Day Hikes in the Pine Springs Area

The Pinery Trail offers visitors an opportunity to take a quick walk on a paved trail. The trail also features ruins of the Old Butterfield Stagecoach Route Pinery Station built in 1858.

The Tejas Trail is the primary north/south through trail within the park, connecting the Pine Springs Trailhead with the Dog Canyon Trailhead at the park's northern boundary. This major artery can be used to connect to numerous other trails to make a variety of loops. The central portion of the trail from Pine Top until the McKittrick Canyon Trail junction is forested, passing through the Bowl and numerous drainages.

The Tejas Trail is the primary north/south through trail within the park, connecting the Pine Springs Trailhead with the Dog Canyon Trailhead at the park's northern boundary. The central portion of the trail from Pine Top until the McKittrick Canyon Trail junction is forested, passing through the Bowl and numerous drainages. As the trail descends from McKittrick Ridge, visitors are provided with a panoramic experience of the canyon.

Climb to the "Top of Texas" with a hike up Guadalupe Peak. Guadalupe Peak is a rewarding, although very strenuous, 8.4 mile round trip hike with a 3,000 foot elevation gain. It will take from six to eight hours to complete the hike. The peak provides fantastic views from the highest point in the state of Texas (8,751 feet / 2,667 meters). It also introduces hikers to several of the park’s ecosystems including the high desert and the high elevation forests.

This moderate loop route uses the Frijole Trail and the Foothills Trail to make a loop below the eastern escarpment of the Guadalupe Mountains.

The hike to Hunter Peak is a challenging day hike done as a loop up the Bear Canyon Trail and down the Tejas Trail that provides solitude, stunning views, and opportunities for side trails into the Bowl area.

The strenuous route to Devil's Hall departs from the Pine Springs Trailhead and is 4.2 miles round-trip. After the first mile the trail enters a rocky wash which leads hikers to an impressive natural rock staircase that connects to a "hallway" formed by steep canyon walls. Rock surfaces in the wash can be slippery when dry and visitors should exercise caution on this hike.

Opportunities for pets are limited. Leashed pets may walk on the short Pine Springs Campground connector trail or along the Pinery Trail from the visitor center to the Butterfield Stage Station.