The Best Guadalupe Mountains To Carlsbad Caverns National Parks Itinerary (2024)
Want to know the best way to explore Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks in one weekend? We’ve got you covered with this super easy itinerary!
Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks are so close together that you absolutely cannot do one without the other.
It’s the perfect area to get away for the weekend and we’re going to show you how!
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The Best Guadalupe Mountains To Carlsbad Caverns National Parks Itinerary
Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns are on either side of the border between Texas and New Mexico.
They are so close to each other that it’s less than an hour’s drive between the two parks, making it easy to visit both on the same day or in the same weekend getaway.
Day 1: Getting To Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks
If you’re flying, the easiest airport to fly into is probably El Paso.
Depending on how much time you have or the time of your arrival, it is probably easiest to spend your first night in El Paso.
If you’re driving from the West or Northwest, El Paso is also a good stopping point before embarking on your drive to Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks.
We’ve stayed in El Paso a handful of times now and highly recommend the Hilton properties throughout town.
When choosing where to stay, we generally go with whichever one happens to be cheapest that night.
We also take into consideration free parking and free breakfast.
Hampton Inn is great for both of those!
Below are a few we’ve stayed in the past few years that we highly recommend.
Where To Stay In El Paso
El Paso isn’t huge, so you can really stay in just about any area of town.
These are the ones we’ve stayed in the past few times we’ve driven through.
✔️ Hampton Inn El Paso/East
This Hilton brand hotel is a great place to stay near town and save a bit of money.
You can see a full room tour of Hampton Inn El Paso/East in this video on our YouTube Channel.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Hampton Inn El Paso/East Stay Today!
✔️ Hilton Garden Inn El Paso/University
Hilton Garden Inn is a slightly higher tier hotel in the Hilton brand of hotels.
This one caters more toward business traveler needs and it’s more on the Western side of town, away from the National Parks.
You can see a full walk-through of Hilton Garden Inn El Paso/University in this video on our YouTube Channel.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Hilton Garden Inn El Paso/University Stay Today!
✔️ Hilton Garden Inn El Paso Airport
Another Hilton Garden Inn, but a bit more centrally located than the last one.
All 3 are great options in El Paso for saving money, while also having great amenities.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay at Hilton Garden Inn El Paso Airport Today!
There are hundreds of options for all budgets though, so you can check out some others too.
The Palace Inn is also fairly newly renovated is really great for it’s price, despite it being classified as a motel.
Wherever you choose to stay, just don’t stay up too late because you’ll want to get an early start tomorrow.
Day 2: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Today, get up early and take that hour and 45 minute drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
When we went it was VERY windy, so be prepared for that.
Always check the weather conditions before going to any National Park.
Plan on staying the whole day and bringing in your own lunch.
We like to get sandwiches and pair them with chips, fruit or veggie snacks and lots of water.
☑️ Pine Springs Campground
If you want to camp in the park, the Pine Springs Campground is first come first serve, so you’ll want to start there to claim your site before it fills up.
☑️ Devil’s Hall Trail
A challenging trail you can access from this area is called Devil’s Hall Trail.
It is 4.2 miles roundtrip, requires rock scrambling and a good sense of direction, but once you make it into Devil’s Hall, it’s supposed to be so worth it.
☑️ Pinery Trail
Pinery Trail is a shorter, easier trail to check out in this area.
It’s just under 1 mile round trip and is on a paved trail.
On this trail you can see the ruins of the Old Butterfield Stagecoach Route Pinery Station from 1858.
☑️ Manzanita Spring Trail and Smith Spring Trail
Where we started our day was the Frijole Ranch Trailhead.
It’s on the same street as the Pine Springs Campground, so it’s only a couple minutes from the campsite if you start there first.
From there you can do the Manzanita Spring Trail which is a 0.25 mile walk just behind the Frijole Ranch.
You can continue on the Manzanita Spring Trail if you’d like to take the full Smith Spring Trail which is 2.3 miles roundtrip.
☑️ Frijole Ranch
The Frijole Ranch is sometimes open to visitors in various capacities.
There are no set hours, just when volunteers and staff are available.
When we visited everything was closed and we were the only visitors the entire time we were there.
But when it is open, plan to spend maybe 30 minutes longer or so before moving on to the next part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
☑️ McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail
Your next stop should be the McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center where you can take the 1 mile roundtrip McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail.
The Visitor Center is about 10 miles up the road from the Frijole Ranch Trailhead parking area.
This trail can be very narrow in some places and there may be rattlesnakes, so be very careful.
The McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail is especially scenic during Fall when you can see all of the trees changing color.
Where to Spend the Night Near Guadalupe Mountains
If you opted for not camping in the park, check out the KOA in Carlsbad or anything around Carlsbad for tonight’s stay.
You won’t want to be driving all the back to El Paso tonight!
Carlsbad, New Mexico is a little less than an hour’s drive away.
There’s not much between Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park, so your overnight options are somewhat limited.
Day 3: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Today you get to explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park!
On the scenic drive into the park there are many pullouts you can use to stop and enjoy the scenery (or so you can let others pass you).
Along the way you’ll come across a 500 foot Overlook Trail.
It’s a little steep going up but it gives you a great overhead view of everything you passed coming in.
☑️ Scenic Loop Road Drive
A little further ahead you’ll come across the 9.5 mile Scenic Loop Road Drive.
We highly recommend checking this out.
You are sure to see some wildlife!
It’s a dirt road, so you have to drive pretty slow, which means it’ll take about 30-45 minutes.
If there’s a lot of cars maybe longer.
I recommend doing this first before going into the caverns, but you can really do it in either order.
☑️ Big Room Trail
Now you’ve made it to the actual Cavern!
So there are two different trails you can take through the Caverns.
The first one is called Big Room Trail and it is about 1.25 miles.
It is the most popular one and it has an elevator you can take to the cafe.
This is actually the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America and usually takes about 1 1/2 hours to walk through.
☑️ Natural Entrance Trail
Your second option is the Natural Entrance Trail, which is also 1.25 miles, but to take this trail you have to take a bunch of steep switchbacks to get into the cavern.
That’s the main reason why it is the less popular option.
The elevation change is 750 feet, which is the equivalent of walking up or down a 75 STORY BUILDING!
This trail takes about an hour on average to complete.
We also recommend scheduling a Ranger Guided tour to other areas of the caverns.
You can do that directly through recreation.gov or by exploring the Carlsbad Caverns website.
Carlsbad Caverns sometimes does bat programs in the evening that are very popular.
Where to Spend the Night Near Carlsbad Caverns
For lodging you can check out anything in Carlsbad or it might make more sense to get a hotel back in El Paso.
Before leaving though, check out the shops and restaurants just outside of the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns.
Day 4: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Congratulations!
If you’ve made it to Day 4 you have an extra long weekend you get to enjoy.
Depending on where you chose to stay last night, you may have to drive back to El Paso today, which is okay.
Depending on when your flight is, maybe you have to head straight to the airport, which is okay too.
BUT if you have some free time, we have some suggestions.
☑️ Dog Canyon
An area of Guadalupe Mountains we didn’t share before is called Dog Canyon.
To get to this area of the park you have to go completely around the park to the other side, which is about a 2 hour drive.
So it makes more sense to do this part today, especially if you’re heading back toward El Paso after visiting Carlsbad Caverns.
This area has some campsites and RV sites available.
It’s a higher elevation than the other areas of Guadalupe Mountains, so it’s cooler in the Summer and doesn’t get as much wind either.
☑️ Indian Meadow Nature Trail (Easy)
An easy 0.6 mile trail in Dog Canyon that has almost no elevation change.
It’s really just a nice nature walk.
☑️ Marcus Overlook (Moderate)
Moderate to some, though is sounds a little strenuous to me at 4.5 miles roundtrip!
From Dog Canyon, follow the Bush Mountain Trail to Manzanita Ridge.
You’ll reach the overlook where you can see all of West Dog Canyon.
Then you turn around and go back the same way you came up.
☑️ Lost Peak (Moderate to Strenuous)
This is a 6.4 mile trail that takes about 5-6 hours.
You begin this trail by following the Tejas Trail through the bottom of the canyon.
Then you begin the 1,540 foot elevation climb toward Lost Peak.
This trail meets up with the McKittrick Ridge Trail at the top.
☑️ El Paso Mission Trail
Another option is spending a day in El Paso.
When we had free time in El Paso, we came across brochures for the El Paso Mission Trail.
The website has a pretty detailed guide for following the trail as you go to each of the 3 missions.
The guide also has several food recommendations along the way.
Another food recommendation is Taco Tote which has several locations throughout El Paso.
They have a 2 taco plate where you can pick any 2 meats, a side, and a drink.
They also have a toppings bar so you can add whatever you want to your tacos. There is also free chips and salsa.
The salsa bar has lots of options and are labeled by how spicy they are!
After that it is probably time to head on home from your jam-packed weekend getaway!
Know Before You Go
Visiting national parks takes a lot of planning, so there are some important things to know before you go.
☀️ Weather
When visiting National Parks, always check the weather before you visit.
These areas in particular get very windy and tent camping may not be a realistic option.
So if that is your plan, make sure you have some back up hotels or try RV camping in this area instead just to be safe.
☀️ National Park Admission
Additionally, whenever visiting more than one National Park, I highly recommend buying the Annual Pass for $80.
I believe 4th graders, senior citizens, and veterans get free passes.
You can purchase these passes online in advance or at the entrance gate or visitors centers at these parks.
From what I’ve heard, if you buy the passes online, the money goes to a general National Park fund, but if you buy it directly at a park, the money goes to that specific park.
These passes are good at all National Park Service sites (over 400+), not just the designated National Parks, so it’s easy to get your money’s worth from the pass.
The pass is good for everyone in your vehicle, so you don’t pay a separate fee for each person when entering National Parks.
The only time this differs is when you’re purchasing tours for Carlsbad Caverns.
Those tickets will need to be purchased for every individual that wants to go into the caverns.
☀️ Carlsbad Caverns Reservations
When purchasing tickets to go into the Caverns, you must do it in advance online or over the phone.
Entrance times are usually 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, with time slots every hour in-between.
So if you choose the 8:30 am time slot, you can check in any time between 8:30 am and 9:30 am when the next time slot begins.
Reservations are only $1 per person, regardless of age.
The cancellation fee is also $1.
You can book your reservation up to 30 days in advance of your visit.
No reservations can be made same day after 5:00 am Mountain Time, so be sure to plan this in advance!
☀️ Carlsbad Caverns Rules and Regulations
The Big Room Trail is mostly accessible, while the Natural Entrance Trail is not at all.
Wheelchairs must enter and exit the Big Room Trail by elevator.
Additionally, canes and crutches are allowed only if needed for mobility purposes.
Baby strollers and hiking sticks are not permitted at all on these trails.
These cave tours are not recommended for people with known heart or respiratory problems, back, knee, or walking issues of any kind, or for people with vertigo or claustrophobia issues.
There may be long lines to exit the Big Room Trail by elevator, so be aware of that.
Additionally, you absolutely cannot wear or bring in any items that have been in any other caves or mines because it spreads white-nose syndrome, which affects the bats.
Hiking boots, closed toe shoes, or gym shoes are recommended.
Do not wear sandals or flip flops on these trails.
When entering the caverns, you can only bring plain water.
Specifically, candy, tobacco, vaping products, and gum are not permitted in the caverns.
Inside the caverns the temperature is usually about 56 degrees with 90% humidity all year long, so keep that in mind when dressing for the weather.
Flash photography IS allowed in the caverns.
Just be courteous of others around you!
More National Park Multi-Day Itineraries
If you’re interested in some other destinations, you can check out our other itineraries below.
🏕️ Redwood National Park
This Northern California coastal National Park hosts some of the most iconic sets of trees in the US.
🏕️ Lassen Volcanic National Park
This highly under-rated National Park outside of Lake Tahoe is like another world.
🏕️ Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks
These are two more National Parks that are so close together, you might as well visit them both in the same trip!
🏕️ Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
These two National Parks are practically across the street from each other and make a perfect weekend getaway in Moab.
🏕️ Pinnacles National Park Itinerary
This is another under-rated National Park in Central California known for its bat caves and being in wine country.
Conclusion: The Best Guadalupe Mountains To Carlsbad Caverns National Parks Itinerary
Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks are a rare set of parks that are so close you can visit both in the same day.
There’s enough to do between these two parks to spend a long weekend here enjoying all of the scenery.
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