Attractions - Area Parks; Natural Highs

Near El Paso

Franklin Mountains State Park.
Created in 1979, the 24,000-acre park is the largest urban park in the country. The numerous trails and picnic areas make it a popular destination for hiking, strolling or mountain biking, as well as for spotting native wildlife. There are guided interpretive hikes every other Saturday to the most popular scenic trails and sites: Munday’s Gap, Aztec Caves, Smuggler’s Pass and West Cottonwood Mine Shaft.

Wyler Aerial Tramway.
Franklin Mountains State Park has Texas' only publicly accessible mountain tramway. The two gondolas take you on a 940-foot climb to the top of Ranger Peak, where there’s a breathtaking view of three states and two nations spanning 7,000 square miles.

Magoffin Home State Historic Site.
Newly restored, this Territorial-style home, combining Southwestern and Eastern design elements, was built in 1875 by El Paso pioneer Joseph Magoffin, an influential banker and businessman who served four terms as city mayor. Regular tours include special spirit tours recounting many odd events that have occurred at the home.

Chamizal National Memorial.
The park, together with its larger sister park in Ciudad Juárez, celebrates the end of a decades-long land dispute along the international boundary of the United States and Mexico. The visitors center includes exhibits and video presentations on the dispute. The grounds are popular for walking and picnicking. The amphitheater is the site of October's Chamizal Festival, and the summer Sunday night outdoor concert series, Music Under The Stars.

Easy Day Trips

White Sands National Monument.
The Monument's gypsum dunes blanket 300 square desert miles of the Tularosa Basin. The snow-white gypsum is the remaining evidence of a sea that covered the area more than 200 million years ago and is now the world's largest gypsum dune field, perfect for picnicking, hiking and even sledding. Sunset nature strolls are offered most evenings, and a monthly tour to Lake Lucero reveals beds of selenite crystals that cover the ground and are the source of the white sands. Extended summer hours mean visitors can enjoy regularly scheduled talks and presentations under the full moon. Each fall, hot air balloons dot the sky during the White Sands International Balloon Rally.

Carlsbad Caverns.
The result of 250 million years of natural evolution, and were once part of an inland sea reef. Ancient Indians discovered them more than 1,000 years ago. Proclaimed a national monument in 1923, the caverns are the summer home to thousands of migrating Mexican free-tail bats that exodus from the cavern most evenings in May through October. There are more than 100 limestone caves in the system, and the temperature at the bottom of the shaft is a constant 56ºF year-round. The cavern's picturesque formations like Crystal Spring Dome and Caveman Junction can be reached by foot or elevator, and ranger and self-guided tours take visitors as deep as 1,027 feet below the Earth’s surface.

For additional information on the parks, please see the Attractions Listings.