West Texas Trail Walkers

Celebrating over 40 years of hiking our West Texas favorites!

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Our Next Event:

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

October 9-11, 2026

Updated January 20, 2026

I am writing to enthusiastically invite you to join the West Texas Trail Walkers for an unforgettable hiking adventure in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in 2026! Please mark your calendars for the main event, October 9-11, 2026. We offer a variety of hiking options, including the challenging climb to the summit of Guadalupe Mountain, the highest peak in Texas, the picturesque McKittrick Canyon trail, famous for its stunning fall foliage in October, and the "Fun Shorties," which are accessible, shorter trails perfect for all skill levels. For those who wish to extend their experience, we encourage you to add an extra day to descend into the awe-inspiring Carlsbad cavern and explore its fascinating underground system. In addition to these incredible opportunities, we are also planning a leisurely walk along the scenic Pecos River in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Regarding accommodations, the White's City Cavern Inn in White's City, New Mexico, situated just outside Carlsbad Caverns National Park, is the closest lodging option. Alternatively, Carlsbad, New Mexico, offers a wide array of lodging choices to suit various preferences and budgets. For those flying in, El Paso, Texas, located approximately 110 miles away, boasts the nearest major airport, making travel convenient and straightforward.

We also cordially extend an invitation to join our reconnaissance trip from March 24-27, 2026. Your participation in this pre-event exploration would be greatly appreciated, and in return, we kindly request that you volunteer to assist with one of the hikes during the main October event.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Autumn

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the walk directors and planning team as we explore and meticulously map out the trails, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. It's not only a rewarding experience, but it also promotes team building, especially for those of us who cannot get enough of the rugged beauty of the West Texas mountains!

The final brochure and registration forms will be available here on our website in early June 2026. For more information about the Guadalupe Mountains National Park check out their website: https://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm. We are eagerly anticipating your participation and hope to see you in October for an incredible hiking experience!

Susasn Noonan
President, West Texas Trail Walkers

Volunteers Needed!

As you know, it takes a core group of volunteers to organize a hiking event of this magnitude. We always need volunteers to serve as hiking directors and assistant hiking directors for each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These volunteers set up the hikes, determine the check points and trail markings, create a map and directions, coordinate the worker's walks and recruit several volunteers to help out on the day of the hike. Since our hikes use established state park trails and maps, the walk directors don't need to do much background preparation.

If you prefer to volunteer for more specific tasks, we have several volunteer opportunities. These activities are "nice to have" but not "mission essential." If we don't have volunteers, most likely they will be dropped. Here are the volunteer activities:

Designing and purchasing the annual Patch
Selecting and negotiating a special hotel rate
Selecting the location and coordinating the Friday night happy hour

Lastly, we always need people to serve on the board. We have one position open in October 2023. Also Susan Noonan is serving as acting President and Secretary. She is willing to serve in one of these officer positions, but needs someone to volunteer for either President or Secretary.

Thank you to all our volunteers. Without this active core, our organization would fold.

Devil's Hall in GMNP

El Capitan in GMNP