Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Texas / Guadalupe Mountains

McKittrick Canyon to McKittrick Ridge

Guadalupe Mountains National Park (McKittrick Canyon)

McKittrick Canyon holds one of the region’s few perennial streams, according to Backpacker, and its lower trail is gentle and easy to reach. The trail keeps going, though: past Pratt Cabin and the Grotto, it climbs steeply out of the canyon to McKittrick Ridge and a small wilderness campground near a stand of ponderosa pines. NPS calls the climb “the toughest hike in Texas.”

NPS lists the hike to McKittrick Ridge at 15.2 miles round trip from the McKittrick Canyon Trailhead, with about 2,700 feet of elevation change.

The hike

The trail starts at the McKittrick Canyon Trailhead, shared at first with the nature and geology trails. The Outbound says to follow a dry creek bed into the canyon for about 1.5 miles, then cross McKittrick Creek several times. Backpacker, in a 2008 traverse description, puts Pratt Cabin, a 1930s homestead, at mile 2.4 and the Grotto, a small cave with stalactites, at about mile 3.5. TrailGroove notes that Pratt Cabin is not open to the public and describes the Grotto as a shaded alcove near a spring.

Past the Grotto and the Hunter Line Cabin turnoff, Hiking Project says the lower canyon’s easy walking ends and the trail turns into a full-day climb, with steep grades, semi-technical terrain, and many switchbacks. The Outbound describes reaching the Notch, a saddle with a view west into the canyon, then more false summits. NPS warns hikers, “don’t be fooled by the false summits that make you think you’ve nearly reached the top!” After another saddle the trail tops out at a dense stand of ponderosa pines, where a spur leads a few tenths of a mile to the campground. Hiking Project puts the campground about 7.5 miles in. There’s little to no shade once you leave the stream.

Beyond the campground, the McKittrick Canyon Trail follows the ridge for several miles of rolling terrain to the Tejas Trail, 11 miles from the trailhead by Hiking Project’s count. Backpacker’s 2008 article describes continuing as a 25.7-mile, three-day traverse to Pine Springs, past Mescalero Campground and the Blue Ridge and Bush Mountain trail junctions. That requires a car shuttle.

NPS recommends trekking poles because of the loose and hardened rock. The 2026 compendium keeps South McKittrick Canyon above Hunter Line Cabin closed to entry.

From Pine Springs, the Tejas Trail and the Bowl and the Guadalupe Peak campground are shorter overnights.

Tips

Camping

A Wilderness Use Permit is required for every overnight in the wilderness, and the 2026 compendium says overnight use of North McKittrick requires one. Reservations open up to six months ahead on Recreation.gov; 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. Store food away from wildlife and out of your tent. Toilet bags are required. Pets aren’t allowed on trails.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site were found. The Outbound says that “if you’re lucky you’ll have the whole place to yourself,” and recommends doing this hike in fall or winter because there’s no water.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

False summits on McKittrick Ridge:

The NPS calls the climb out of McKittrick Canyon the toughest hike in Texas, about 2,700 feet with false summits, and recommends trekking poles for the loose rock. Here's how to use them right.

See 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.