After you pick up a new vehicle from Johnson Brothers Ford, you’ll be ready for your first road trip. Make that a trip to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park of West Texas. The highest point in Texas is in these mountains; and it is 8,749 feet.
Park Location and Stats
The Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located at 400 Pine Canyon Drive, Salt Flat, Texas, 79847. It encompasses just under 135 miles and is managed by the National Park Service. El Capitan, a landmark used by those traveling the old route is also in the park, as is the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. The ruins of the old stagecoach station are near the park’s visitor center.
Activities
Pack a tent or haul the RV to the Pine Springs Campground or Dog Canyon to enjoy camping in the park. Visit the Frijole Ranch House, which is now a small museum about local ranching history. You’ll find the old ranch house at the head of the trail head for Smith Spring.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is about 25 miles from the park and is in the same mountain range. Enjoy horseback riding trails and hiking trails in the 86,367-acre park. Take in some of the best views from the Guadalupe Peak Trail, which climbs over 3,000 feet to the top of Guadalupe Peak. Take pictures of pinyon pine and Douglas fir forests, El Capitan, the Chihuahuan Desert, McKittrick Canyon, bigtooth maples and more.
Find the trail in the canyon that leads to a stone cabin, which was the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist. Pratt donated the land so that the park could be established.
Bring your RV or a tent to camp in Dog Canyon, and reserve the pubic corral for livestock if you want to bring your horse. Head to the west side of the park near Dell City, Texas to get some great shots of the gypsum sand dunes.
Watch for gray foxes, elk, coyotes, black bears, badgers, striped skunks, hog-nosed skunks, mule deer, 16 species of bats and mountain lions. Birds you might see include sparrows, great horned owls, chickadees, woodpeckers, barn owls, turkey vultures, hummingbirds, greater roadrunners, golden eagles, Peregrine falcons, wrens and grosbeaks.
Visit Johnson Brothers Ford
Stop by Johnson Brothers Ford to test drive a new Ford and to learn more about your favorite model.
