Although the hike lacks much vertical challenge, you lowlanders will be aware of breathing immediately, and need for hydration that comes with a dry climate at a starting altitude of 5,013 feet above sea level. Republishing this articleand/orany of its contents (text, photography, etc. Although less than ideal, the historical accounts do present a likely and compelling scenario for the natural occurrence of this species in the state (http://www.fishesoftexas.org/specimen/FoTX%20unvouchered1). Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who was charmed by the beauty and geology of the Guadalupe, purchased land in McKittrick Canyon in the 1930's. In 1959, Pratt donated his land to the National Park Service. This allowed us to make good time just not enough to get to Pratt Cabin. We continued to The Grotto, another 1.0 mile where there are picnic tables. On the way back to the Contact Station we encountered a park volunteer who shared stories of the area with us. Working with other conservation organizations and Guadalupe National Park staff, they have spent the past few years studying the environment of McKittrick Creek and its suitability for reintroducing Rio Grande Cutthroats. The Lone Star State, as youve apparently gathered, doesnt hold a candle to the Beaver State in the trout department. Skiff Fly Line Management THREE STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM! We hiked the McKittrick Canyon Trail all the way to the Notch (10 mi. McKittrick Creek, Guadalupe Mountains. For the first 2 hours, you are in the canyon, a valley, very flat. Expect to see resident mule deer enjoying the peaceful serenity of the canyon. RT) midweek in early November. We even saw two deer near the cabin. Your email address will not be published. Their modern-day range has been reduced to portions of southern Colorado and New Mexico, where they are the official state fish. Hike unlike anything around. Its only occurrence in Texas is as a small, isolated population in the Davis Mountains, but otherwise its current range throughout the upper Rio Grande and Pecos River drainages in New Mexico and Colorado is very similar to the current range of Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout. Again, the trail steadily and almost imperceptibly heads uphill. McKittrick Canyon Trail Guadalupe Mountains National Park Length: 21.1 mi Est. I love seeing those trout. I did not know trout could be native to Texas, that is so cool. They have noticeable parr marks on their sides, so they could be young of the year, but it is conceivable that they are cuttbows, if in fact the rainbows were dumped in on top of the Rio Grandes as the anecdotal evidence suggests. E-Newsletter Archive. A new wonder world of water outside the door. Three trails start right at this point. He also reported taking this species from the "Rio Benito" at Fort Stanton, New Mexico, and from other mountain streams in New Mexico. . For the entire first half of the hike, I had the trail to myself, other than passing two backpackers on the trail. Hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Mountain Standard . The year round creek begins to gurgle, making appearances as it runs parallel to this portion of the hike, providing an opportunity for several stream crossings. A Texas Trout. Getting ready for salt is priority one the big move a week away. But what we may lack in trout, we make up in the diversity of our catchable piscifauna, including gargantuan bass, the freshwater fish for which Texas is probably best known. We started the hike around 2:30 and made it to the Pratt Cabin before having to turn around to make it back in time. It's cable reimagined No DVR. We just hiked to the Pratt Cabin and sat in the rocking chairs and had a snack. The Headquarters Visitor Center at Pine Springs is located off Highway 62/180 at 400 Pine Canyon Drive, Salt Flat, Texas 79847 just 55 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico, 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas, and 65 miles north of Van Horn. Gear & Gadgets on the Texas Fishing and Outdoors Show, http://www.grtu.org/archives/Cutthroat_in_Texas_Garret_Matlock.pdf, http://www.texasexplorer.com/guadmckcanyon.htm, http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=131911&start=0, Powered by UBB.threads PHP Forum Software 7.7.3. Manage My Subscriptions, archive There is a large parking lot here as well as a ranger station and restrooms. Just like you, these trout are not native, but Texas is happy to have themand youall the same. For a hike this long, pack a picnic lunch. The elevation gain and steepness of the trail pick up considerably past the Grotto and Hunter Line Cabin, so those continuing on should be aptly prepared, or planning to camp overnight at the backcountry McKittrick Ridge Campground. Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition. Texas Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Program. For those that love hiking in rugged secluded-ness, Texass OTHER National Park should definitely be on your radar! Check out the, What to Expect on a McKittrick Canyon Day Hike, Day hiking in McKittrick Canyon was long on my bucket list of hikes, after having witnessed the surprising depth and diversity of other portions of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, including its, *Planning to tag on another nearby National Park? He hiked roughly 9 miles without seeing another person. If you missed the initial premise of this expedition, it was a joint effort pooling the skills of various organizations that included; Trout Unlimited (TU), Texas Parks And Wildlife, National Parks Service, New Mexico Parks and the Guadalupe River Chapter of Trout Unlimited (GRTU). This historic cabin is closing in on a 100 year old birthday soon! The detour to the Grotto is marked with a metal trail sign. See dusty greens and brightly colored prickly pear blooms against steep canyon walls and blue skies. Dont miss our article Best Things to Do in Big Bend for great things to do in the park. Just do it! Hiking shoes. To get to the trailhead, walk through the building to the other side. The canyon is one of the few spots within hundreds of miles with maple trees, so at this time of year the scenery is spectacular. A final feasibility study is expected to be finished sometime in 2018. One Yucca we photographed is easily 40 feet tall. I walked the extra half hour out to the Grotto. If you are lucky enough, View Post Complete Guide to the Humphreys Peak Hike: Highest Point in ArizonaContinue, There is a common misconception floating around out there that the state of Texas is all just flat and, View Post The Lost Mine Trail at Big Bend: Hiking to the Top of a National ParkContinue, What makes hiking so enjoyable, is that no matter the person, there are all different types of hiking, so, View Post Different Types of Hiking: Which Type Are You?Continue, I will always remember the day my husband and I bought our tour packages to run the Great Wall, View Post Guide to Planning a Trip to China: The Great Wall Marathon RuncationContinue, Your email address will not be published. Uniquely lush and vibrant trees, including juniper, pine, and ash, begin to emerge and line the trail, surprisingly verdant. Julie Last updated: May 5, 2022 United States 4 Comments. Oregon, what with all those abundant brisk and babbling waters, is indeed a trout fishermans paradise. If you are new to hiking or are curious about what you should bring on a hike, check out our Hiking Gear Guide. A small portion of the trail is shaded (between Pratt Cabin and the Grotto), but you will be exposed to the sun on the remainder of the trail. For one, McKittrick Creek would have been fair game for fishing, as Guadalupe Mountains National Park wasnt established until 1972 (although the Texanist has no idea if there were trout present before those early stockings). any personal information to the agency. The first thing he said was that was a great hike! He loved the trail, the short but fun walk through a slot canyon, and the best part, the views from the top of the ridge. We were the first vehicle in the parking lot just after sunrise, and did not see another person until our return back down from the Notch. Leave them blank to get signed up. Water and snacks. If this is part of a bigger road trip to Texas and New Mexico, here is more information to help you plan your trip. Beyond the Grotto, the hike gets much steeper to the Notch, though we didn't think the elevation gain was what made this section hard, it was the overgrown desert shrubs and vegetation which at times gave us cuts on our arms and legs. The Texanist: Why Dont Texas Houses Have Basements? Asterisk number two: McKittrick Creek is situated inside the borders of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where fishing is prohibited. The Next Frontier of Science is in your Backyard (with you and your smartphone), Biotechnologies for Conservation & Their Intended Consequences, History of UT Herpetology, Part 3: Eric Pianka, the "Lizard Man". This 3.4 miles one way and back covers multiple landmarks, including the Pratt Cabin, the Grotto, and the Hunter Line Cabin. We realized that we would not be able to get to the Notch due to time constraints and turned back. McKittrick Canyon is a day use area. It is possible to see McKittrick canyon without hiking 19 miles with tree days of water. Quick Facts on the McKittrick Canyon Trail, Overnight Backpacking Length: 14.8 miles roundtrip. The native range of the Rio Grande Cutthroat suspiciously cuts off right at the Texas border. Hike The McKittrick Canyon Trails. The Best of Caprock Canyons State Park Hiking and Camping, The Mount Mitchell Hike: The Highest Mountain in North Carolina, Hiking Mt. At one time there was continuity between Big Bend and the Rockies such that trout were endemic throughout. West Texas may not inspire the same type of awe as the Teton mountains, or the cultural hotbed of, View Post Best Small Towns in Texas: Road Tripping Through West TexasContinue, There are two ways to develop a foolproof hiking checklist: from a series of carefully planned and successfully executed, View Post The Only Hiking Checklist You Will Ever Need: The 10 Essentials PlusContinue, Arizona, portrayed across Instagramthrough its painted deserts, red rocks, diverging canyons, and vast expanses. If you wanted to just hike to the Grotto and Hunter Line Shack, it would only be about 7 mi. The Rio Bonito is a tributary of the Pecos River and is known to have contained Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout at that time (Behnke, R.J. 1979. . He also told us that the gates at the Contact Station are closed/locked and if you miss the deadline thats a problem. Built in 1928 by Jesse Hunter as a hunting retreat, this establishment is but a second amazing testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of those who made Guadalupe Mountains their early homes. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Running Your Shallow Saltwater Skiff These are some of the many ways to set up your skiff for running Texas [], TPWD NEWS RELEASE: AUSTIN Each February for 18 years, countless volunteers spend 10 days on the water along the Texas coastline searching the bays for abandoned crab traps left to foul shrimpers nets, snag anglers lines, ghost fish, and create unsightly views. The group convened at Van Horn, Texas, the closest town to our destination on the Texas side of the GMNP. In the summer of 1854, a destitute stowaway on a Texas-bound schooner was discovered and forced to work for his passage. Based on the recommendation from another hiker we started toward the Notch. Sort By: The ultimate, News Summary and Forecasts on Fly Fishing in Texas, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). It's a gorgeous place. because of seeps and springs that flow out of the limestone formations of the canyon. If there was once a trout native to Texas, what does that mean for fishermen and wildlife enthusiasts today? It was open when we visited in mid-October. The canyon is one of the few spots within hundreds of miles with maple trees, so at this time of year the scenery is spectacular. It slowly climbs uphill, but the ascent is so gradual that you may not even notice that you are walking uphill. Judging by the smell, we also snuck up on a skunk. But your reward is better views, an overall more interesting hiking trail, and just a fraction of the number of people that the McKittrick Canyon Trail. RT, and I think most families could do this. This point in the McKittrick Canyon hike is considered an ideal turn around point for the average day hiker. hundreds of fishing spots around the state, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, More Colorful Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At, The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. McKittrick Canyon surprised me, and it continues to be one of the most unique spots I have hiked in the state of Texas! It is worth noting that while not on the main trail, the short spur trail that leads to the Grotto also leads just past the Grotto formation to a historic cabin, the Hunter Line Cabin, that will push your total roundtrip just slightly closer to an even 7 miles roundtrip. 79847. The information center at the trailhead was pretty luxurious and if you were to go directly to the canyon trailhead, theres plenty of information to make your hike. A Look at Mckittrick's Naturalized Rainbow Trout - 2 Skiff Fly Line Management - THREE STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM! The truth, the Texanist is sorry to report, is that there are no rivers in Texas, the Guadalupe included, that are cold enough to support a real trout fishery. McKittrick Canyon Trail Since McKittrick Canyon is a hundred miles east of El Paso and two hundred miles due west of Midland, you could say it's in the middle of nowhere. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. From Pratt Cabin, it is just under a 1.5 mile walk to get to the next optional (but worthwhile!) We had excellent weather and the colors were absolutely gorgeous. I managed to finagle a spot as the official photographer, and it probably helped that I am a member of TU and GRTU. Guadalupe Mountains National Park epitomizes the diversity of this region: it has mountains, forests, deserts, and canyons, all intricately and seamlessly blended together! Trout numbers increased from 10,000 in 1966 to more than 260,000 in 2004. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. RVers will enter the park via NM-137. Bring water. "The Notch" is 9.8 miles round trip from the McKittrick Trailhead. It took us about an hour each way to hike the 2.4 miles to Pratt Cabin, and we enjoyed the fairly small elevation change and chance to enjoy the variety of trees and colors. The Saturday Reruns are falling fast now. *Planning to tag on another nearby National Park? . Thanks for writing in to let us know!! Im looking forward to learning much about the incredible state of Texas! The restrooms have toilets and sinks (they are not vault toilets). We (two couples ages 45-60) hiked the McKittrick Canyon trail to the Grotto (approx. In 2.5 miles, reach the Pratt Homestead (2), a stone hut where geologist Wallace Pratt lived until 1957. I meet Tuesday with TPWD's Western Region Inland Fisheries Director, their Habitat Restoration Chief, and the fisheries biologist who wrote the original article about Rio Grande Cutthroats in Texas to map out our initial field trip. The bigger, the better :-). Here, plants and animals tolerate true desert conditions. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. There will be a new video segment out soon, and it will go over the importance of keeping a fly fishing calendar, or diary, to help we who are of lesser memory and greater activity; to keep track of your fly fishing adventures as a reference of what can happen or no longer happens (in [], Texas Clay Fest Gruene Texas This Weekend. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. I have never been to the areas you speak of, but it would be great to restore the fish to their native waters. As the trail continues down northeast slope you will probably recognize that less sun exposure makes this side a little more lush. 1988 2800 3700 6612 33.673169999999999-111.2872. The gates do close at 5 and you need to make sure you are out before then. Spectacular! It is the wider of the three trails and covered with bright white gravel. In this guide, we cover the full hike on the McKittrick Canyon Trail to the Notch, with information on the shorter versions to Pratt Cabin and the Grotto, if you dont plan to go the full distance. Jetties sheepshead on fly. As we drove up 54 and merged with 62, the mountain range loomed large. Then I hiked into the Canyon and climbed up to McKittrick Ridge for. There is a self pay box at the trailhead, as well as a registry that all hikers should fill out for safety purposes. (The Texanist prefers to do his swimming in water with a temperature just above the 70-degree mark, cool but not too cold.