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Guadalupe Peak Hike – The Top of Texas
Guadalupe Peak Trail quickly became one of my favorite hikes in all of Texas the moment I started nervously hiking it alone on a cold November day. The trail leads you to Texas’s highest point, covering around 8.5 miles with an elevation gain of roughly 3,000 feet. According to the National Park Service, the hike is rated strenuous and, depending on your level of fitness, can range from 6-8 hours. If you keep a good pace and hike frequently, you should be able to knock it faster. I was able to summit in just over 2 hours with 30-45 minutes at the top and another 2 hours descending. One of…
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park
The Guadalupe Mountains National Park is probably one of the park systems best kept secret and a place you will not want to miss out on. GMNP averages 200k visitors a year, while a National Park like Yosemite or Grand Canyon can go as high as 5 or 6 million visitors in a year! This means that if you are looking for solitude and some of the most amazing views of Texas, you are in for a treat. I did not know much about the Guadalupe Mountains and planned my trip around visiting the Carlsbad Caverns, its sister National Park a few miles away. During my research, I noticed that…
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Lower Cave Tour – Carlsbad Caverns
Carlsbad Caverns National Park offers a series of Ranger Guided tours that provide you some fantastic adventures besides what general admission into the park can. If this is your first time at Carlsbad Caverns, I would suggest checking out my original post HERE.During my visit to Carlsbad Caverns, I could only squeeze in one Ranger Guide tour due to time constraints, but I think it is a must do for anyone visiting the National Park and looking for something off the beaten path. The Briefing When you arrive at the park and check-in with the Rangers, you are directed to a waiting room to meet your guides, test your equipment…
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Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico is one of those National Parks I was trying to cross off my list to say I had been there. After visiting this pretty unique cave system, I have to admit a trip to New Mexico isn’t complete without visiting the caverns. The caverns are located around 18 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico, and offer a decently lovely drive if you enjoy the desert’s open views. Once you arrive at the park, it is a very accessible drive up a small mountainside to the park entrance. Once you arrive at the park and pay your entrance fee, you have a few options to experience…
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Notch Trail Badlands National Park
The Notch Trail at Badlands National Park in South Dakota is my Number 1 recommendation for a moderate hike that most people should try. The hike is around 1.33 miles round trip and I would say can be completed within an hour depending on trail traffic. Unlike the other trails near it there is no boardwalk to follow instead it is a decently marked dirt path. After the cliff ladder which I will get to in a minute, you mostly will trace the edge of a cliff so if you are afraid of heights watch out. The main attraction of this trail and what makes it unique is the 50…
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Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park is a park found in Southwest South Dakota and a must do stop for all outdoor lovers in this part of the U.S. The Badlands National Park was truthfully never on my list of parks to visit since I just did not know much about the park or South Dakota in general. When I first started researching the park it truly intrigued me how such a massive park had never popped up as a must visit. The park itself is a whopping 244,000 acres and when you pull up the map of the park it is hard not to be overwhelmed. I originally planned only one day…
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The Dakotas Road Trip Day 4
My fourth day in the Dakotas was my most rushed day due to calling my trip short which looking back at it was a mistake. I was originally going to spend the night in North Dakota, but I decided to make a day trip of it. This is not something I recommend others do but you live and learn. This day I left Rapid City, SD bright and early to see the town of Deadwood after watching the show on tv for so many years. The town is nice but to be honest just like so many other places it is a noticeably big tourist trap. The town itself has…
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The Dakotas Road Trip Day 1 and 2
This summer after cancelling multiple plans to travel abroad I settled on visiting two states that had been on my list for a while, North and South Dakota. I have had a goal to visit all 50 states and all 62 National Parks but there are some locations hard to reach than others. The Dakotas have been an area that I have wanted to visit for a long time but also just out of the way enough that I never made my way there. Being the summer of covid and not allowed to really travel abroad I decided to embark on an awesome solo road trip! The original planned ended…
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Hermits Trail Grand Canyon National Park
Hermit Trail in the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the lesser visited trails at GCNP when compared to Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails. The hike is located a quick walk from the Hermit Rest area on the west side of the South Rim off Grand Canyon Village. How To Get There I highly recommend taking the shuttle from the Grand Canyon Village since the walk on the Rim Trail would take quite some time and would wear you out before tackling an already strenuous hike. The shuttles in the Grand Canyon are free and are the best way of covering ground fast across the park. You are…
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Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most visited National Parks in the United States and one that has a very dear spot in my heart. This was one of the first National Parks I visited on my Southwest Road Trip and has one of my favorite campgrounds. The National Park has some amazing hikes and offers something for all travelers. You are able to stay in the main village and enjoy luxury lodges and fine dining or you are able to stay at some of the remote campgrounds and enjoy some of the most amazing views of any park. The same applies for hiking, you are able to…
