Nestled in the westernmost tip of Texas, is the city of El Paso, one of the largest cities (by land area) in Texas. I had the pleasure of taking a trip to El Paso this past week and experiencing the unique blend of Mexican and American influences in food, culture, and hospitality.

In this blog post, I’ll share my experiences and recommendations for a few days in El Paso, Texas.

Day 1: Arrival and Historic Downtown

Airport Experience:

Flying into El Paso airport was a breeze. I didn’t know what to expect since I knew El Paso was a big city, but the airport is NOT a big airport. It’s super easy to find where to get your bags, and to get out to the pick up zones. Transportation areas are well defined and I had no trouble at all.

Getting from the airport to my hotel was also a breeze. I decided to take an Uber because I was running short on time to make it to the event I was attending. However, if you have more time to spare, taking the Sun Metro could save you some money.

Hotel Reservations:

I booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express El Paso – Downtown, because it was one of the most affordable options in the area I wanted to be in for the first couple days. I also ended up booking my hotel quite late, only 2 weeks before my arrival, so there were quite a few hotels already full.

I enjoy Holiday Inn Express hotels, so it worked out for me. The hotel was exactly what I’d expect of a Holiday Inn Express. It was clean, had a comfy bed, had stylish and useful furniture as well as all the necessary hotel amenities – a gym, breakfast, free coffee.

If you’re working with a higher budget, there are a LOT of really incredible hotels in downtown El Paso! There are plenty of stunning, Instagram worthy hotels to choose from.

Some of those fancier hotels include:

The Plaza Hotel – Pioneer Park, Hotel Indigo, Stanton House El Paso, and Hotel Paso Del Norte.

Use the booking.com search box below to see some options in the area. You may have to zoom in to see the downtown area (double click on the area you want to zoom in).

Exploring Downtown:

Once I got checked into my hotel, I was able to spend time walking around downtown, a historic center filled with intriguing architecture, cultural attractions, art, and a lively atmosphere.

1. San Jacinto Plaza: I find that each city center tends to have some kind of gathering place and downtown El Paso is no different. Like any other city plaza, San Jacinto offers a great space for meeting up with friends, having a coffee, or participating in an array of events hosted in the plaza. The plaza has a very unique statue in the middle of three alligators in a fountain that has an interesting history.
   • Fun Fact: Many people still refer to San Jacinto Plaza as “La Plaza de los Lagartos” meaning the Alligator Plaza because there used to be a fountain in the middle of the plaza that had live alligators living in it. Sadly, the fountain was replaced with an alligator statue in the mid 1970’s due to vandals injuring and even killing the gators. Read more about La Plaza de los Lagartos...

2. The Aztec Calendar: According to the El Paso Museum of History, this Aztec calendar in downtown El Paso is “a replica made from a cast of the original Aztec Calendar of ancient Tenochtitlan and was presented to the city by Petroleos Mexicanos, a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Later it was painted” the beautiful colors it is today.
This monument is an easy walk to from downtown. The calendar is outdoor and anyone can visit it for free. It’s a quick, take your picture and keep moving stop.

3. The Plaza Theatre: An iconic downtown El Paso staple – “the [Plaza] theatre was built [in 1930] with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and features intricately painted ceilings, mosaic-tiled floors, decorative metal railings and antique furniture. As one of the remaining atmospheric theaters in the United States, The Plaza conveys the illusion that viewers are seated outdoors in a Spanish courtyard.” – ElPasoLive.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to tour the theatre as they only do tours once a week on Tuesdays at noon and I was attending an event at that time. You can click these links to see photos of the inside of the theatre, and the beautiful lit up theatre at night!

4. El Paso Museum of Art: Art enthusiasts will appreciate the El Paso Museum of Art, which boasts an impressive collection of European, Mexican, and American art. It’s completely free and a great place to spend time immersing yourself in culture.
This isn’t a huge museum so plan to spend no more than an hour and a half here.

Day 2: Scenic Drive, Winery, Museums, Outlet Mall, and the Franklin Mountains

On day 2, I accomplished a lot, but it didn’t feel like a busy day at all. I took my time driving the scenic route and looking over the city. I spent hours at the winery reading while sipping wine on the patio. The two museums I visited were quick in-and-out visits. I’m not a big shopper, but I do like stopping at the mall to see what it’s like so I just wandered there for a bit, and then finished my day by checking into my campsite at Franklin Mountains State Park, setting up camp, and hiking up the Sunset Trail.

1. Scenic Drive: This 2-mile, winding, road provides beautiful, panoramic views of the city. It’s a must-visit for tourists both in daylight and at night. On my visit I only drove through during the day but I’m sure the views at night are incredible.

2. Zin Valle Winery: Just 25 minutes from downtown El Paso is this quaint winery that offers 3 free wine tastings between the hours of 12pm-4pm. The winery was tucked away on a quiet street and afforded a very relaxing spot to sit, read, and sip on some wine this afternoon. They even had a cute little, in house cat named Truffles.

3. Border Patrol and the Archaeology Museums : These museums are side-by-side with a cute little walkway between them on the way out to the Franklin Mountains. They’re not very big museums so they don’t take a lot of time to visit but they’re free and are worth noting.

The Border Patrol Museum – This museum has been in El Paso since 1994, but the artifacts inside date as far back as the 1920s. I’m not a big history buff, so I knew this would be a quick look-through for me, but it was cool to see the continual growth in technology, uniform strength, and durability, as well as the involvement of K-9s. Within the museum, you’ll also see a weapons section and read about all the “wins” of the border patrol in seizing large quantities of weapons, drugs, illegal immigrants, etc.

The Archaeology Museum – This was a tiny little museum, but very well done. I was the only person there and it took me about 15-20 minutes to get through the whole thing. The museum presents information about the prehistory of the area surrounding El Paso. It feels more like someone’s personal passion project than a real museum, but you can feel the passion when visiting. It’s maintained with love and respect for the land and those who inhabited it years before.

4. The Outlet Shoppes at El Paso: Although I don’t tend to shop while on vacation, I still like to visit malls in different cities just to see what they have! The Outlet Shoppes in El Paso had pretty much the same stores as any other mall in Texas, but it was nice to get out, stretch my legs, and get some steps in.

5. Franklin Mountains State Park: I finished my day by driving out (22 minutes from downtown) to the Franklin Mountains State Park. This park offers numerous hiking trails with breathtaking desert vistas. I got to the park just in time to set up camp and hike the Upper Sunset Trail for sundown. It was truly stunning!

El Paso has two state parks within an hour of downtown, both Franklin Mountains State Park and Hueco Tanks State Park. Fortunately, I was able to add Franklin Mountains to my list of Texas State Park visits, but I wasn’t able to make it to Hueco during my visit. However, if you have the time, I’ve heard great things about that park as well.

**Click here to read my post about my visit to the Franklin Mountains**

Day 3: Hiking and heading out of town to Guadalupe Mountains National Park

On day 3, I woke up at Franklin Mountains State park, did some more hiking and then drove the 2 hours out to my campsite in Salt Flat, Tx. I got to the campsite just before sundown so I was able to set up and settle in before dark.

I knew I would be leaving the park very early the next morning to make it to the trailhead before sun up so I wanted to get as close to the trailhead as possible. When I decided I was going to hike Guadalupe Peak, I looked for a campsite at the base and it was all booked up (for months!) so I looked into other options and actually found the campsite I stayed at, More Travel, Less Talk on Airbnb! <- who would have thought?! 🤔

Booking at this campsite on Airbnb is a bit odd, but it makes sense once you arrive. The campground is called More Travel, Less Talk, but the bookings on Airbnb are titled per specific campsite on the campgrounds. Each site has it’s own name. It was perfect for what I was needing for the night. It had a vault toilet outhouse, showers, and the camp hosts provided a jug of water, BBQ pit, and picnic table at each site.

There’s also a time change between where I stayed and the trailhead, which really through me off. I left the campsite at 5:30am and thought I’d arrive at the trailhead at 6:00am, but I arrived around 7:00am. I definitely didn’t realize the time zone border went through Texas, I guess I just assumed it would go around the state for some reason. 🤷🤷

Getting to the park was easy and thankfully at that hour on a weekday, parking was abundant. I planned to get there early because of a fear of not getting parking (and of course wanting to beat the Texas heat) because I’d read that parking fills up quickly. I paid my $10 entrance fee and got ready to summit.

Climbing Guadalupe Peak

I started out in the dark, but not dark enough for a headlamp. The sun was already starting to come up enough to illuminate the way. Within the first 10 minutes on the trail, I was already winded and started to get a bit fearful of the hike.

I just kept telling myself on the way up “slow and steady wins the race” and to “just put one foot in front of the other”. I took quite a few breaks as the elevation + my asthma definitely had me winded along the way. The trail was a nice mix of sun and shade and I was VERY fortunate with the weather. It was sunny, not too hot, not too cold, and not too windy!

I’ll be writing a whole post about my experience so I’ll leave it at that for now, but I felt very accomplished at the top and very sore at the bottom. 🤣 The way down was definitely harder on the body than the way up, but better for my lungs.

After completing the summit, I drove back to El Paso to stay at an airbnb and rest up for the night. I desperately needed a shower and to lay down. It was wonderful.

**Blog post coming soon about my climb up Guadalupe Peak!**

Overall Experience:

Whether you’re an art enthusiast, a nature lover, or a foodie, El Paso has something to offer every type of traveler. My trip to this vibrant border city left me with great memories and a deep appreciation for the warmth and diversity of this not so often spoken about city in Texas.

Find out more about what’s going on when you Visit El Paso!