• The Western Escarpment of the Guadalupes rises above the white gypsum sands of the desert floor.

    Guadalupe Mountains

    National Park Texas

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  • Smoking Restrictions

    Guadalupe Mountains National Park Superintendent Dennis A. Vásquez announced that the park will restrict smoking beginning Sunday, May 12, 2013, as a precautionary measure due to the park’s HIGH fire danger rating. More »

Places

Pratt Cabin was built in 1932 as a summer retreat for Wallace Pratt and his family.
Wallace Pratt had this stone cabin built in the heart of McKittrick in 1932.
NPS Photo - Doug Buehler
 
Humans have frequented the Guadalupe Mountains for over 10,000 years, from early hunter-gatherers, settlers, and military, to entrepreneurs, ranchers, geologists, and conservationists. In many instances, there is little evidence of their stay, and we are must carefully piece together the circumstances of their lives. But for many, the historic structures, ruins, remnants, and written record vividly recount their existence in this majestic landscape.

Did You Know?

Flowers of the desert willow are perfectly formed for the fat, rounded bodies of bees.

The long narrow leaves of the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) gives it its common name, but it is not a true willow. It is beautiful when in bloom, and provides valuable nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other insects.