Guadalupe Mountains Park: Peaks, Dunes & Fossils | WNPA

Guadalupe Mountains

National Park

Welcome!

Experience mountains and canyons, desert and dunes, night skies and spectacular vistas within a place unlike any other. The park houses the world’s most extensive Permian fossil reef, four of Texas’s highest peaks, an environmentally diverse collection of flora and fauna, and the stories of lives shaped through conflict, cooperation, and survival.

Stories from Guadalupe Mountains

This stunning Texas park offers scenic drives, breathtaking hikes, camping, backpacking, and striking visions of starry night skies. Evidence of human habitation in the area dates back more than 10 thousand years, offering sanctuary to the Mescalero Apache leading up to the mid-1800s.

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Bring Guadalupe Mountains Home

Your purchases support the parks. When you can’t get to a national park for a visit, experience it from the comfort of your home. WNPA’s online store is packed with ranger-approved park collectibles, books, toys, and clothing. Shop for a special item to commemorate a trip, share a memory with a nature lover or park enthusiast, or represent your favorite national parks.

Explore Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Located in northwest Texas, just south of the New Mexico state line, Guadalupe Mountains National Park was formally established in 1972, with an area of more than 76,000 acres. Today, the park encompasses more than 86,000 acres of land, with more than 80 miles of hiking trails. Visitors can explore Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas, and learn about an ancient fossil reef, roughly 400 miles long, that formed more than 265 million years ago. Three major ecosystems intersect in this beautiful landscape: Chihuahuan Desert, Rocky Mountain, and Southern Great Plains. Home to many species of animals and birds, the park is a premiere spot for enjoying nature in all its forms. The cultural history of Guadalupe Mountains National Park is deeply connected to the Mescalero Apache people, who hold the mountains to be culturally and spiritually significant.

Since our founding in 1938

WNPA has provided more than

$147 million

in aid to our partner parks to fund educational programs, initiatives, and scientific research

Kids in Parks

National parks are places where kids can dream up great adventures! Taking in amazing scenery. Testing out new skills. Exploring places kids may have only heard about. But most importantly, creating new memories with friends and family.

Our public lands are our public commons. They belong to all of us as part of our natural and cultural heritage. They remind us of a larger world that has existed long before the arrival of humans and will survive long after we are gone. –Terry Tempest Williams, Author & Conservationist