Tejas Trail and the Bowl Loop

Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Pine Springs)

The Bowl is a meadow in a high depression of the Guadalupe Mountains, reached by a stiff climb up the Tejas Trail from Pine Springs. Backpacker describes a 12.65-mile overnight loop that climbs into the high country, camps at Tejas Campground, crosses the Bowl, tags Hunter Peak, and drops back down Bear Canyon.

The Outbound describes a shorter version, the Hunter Peak Loop, that can be done as a day hike or with a night at Pine Top Campground.

The hike

The Tejas Trail leaves the Pine Springs Trailhead and climbs into the high country. The Outbound says the Tejas Trail climbs about 2,546 feet, with views of Guadalupe Peak across the canyon and of the dry creek bed that leads to Devil’s Hall. According to the park’s campground table, Pine Top Campground is 3.9 miles from Pine Springs and Tejas Campground 5.5 miles, both after a climb of about 2,300 feet.

Backpacker’s route continues on the Tejas Trail to Tejas Campground, which it says has six individual sites near the bottom of the canyon. On day two you backtrack about 0.4 miles and take the Juniper Trail to the Bowl. Backpacker calls the Bowl a grassy, snag-studded meadow in a depression, with signs of old fire, and says it “can be a bit anticlimactic” compared with the mountain edges. Near mile 8.6, a tricky, nearly 180-degree turn leads toward Hunter Peak.

Hunter Peak is a short side trip with a “stair-stepping climb” and remnants of an ancient reef, according to Backpacker. The Outbound says it is the fifth-highest peak in Texas, about 80 feet lower than Guadalupe Peak. From there the Bear Canyon Trail descends steeply; The Outbound counts 46 switchbacks, and both guides recommend trekking poles. The Frijole Trail wraps around the base of the mountain back toward Pine Springs.

In a 2016 trip report on Big Bend Chat, wrangler88 did a similar two-day loop in winter: snow increasing with elevation, howling wind, lows in the 20s, and only a handful of day hikers on the Tejas Trail. The poster called the Juniper Trail and the Bowl “one of my favorite parts of my trip.”

From the same trailhead, the Guadalupe Peak campground is a shorter overnight. The McKittrick Ridge route joins the Tejas Trail farther north.

Tips

Carry all your water. There’s none in the high country, and caching is prohibited.
Use trekking poles for the Bear Canyon descent.
Choose your camp for the wind. Backpacker says Pine Top is more exposed than Tejas.
Bring toilet bags. The park requires them for wilderness use.
Check fire-danger closures in late spring and early summer.

Camping

A Wilderness Use Permit is required for every overnight in the Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness. The park’s 2026 compendium says reservations open up to six months ahead on Recreation.gov, and permits are picked up in person at the Pine Springs Visitor Center up to 48 hours before your trip, before 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time. Camp only at designated sites with tents on the pad; groups are limited to four people per site. Open fires are prohibited; use a containerized fuel stove. Keep food out of your tent and away from wildlife. Pack toilet bags, at least one per person per day. Pets aren’t allowed on wilderness trails.

Inside Intel: Backpacker calls Tejas Campground “a great alternative to Pine Top,” which it describes as more crowded and more exposed to wind. wrangler88’s 2016 trip report agrees about Tejas: “This was a great site, protected from the wind.”

Trail facts

Distance: 12.65 miles via Tejas Campground (Backpacker); about 8 to 8.7 miles via Pine Top (The Outbound)
Route type: Loop (Tejas, Juniper, Bowl, Bear Canyon, Frijole trails)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Campsites: Pine Top (8 sites, 3.9 mi); Tejas (5 sites per NPS, 5.5 mi)
Water: None on the route; trailhead has water (Backpacker)
Permits: Wilderness Use Permit, picked up in person at Pine Springs
Fires: Prohibited; containerized fuel stoves only
Group size: 4 per site
Dogs: Not allowed
Trailhead: Pine Springs
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

46 switchbacks down Bear Canyon:

The Outbound counts 46 switchbacks on the steep, rocky Bear Canyon descent, and both guides recommend trekking poles. Our guide covers setting length for descents, choking down, and sparing your knees.

Read the pole tips →

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.