 |
On our first visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park back in May 2015, I hiked the entire 2½-mile Smith Spring Loop Trail and posted about it here. On this trip, we didn't have time for more than the short ¾-mile roundtrip stroll on the sidewalk from the Frijole Ranch parking area to Manzanita Spring.
According to the park service, the historic Frijole Ranch house is "the most complete remnant of early farming and ranching enterprises in the Guadalupe Mountains." The front rooms were built by the Rader brothers in the 1870s or 1880s. The Smith family moved here in 1906 and stayed until 1940. They added the kitchen, two bedrooms, and the second floor.
With the asphalt path washed out in a couple of places, I would not recommend this hike for visitors in manual wheelchairs. We tried to pack as much as we could into our afternoon visit to give our daughter a good overview of the park. We visited in September 2021.
 |
| Trailhead information and fee drop |
 |
| Concrete sidewalk leads from the parking area to Frijole Ranch |
 |
| Approaching the ranch near Nipple Hill (5682') |
 |
| One of the ranch outbuildings |
 |
| Frijole Ranch house |
 |
| Frijole Spring - 6 gallons per minute |
 |
| The first washout behind the ranch |
 |
| Another outbuilding at the ranch |
 |
| Looking southwest at Guadalupe Peak (8749') |
 |
| Guadalupe Mountains and Frijole (8243') |
 |
| One of several dry streambeds in the area |
 |
| El Capitan (8085') |
 |
| The second washout |
 |
| More of the Guadalupe Mountains |
 |
| Trailside interpretive sign and bench |
 |
| Trans Pecos West Texas |
 |
| Manzanita Spring |
 |
| One more view of the mountains |
An entry fee of $10 per person is valid for seven consecutive days at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Fees may be paid with cash or card at the visitor center or they may be paid with cash at the trailhead by using the green envelopes provided. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). A pass holder can bring up to three additional adults (age 16 or older) with no additional fee. Also available is a Guadalupe Mountains National Park Annual Park Pass for $35.
The Guadalupe Mountains National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm.
No comments:
Post a Comment