Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Texas / West Texas

Limpia Canyon Primitive Area (Davis Mountains)

Davis Mountains State Park

Islands, in an August 2025 article, calls the Davis Mountains Texas’ “sky island” mountains. Davis Mountains State Park has a quieter backcountry corner across the highway from the main park: the Limpia Canyon Primitive Area. TPWD’s park page says the area has 11 miles of trails climbing from about 4,900 feet at Limpia Creek to more than 5,700 feet at a scenic overlook, with six primitive campsites for backpackers and six for equestrians.

TPWD lists the minimum hike to a campsite at 4 miles, with an 800-foot elevation change.

The hike

The route is a lollipop. According to TPWD’s trails page, the Limpia Creek Trail leaves the parking lot with an easy, flat stretch through Limpia Canyon, then climbs about 550 feet to the junction with the Sheep Pen Canyon Loop, 2.4 miles one way. TPWD rates it moderate to challenging.

The Sheep Pen Canyon Loop runs 5.6 miles across a mountain plateau, through oak-juniper forest and high desert grassland. Trail spurs lead to the primitive campsites, and another spur climbs about 700 feet to Limpia Creek Vista, which TPWD calls the park’s highest point. The trails page notes a well on the loop, and the park page says there is non-potable water at the staging area and at the trail’s high point. Plan to carry your own drinking water. Altogether, the creek trail and the loop come to about 10.4 miles; Islands called the combination “a little over 11 miles.”

Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine wrote in 2010 that overlooks in the park take in the McDonald Observatory, Mount Livermore (the highest peak in the Davis Mountains), and the Chinati Mountains about 60 miles away. A park host told the magazine the area is peaceful, with few other visitors. The same article said the primitive area had nearly seven miles of trails at the time, including a newly opened 1.25-mile loop; TPWD now lists 11 miles.

These are multiuse trails: TPWD says hikers yield to horseback riders, and bikers yield to both. TPWD’s general advice is to carry a quart of water per hour of activity.

For bigger West Texas backpacking trips, see the Guadalupe Peak campground and South Rim and the High Chisos.

Tips

Camping

TPWD’s hike-in campsite page lists primitive sites for up to four people each, reached by a hike of at least 4 miles. Ground fires aren’t allowed, and the park’s January 2026 burn ban prohibits wood fires; charcoal and propane-type stoves are allowed for cooking. Pets are allowed in this area. Pack out all trash. The 2010 TPW magazine article said to get a permit at park headquarters before heading into the primitive area. Confirm current reservation and check-in steps with the park.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site were found.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

A plateau camp above Limpia Creek:

The Davis Mountains primitive sites are off a loop across a plateau of oak-juniper forest and desert grassland. See the sleeping pads testers pick for cool, high-desert nights.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.