1 active Guadalupe Mountains alert
- CautionDevil’s Hall wash dangerous when wetThe Devil’s Hall hike is strenuous, and its wash section is dangerous when wet or if water is present. - The wash requires rock scrambling.Official details
Overview
About McKittrick Canyon Contact Station
Why stop
- The canyon trail begins directly through the breezeway.
Heads up
- Staffing is intermittent, so ranger help isn’t guaranteed.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Guadalupe Mountains map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Guadalupe Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to McKittrick Canyon Contact Station, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Guadalupe Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
McKittrick Canyon: A Walk to Pratt Cabin0:00 / 0:27
“McKittrick Canyon's trailhead is coming up. I'd choose the walk to Pratt Cabin, a stone summer home with a porch for a break. It's four point eight miles round trip, taking two to four hours on rocky ground.”
Plays as you drive up to McKittrick Canyon Contact Station in the Parkwolf Guadalupe Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Madrone’s Peeling Trunk
- Trout in a Desert Canyon
- Pratt's Ship on the Desert
- A Shell from the Permian Sea
- 22 audio storiesacross Guadalupe Mountains’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Aoudad, Mule Deer, Wild Turkey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 32 trails, 34 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about McKittrick Canyon Contact Station
Start at the canyon mouthMcKittrick Canyon Contact Station is a small information stop at the mouth of McKittrick…
McKittrick Canyon Contact Station is a small information stop at the mouth of McKittrick Canyon, about seven miles north of Pine Springs Visitor Center. Pick up a brochure or look at the outdoor exhibits and video, then walk through the building’s breezeway to reach the canyon trailhead. It’s a worthwhile stop before a hike, but staffing is intermittent; this isn’t the park’s main visitor center.
Use the practical facilitiesThere’s parking for cars and buses or RVs, a picnic table, and accessible flush restrooms.
There’s parking for cars and buses or RVs, a picnic table, and accessible flush restrooms. Restrooms stay open daily even when the station isn’t staffed. A bottle-filling station and potable water are listed here, but reports conflict on availability, so carry enough water rather than plan on a refill before walking into the canyon.
Watch the gateMcKittrick Canyon is for day use, and the entrance gate on US 62/180 locks each evening.
McKittrick Canyon is for day use, and the entrance gate on US 62/180 locks each evening. Check the current schedule and leave enough time to be back out before closing.
The color is farther inThe canyon is known for fall color, usually in late October and early November, when reds,…
The canyon is known for fall color, usually in late October and early November, when reds, yellows, and deep browns stand out against the arid Chihuahuan Desert. Those colors are along the canyon trail, not at the contact station itself; treat this as a trailhead and a place to get oriented, not a drive-up viewpoint.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Guadalupe Mountains
33 sightingsAoudadMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
162 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
11 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
34 sightingsCollared PeccaryMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
37 sightingsDiamondback RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsBlack-tailed RattlesnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Guadalupe Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
