B-GUADALUPE+MOUNTAINS+NATIONAL+PARK


 * Guadalupe Mountains National Park** safeguards the world's finest example of a fossilized reef, a surprisingly complex and unique assemblage of flora and fauna, and West Texas' only legally designated wilderness. Here, one can experience solitude, tranquility, and the joy of finding plants and animals whose mastery of survival renews our sense of wonder.

** Guadalupe Mountains National Park ** is located in the[|Guadalupe Mountains]of [|West Texas] and contains [|Guadalupe Peak], the highest point in [|Texas] at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) in elevation. It also contains [|El Capitan], long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the [|Butterfield Overland Mail] [|stagecoach] line. Visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Camping is available nearby at the Pine Springs Campground. The restored Frijole Ranch House is now a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 135 square miles (350 km2) and is in the same [|mountain range] as [|Carlsbad Caverns National Park] which is located about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in [|New Mexico]. Numerous well-established trails exist in the park for hiking and horse-riding. The Guadalupe Peak Trail offers perhaps the most outstanding views in the park. Climbing over 3000 feet to the summit of [|Guadalupe Peak], the trail winds through pinon pine and douglas fir forests and offers spectacular views of El Capitan and the vast Chihuahuan desert. The park also contains [|McKittrick Canyon]. During the Fall, McKittrick comes alive with a blaze of color from the turning [|Bigtooth Maples], in stark contrast with the surrounding [|Chihuahuan desert]. A trail in the canyon leads to the cabin of [|Wallace Pratt], a [|petroleum geologist] who donated the land in order to establish the park.

. Total Acreage: 86,415, Federal: 86,189, Nonfederal: 226.
 * Guadalupe Mountains NP** was established September 30, 1972.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park treats visitors to a glimpse at millions of years of history, holding in its stony ridges and canyons a massive fossilized reef, the traces of Paleozoic plant and animal life, documents of human civilizations and conflicts and an astounding diversity of surviving wildlife. 80 miles of trails lead hikers or horseback riders providing their own stock through secluded switchbacks, rugged wilderness and sylvan canyons.



[edit] Flora and fauna The park is largely covered with the usual flora of the Chihuahuan desert (prickly-pear cactus, ocotillo, various yuccas, etc.), but one of its more startling features is a significant stand of native maple trees, quite an outlier in this ecosystem. The maple leaves turn a brilliant red in late fall and can be seen to good advantage from McKittrick Canyon and vicinity. Higher up in the mountains significant remnant forests of ponderosa, pinon and spruce exist, most notably in the area known as "the bowl". Top predators of the park ecosystem are mountain lion and black bear, but neither are frequently seen. Encounters with coyotes, gray fox, raccoon, and ringtail cat (one of the characteristic species of the park) are more common. Mule deer and elk are the largest herbivores and mostly stay in the mountains, but javelinas are more typical of the desert floor. While bat populations are not as concentrated or as famous as in the "Bat Cave" section of nearby Carlsbad Caverns, there are still 15 or so species of bats that take refuge in the smaller caves of the park. Over 300 bird species are known from the Guadalupes, although many of them are rare visitors. Large birds include golden eagle, various species of hawk, turkey vulture and sandhill crane. Many species of finch and warbler are present. There are few waterfowl except for accidental visitors during migration season. The largest venomous snake of the park is the western diamondback rattlesnake, but other rattlesnake species are also present. (Not to worry; your chances of a rattler encounter aren't high, although some caution is indicated when out on the trails around sunrise or sunset.) The park is also home to three different species of the unusual horned lizard



Lodging
There is no lodging within the park. The nearest hotels/motels are in the tacky tourist town of Whites City, [|New Mexico], just outside the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 35 road miles away. The Best Western franchise there is tolerable.

Camping Guadalupe Mountains N.P. has two major campgrounds- Pine Springs located near the park's main entrance, and Dog Canyon which is on the very remote north end of the park, accessible through New Mexico. The park also has ten primitive campsites in the backcountry, each containing 4-8 hardened tent pads. All overnight backpackers must register and stay in one of the primitive camps -- no off-trail camping is allowed. All camping spots are first-come-first-served, so arrive early to ensure you get one. In fact, campsites can be quite hard to get during the last week in October, when the maple leaves are turning and bathing McKittrick Canyon and other areas in red. In the Summer or Winter however, backpackers willing to travel to the more remote primitive campsites, such as Mescalero (which is best accessed from the Dog Canyon entrance), are likely to be the only human beings for miles. 

Backcountry
The majority of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a designated wilderness area. Approximately eighty miles of trails provide access to this land for hikers and horsebackriders. Horses are not permitted to be kept in the backcountry overnight. Backpackers may camp in the backcountry in a number of designated campsites which must be reserved at the rangers stations. There is NO WATER IN THE BACKCOUNTRY, so hikers must be prepared to carry one gallon per person per day. Trails entering the backcountry originate at Pine Springs, Dog Canyon. The climb into the mountains on any of these trails tends to be very strenuous.