hueco tanks state historic site

We were visiting relatives in El Paso and they had scheduled a tour for us at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site. We were to be there early to view a video (which is required). Be sure to wear climbing shoes. We did lots of rock climbing and crawling around on rocks. The tour guide was wonderful. The Pictograms were impressive. Make reservations well in advance. Limited number of people allowed in park daily.

Our church took many students from several countries to hike, explore and do the tour. Always fun and you learn of the history of the differnet tribes of Indians and the butterfield express.

Hueco Tanks State site is an amazing respite in the desert. Be prepared to watch a required short video explaining the site, before you can explore. But well worth the time. We had limited success bird watching; but many people go for the rock climbing. Do take insect repellent!

Call ahead to reserve a spot for the guided tour. It is well worth it!Hikes are short and well plotted out. Impossible to get lost.Met free climbers from all over the world, so I got more cultural experiences than I could ever hoped to imagine!The park has a limit of visitors, due to its historical significance, so there can be a wait to obtain entrance into the park. I waited about a half hour, others up to 2 hrs. But again, well worth it.I used my walking stick, and it helped to clear sticker bushes from my path. Wear long pants, to avoid the sticker bushes.Bring along binoculars if you can. The views were amazing!Lots of wildlife, beautiful birds to view.Bring water, as the office generally runs out so its a hit or miss buying any there.Gas up the vehicle, as you don't want to get stuck out there on empty.It only takes about an hour and a half to circumnavigate the whole North Mtn.Only takes about a half hour to go to Site 17 and Chain trails to view pictographs.Modern day humans have done graffiti on most of the pictographs, you have tolook 'through and beyond' to see the historical pictographs.Visit this park, while you still can...Enjoy the fresh air and have fun!

We visited on the way back from another attraction. Enjoyed seeing Indian carvings on some of the cave walls. Did not have enough time to see the whole park. Park staff was nice and recommended where we should go with limited time. Park seems to be more for rock climbers than other visitors.

Hueco Tanks rises out of the desert and welcomes the visitor with its impressive rock formations. Once in the park it is fun to explore the several "mountains" and view the drawings left behind by Native Americans who have vsited this area for hundreds if not thousands of years.

This is such an awesome place to visit. I got to meet a lot of climbers/boulderers from all over the world. If you are a climber, you would like to know that they have some 13b's here. If you are into history, get yourself a guided tour and see the the rich culture of this area. Lot's of hiking is involved and if you are here during the summer, bring plenty of water. You will also see cave paintings that are hundreds, even thousands of years old, and lots of rock formations. The staff is awesome and will do their best to answer any questions you might have. If you love photography, this is a good place to shoot your camera.

We took the guided tour of the North Mtn. Tim was a great guide from the information he gave us, what he showed us, and the help he provided getting up and down the rock faces while climbing. The pictographs were some of most vibrant I've ever seen. We did struggle with the rock climbing part of the tour, so I would advise people taking this tour realize moderate rock climbing is involved.

You need to make a reservation to go to Hueco Tanks because they limit the number of people to 70, I believe, into the park at any time. Otherwise, you have to wait in a parked car, miles from the entrance, for anyone to leave. We reserved a guided tour of the pictographs and were told to arrive at least 30 minutes ahead of time. Well, we got there about 28 minutes ahead of time without a minute to spare. The guide ushered the group of cars into the park; it's about a three mile drive to the visitor's station where you park your car again and then get in another line to pay for the guided tour. This place is also a small gift shop with a restroom, which you'll want to use before the tour begins. After paying the fee, you are then instructed to get back in your car and drive about a block away to another parking area where the tour begins; or you can just leave your car there in the first parking lot. We had 25 people in our group, which our guide told us was the maximum. He led us on about a two hour hike round-trip through a trail, stopping to tell us about native flora, fauna, and rock formations along the way. But the highlight was the pictographs, pictures that the Mescalero Apaches and predecessors drew on the rock walls centuries ago. He told us the stories behind each drawing and also described the difference between pictographs and "old graffiti" drawn by 19th century visitors.At several points along the hike, one must climb up and along rock faces, so be sure to wear appropriate hiking boots and don't sign up for this tour if you can't climb steep, slippery rocks. Several of the members of our group had to be taken back to the visitor's center when we got to this part (about half-way out); one person even brought their baby! Don't do that. The guide cannot leave you alone so he had to call for another guide to come escort them back. One person wore sandals, also not a good idea when climbing slippery rocks. And one young man was afraid to go any further for fear of heights (it's not that high, but you get the gist). And some families didn't want to split up, so they had to stay behind. The point is, there are plenty of people that would have enjoyed going on this tour but it was sold out.My advice to Hueco Tanks Park is to over-advertise the description of the hike; it was a great time for me and my wife but it's not for everyone. In fact, I think it would be much easier to hike the rocky trails with less people and more momentum, rather than in a caravan waiting to take each step.Next time we go there, we'll go free-style, but the guided pictograph tour was well worth it.

Beautiful place to spend the day. Loved climbing on the rocks! Great views. Peaceful, quiet and clean. Several covered picnic tables. You need to watch a video before going out to explore. Will definitely go back!

Visiting 40 million year old rocks and scrambling over the rocks was a blast. Grab a map from the ranger station to go on a treasure hunt, ending in a cultural treasure, 800 year old pictographs. There is a short informative film before you hit the rocks. Wear jeans, carry water, and avoid that rattler I saw!!

Very nice place to visit just outside the city limits. Amazing rocks! A must see. Limited access so make sure to check out the rules before you waste the gas.

Fantastic! It was my second time going and it was just as amazing as the first time I went. It is a little confusing at first because they do ask that you call and reserve a spot for the tour but it's hard to get ahold of the main office sometimes. But either way if you can get a guided tour definitely go for it, peaceful and you learn so much and have fun doing it! Can't wait to go back again, especially to watch the rock climbers. It's insane seeing them climb without harnesses or any safety equipment.

Be sure to do one of the guided tours to see the most amazing rock art, some over 1000 years old. Just a great experience, our guide,Ted, was so knowledgeable and fun to be with Make reservations in advance.

Awesome! We would have missed out on so much without the very knowledgable guide. We learned more about the place, the Indians, and the art then I ever imaged we would. We did have to wait for a grumpy rattlesnake to get off of the path, but the park and the guide are definitely worth the trip. Wear long sleeves and long pants due to the mosquitos. Bring water and a camera. Amazing experience.