Photographing Guadalupe Mountains National Park

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typical fall colors of the canyons

Guadalupe Mountains is a relatively small national park located in West Texas along the Southern New Mexico state border. It features a campground, the Pine Springs Campground, and has a few wheelchair-accessible trails one of which lead to a spring, for example. This park has the tallest peak in Texas, Guadalupe Peak (8,751 feet).

When to Visit

Summers are too hot; visit nearby Carlsbad Caverns National Park instead. There are several deciduous tree patches located in some of the park's canyons — most notably McKittick Canyon and Devil's Hall — that bloom with color during the autumn months. See NPS.gov for a report on the park's fall colors.

Gear to Bring

A good single lens to bring is a 24-200mm on a full frame camera or 18-140mm on an APS-C sized sensor. Some styles of photography may accommodate a wider or narrower angle, but this a solid choice. If packing several primes, then 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm will serve the photographer well. If deer seem exotic then bring a 200mm or 300mm lens to photograph them with. There are elk and mountain lions in the park but they are rare. Bring longer lenses if photographing either of these. The light is good year-round so a tripod is optional.

Cellphone Service

Verizon cell service is off and on through out the park. It is available in LTE in the Pine Springs Campground.

Sunrise

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sunrise in the park
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sunrise from the Pine Springs trailhead
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shortly after sunrise

Typical Desert Views

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McKittrick Canyon trailhead
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a view along McKittrick Canyon trail

Canyon Autumn Colors

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the first sign of color on the McKittrick Canyon trail
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after walking into the image above
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succulents mix with deciduous trees
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the trail between the trailhead and Pratt Cabin is covered in small pebbles, after the cabin the trail becomes rockier
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more succulents mixing with deciduous trees
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fall colors
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fall colors
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plenty of fall colors
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the side trail to Pratt Cabin
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the view from the Pratt Cabin porch
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another view from the Pratt Cabin porch
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Pratt Cabin
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leaving Pratt Cabin on the side trail that leads to it
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more fall colors

El Capitan - the Icon of the Park

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El Capitan — visible from distances much greater than this

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