Open and Free this Week!

The Dog Canyon area of Guadalupe Mountains National Park has fewer visitors and therefore a more private wilderness experience.

Through Sunday, April 24, the park will be celebrating National Park Week, and all entry will be FREE!  The area offers hiking, birding, camping, backpacking and horseback riding! 

Dog Canyon is also a location on the new Far West Texas Wildlife Trail map, read more about it here, and link through to purchase a map for yourself! 

Hiking in Big Bend National Park

Thanks to Lee Towns, Executive Director of the Texas Independence Trail for sharing this Big Bend hiking photo with us!  
Hiking has always been one of the premier activities in our largest park in the region, Big Bend National Park.  The park's website has a great section on hiking, giving a quick rundown on opportunities across the park.  High elevation woodlands to low elevation desertscapes to historic sites, from paved pathways to backcountry wilderness...all kinds of hiking adventures are available in Big Bend.

For a wider view of hiking opportunities across Far West Texas and the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

Views of Dog Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

One of the hidden gems of Texas's Guadalupe Mountains National Park (we say hidden because you need to backpack to it from the southern end of the park, or access it by car through New Mexico!) is Dog Canyon.  The National Park Services website says this:  "Dog Canyon lies in a secluded, forested canyon on the north end of the park at an elevation of 6,300 feet. Remote and far removed from civilization; it stands at the edge of the wilderness boundary, and offers an ideal location for quiet camping, birding, hiking, and solitude." 

The camping is wonderful too.  In fact, the campground has been rated among the best in the country for beautiful, relatively private sites.

This area experienced a forest fire last year, caused by a lightning strike.  However, the effects of fire are often misunderstood.  The area has bounced back, is still beautiful and has been ready for visitors for months.

For more regional hiking information, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike
This area is a wildlife viewing site on the new Far West Texas Wildlife Trail map.  For more information, click here.