Guadalupe National Park. Yep! For certain I had never heard of that one. Nor have I ever heard of anyone saying let’s go there on vacation! But since the Park is on the wife’s list and its right next door to Carlsbad Cavern, we were off! AND, this park doesn’t disappoint! It’s the remnants of an ancient coral reef and boasts the highest peak in Texas. Others claim that McKittrick Canyon is actually the prettiest spot in all of Texas. Now that may be true, but I think that that may have been said in another season other than winter. We enjoyed hiking this park and it far exceeded our expectations. While we didn’t do the 3000ft climb to the summit we went on a lot of hikes that were challenging and gave us the escape that we were looking for. I couldn’t get over the silence. Not a sound.

Located right on the border of New Mexico it’s a very easy trip from either El Paso or Carlsbad. Carlsbad is about the closest town with a familiar hotel chain so Heidi and I stayed there. I would highly recommend to anyone who goes to Carlsbad not to miss out on this lesser known gem. Be sure to catch a sunrise and set, at the park. Park number 23 for Heidi was a great surprise!

For more photos - click HERE!