Buckle your seat belts! It’s time to hit the road from Midland, Texas to hit two national parks! Back in late 2018, my friend was based in Odessa, TX (just outside of Midland) for a few months as a traveling therapist. This corner of Texas doesn’t get many tourists, so I was eager to make the visit and explore! The cities of Midland and Odessa are small and remote, so there isn’t a ton to do. Which is why we decided to road trip to nearby national parks! Make sure you pack some snacks, because it’ll be a long, busy day. While you may want to spend more time in each park, one day is really all you need to take them both in. This is my itinerary for a National Park roadtrip from Midland, TX!
Hit the road!
Your first stop will be to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Get up and on the road early, you have a lot of ground to cover today! Make sure you pack plenty of snacks, because there isn’t a ton to report along this drive. It’s long, flat, and frankly pretty boring. So line up your favorite playlist or queue up a podcast. You’ll need any entertainment you can get! This leg of the drive is just about 3 hours, but there are a few short stops to break it up.
Texas-New Mexico border
After about an hour of driving through a whole lot of nothing, you’ll arrive at the first stop: the New Mexico border! Take this opportunity to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and snap some pictures. This was all of our first times visiting New Mexico, so you could imagine our excitement for scratching off another state.
The town of Carlsbad, NM
The town of Carlsbad is the gateway into Carlsbad Cavern National Park, but is a sight for sore eyes at the end of the long drive. It’s the biggest town you’ll pass through during the road trip, so take this opportunity to fill up on gas or grub.
While Roswell, NM gets all the attention for being obsessed with all things intraterrestrial, Carlsbad is up there as well. Alien themed everything line the gift shops. I can’t say I totally get it, but I didn’t hate it. Spend some time strolling around this small town, stretching your legs, and bopping into shops that line the main drag.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
About a half hour past the town of Carlsbad, you’ll finally arrive at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. When you park at the visitors center, you’ll purchase your entry ticket for $15 per person. Your ticket will have a timed entry stamp for when you can enter the caverns. The earlier you get there, the better and the less chance you will have to wait. If you do have to wait, there is a small restaurant, gift shop, and great views outside for photos to kill the time.
At your entry time, you’ll ride an elevator down straight down into the caverns. If you plan on spending more time here or are more adventurous, you can also hike down to the entrance. Walking through the caves is completely self-guided and at your own pace. Cameras, tripods, and flash are permitted so don’t forget them! The trail is well marked and lit, and takes about 60-90 minutes to go through the entire cave at a decent pace. My favorite part of the caves? The Big Room!
Tip: Expect a lengthy wait for the elevators back up from the cave. We had to wait in a line for about 45 minutes. Plan your time accordingly!
If you are planning to spend more time at the park, there are plenty of additional activities including ranger-led tours, hiking trails, and evening bat watching.
Classic Megan
Take it from me and be extra careful on curbs here! No more than one minute after arriving to the park, I tripped off a curb and really gashed open my knee. I was limping the rest of the day and couldn’t get to an Urgent Care until the next day (and by then it was too late to get stitches). Curb: 1, Megan: 0.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Only about a half an hour down the road, you’ll cross back into Texas and visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park! If you’re into hiking, this is your place. If you’re not, there’s unfortunately not going to be much here for you. Since I had fallen earlier that day and really hurt my knee, we were not able to do the longer hikes that we had planned. Instead, we opted for a couple short, flat walks near the visitors center.
The most famous hike in GMNP is the Guadalupe Peak Trail. It’s 8.5 miles round-trip and takes you to the peak of the highest point in the state of Texas! This hike takes on average 6-8 hours, so depending on timing and when during the year you are visiting, you may run out of sunlight. Shorter trails that can be easily done in an afternoon are the Smith Spring Loop or the Devil’s Hall Trail.
If you’re not into hikes but still want some photo ops, drive a little ways south on Highway 62 for unobstructed views of El Capitan and plenty of opportunities to pull the car over.
Back on the Road
After a crazy busy day, it’s time to get back on the road back to Midland! Settle back in for another ~3 hour drive and watch as the sun sets in your rearview mirror. The sunsets in West Texas are remarkable, and then once it gets dark enough, take some time to really take in the stars. With very minimal light pollution around, the stars are spectacular! It will be the perfect ending to a perfect day!
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