

Difficulty: The difficulty depends on which hike you do. Easy up to Pratt Cabin, Hard up to McKittrick Ridge.

Pets OK? Pets are not allowed on this particular trail, they are only allowed where cars can access 🙁

Crowds: Crowds vary by season. In the early summer on a weekday, my friend and I were about the only people out here. When I drove up here in the fall, the parking lot was full.

Fees/Permits: Entrance Fee is $5, Backpackers need a permit

Tips:

You are going to want to leave the park on time – they lock the entrance gates at the posted times.
You have a few options of hiking here. Please review this website for full descriptions of the hikes.
Make sure and bring plenty of water if you come during the summer.
Pack a picnic to eat at Pratt Cabin!
Be sure to check the weather – you may need to bring light rain gear depending on the season.
Call ahead for a Fall Foliage report from the National Park – they may save you a drive if you are trying to come too early.

It takes a little bit of hiking into the canyon before the landscape starts to change. When we first began our hike, I wasn’t really as impressed as I had hoped, but before long there started to be a lot of foliage different from the Chihuahuan desert I’ve come to know so well. I was especially pleased to find a beautiful stream out here with clear water! (#desertconcerns)

We walked off the trail a bit to come rest by this stream with our feet in the water. It was so nice and cool on a hot summer day! The water was actually crystal clear, which is not always something you can find in these parts.

Now for all you Johnny-by-the-books out there…no, you are not supposed to technically get in the water. I really don’t think us putting our feet in it hurt anything. I’m not the type of person to trash nature, and I don’t want to send anyone off with false information, so use your best judgment. It’s not like they have a SWAT team watching with drones to “send in the boys” as soon as someone gets in the water.

A little past the area with the nice stream the valley started to change and give us these awesome views:

You can really start to tell where some of the fall colors would be in these pics.

We started our hike pretty late or we would have hiked up to McKittrick Ridge. As it was, we figured we better start calling it once we reached Pratt Cabin.

A lot of times there will be volunteers stationed at Pratt Cabin to let you take a look around and answer questions, but there were none on our visit. We looked in the windows and took advantage of the nice shaded picnic tables to rest before heading back.

I really wished I had gotten to hike further, it was only just starting to turn really pretty and different shortly before we got to the cabin. I definitely suggest starting early!