VIEWPOINT: Guadalupe Mountains National Park

LONG STORY SHORT
One might wonder why this is a national park.

Note: We didn’t get to do everything we wanted to in Guadalupe Mountains. High winds forced us to hit the road a day early, and as a result, we missed out on a couple hikes that may have changed our opinion of this park.

Why is Guadalupe Mountains a national park? Apparently this is a frequently asked question, as it’s written on a white board at the visitor center. The answer: It’s one of the most well-preserved fossil reefs in the world. It was once part of an ancient seafloor, and its home to a plethora of fossils. That’s good enough for me, but the fact that the question needs to be asked also indicates how unremarkable these mountains appear at a glance.

NATURE: MEDIOCRE
Mostly Average Mountains With a Few Interesting Secrets

When we first saw the Guadalupe Mountains, they reminded us of the San Bernardino Mountains back home in Southern California. Anyone who’s seen those peaks knows they’re a far cry from the Rockies, Cascades, and Sierra Nevadas. We felt the same way about the Guadalupes.
These desert peaks have some hidden secrets, though. The reef makes them valuable, and there’s also some interesting geology deeper in the mountains, namely natural staircases and narrow canyons. These features elevate them above our hometown mountain range, but they’re still a long way off even the least remarkable peaks in the Rockies, I think.

EXPERIENCE: MEDIOCRE
The Winds are Strong and the Views are Bland

Many hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park tout “incredible views” from the top of the mountains. This isn’t untrue—even from the base of the mountains, the views can extend to the horizon. Unfortunately, these views are expansive for one reason: There’s not much of interest out there. It’s all some of the most boring desert we’ve ever seen, and we’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the Mojave.
This park can also get very windy. It’s not unheard of for hurricane-force winds to tear through, and while we didn’t get a taste of that, the 40-mph gusts were enough to shake our trailer and keep us up all night. We ended up leaving the park a day early to avoid the 60-mph winds forecasted for the next day.

VISITING: EASY
A Convenient Stop on a West Texas Road Trip

Part of what makes Utah’s Mighty Five national parks so popular is their proximity to each other. It’s easy to plan a trip that visits two or three parks, if not all five. Guadalupe Mountains’ proximity to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White Sands National Park, and El Paso, Texas, makes it easy to work into a west Texas itinerary. Plus, it’s right off the highway, so you don’t have to spend a night camping in the wind if you don’t want to.

STUPIDITY INDEX
The Stupid May Get Hurt

Dehydration is always a concern in these desert parks, but the wind is also a potential threat. Anyone towing beyond their vehicle’s means is at risk of trailer sway or being knocked over. And when the wind is at its worst, every RVer is at risk.

CATSBY’S TAKE
It Sucked

The “campground” was a parking lot, and the wind was scary.