Outdoors
in El Paso, TX
(showing 1 - 4 out of 4)
Chamizal National Memorial
800 S San Marcial St
El Paso, TX 79905 Directions
The Chamizal National Memorial is known as the 55-acre peace park, commemorating the Chamizal Treaty that settled a border dispute between the U.S. and Mexico after the shifting of the Rio Grande River in the mid-1800s. Birdwatching, hiking and outdoor activities are popular activities here.
The Chamizal National Memorial commemorates the treaty of 1963 that put an end to a 99-year old boundary dispute between the U.S. and Mexico.
The area includes a memorial, along with an amphitheater and a 500-seat auditorium. Activities include a 1.8 mile hike on the Cordova Island trail that encircles the 55-acre urban park. The natural beauty of the area is in full view, with the Franklin and Juarez mountains looming in the horizon, the downtown skyline of El Paso and the International Bridge to Mexico.
Originally, the Rio Grande River was the natural border between U.S. and Mexico. But after heavy flooding in the mid 1800's, the river shifted and the land disputes arose.
The Chamizal Treaty, as it is known, was signed in 1963 and ended the long running dispute.
The 55-acre park is known as the "peace park" and was created as part of the treaty to celebrate the understanding and agreement between the two nations.
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
4301 Woodrow Bean Transmountain Rd
El Paso, TX 79924 Directions
Learn the story of El Paso's beginnings as a passageway to the West through the exhibits and attractions at the El Paso Museum of Archeology. The museum houses artifacts indoors and chronicles the flora and fauna of the area in its outdoor gardens.
Every town has a history, and El Paso delves back thousands of years to tell its story at the El Paso Museum of Archeology. The beginnings of the area and its early inhabitants are the main focus of the museum, and the stories are told through materials found during excavations in the region.
The lives of American Indians are told through stories featuring their tools and belongings as they inhabited the El Paso area, the greater Southwest and northern Mexico. The time period ranges from the Paleoindian hunters of the Ice Age to their modern Indian descendants.
The stories inside the museum are as compelling as the stories on the museum's grounds, which includes 15 acres of nature trails, outdoor exhibits and a desert garden with more than 250 varieties of native plants.
Franklin Mountains State Park
1331 McKelligon Canyon Rd
El Paso, TX 79930 Directions
The Franklin Mountains State Park is an urban oasis and a favorite attraction for hikers and rock climbers. You'll also find real Native American pictographs on the boulders and in rock shelters.
Conservationists have worked steadily and successfully to designate the Franklin Mountains State Park as an ecologically important piece of natural history, designating the area as a state park in 1979.
Since then, urban development has halted and the mountains form a striking backdrop to the city of El Paso.
The park opened to the public in 1987 and is the largest urban park in the nation at more than 24,000 acres.
The area is a popular attraction for hikers and rock climbers. Two hiking trails are accessible off Loop 375, and the Parks Department has designated climbing areas in McKeligon Canyon.
Primitive camping and a handful of RV sites are available for overnight stays.
Native Americans created pictographs on many of the boulders and in rock shelters.
Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site
6900 Hueco Tanks Rd
El Paso, TX 79938 Directions
Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site is filled with interesting history of the land, including the otherworldly natural rock basins where rainwater collects in stunning pools. Rock paintings, a historic ranch house and the ruins of a stagecoach station are a few attractions within the park that are all part of the region's history.
Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site is a world-renown park named for its natural rock basins or "huecos" that have gathered rainwater for the early inhabitants of the region.
The historic, 900-acre site opened to the public in 1970. Here, visitors can view breathtaking rock paintings that depict everyday and stories passed down by the Archaic hunters and Native Americans that have inhabited the area. Paintings include more than 200 designs or masks left by the prehistoric Jornada Mogollon culture.
The visitor's center is located in a historic ranch house. Nearby are the ruins of a stagecoach station.
Popular activities here include rock climbing, bouldering, birding, camping and hiking.
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