Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks are really huge rocks piled up just out side El Paseo. The back in sites are either tucked into the rocks with Ramada covered tables or looking out over the desert to the mountains with Ramada covered tables. There is lots of space between sites ....hard packed gravel pads on 2 loops
.... our 35 foot 5th wheel would have fit in many of the sites and we saw many larger rigs.
We Hiked on 2 different trails up onto the rocks and located the ancient drawings That the park is known for.
This is one of those parks we’re your camp site is a delight to wake up in.
Cell coverage and hot spot is only at the visitor center. internet no....
In the summer it would be very very hot here. We were here in the fall and it was perfect temp for hiking. Spring the desert would be in bloom and cool.

We spent 1 night and then returned for an additional 3 nights at Hueco Tanks. This is a beautiful park situated about 25 minutes from El Paso surrounded by amazing rock features and scenery. Hueco is a bit different than your average TX State Park, and while the campground is small, it's well spaced and offers plenty of privacy between sites. The park itself is broken into 4 areas, North, East, West, and East Spur mountains, and only North is accessible without a guide. North limits access to only 70 people at a given time, 60 of those entries are reservable by phone up to 90 days in advance for 3 days at time (then 1 day out), and most of the access is by rock climbers. Hueco is not only incredibly scenic and an interesting historic site, it's also the spot for world class rock climbing (bouldering). Even campers are required to get an access pass if they want to hike, wander, and/or rock climb, but sleeping in the park gives you first access when the doors open at 8. Accessing the park for camping or hiking/etc requires that you watch at 15 minute video as a way to help educate visitors in the parks history and preservation, understanding the why behind the park rules. Both the rangers and the campground hosts were very nice and helpful, and it's worth noting that the park also locks campers in at 6pm when the park closes.

For $16 the sites are water/electric- we are TX State Park pass holders, otherwise we'd also tack on the TX park entry costs, all are back in, and there is an easily accessible dump station. Camping (just like park access) is limited to 3 nights, and as of today, has to be made by phone (not the TX reservations site).
The only 'minor' ding for us was the weak and very inconsistent cell service- it was in and out and not great even when we had it with the help of a booster.

This was a place I have wanted to visit but forgot where it was until friends were there the week before. And as luck would have it, we driving right by it on our way to Las Cruces. This park is a world class bouldering area, as well as, a historic site with over 2,000 rock art pieces all hidden in cave areas. There are many hoops to jump through to get in and hike as other have described below. The campground reservations can only be made by phone. The reservation line is only open Monday - Friday and closed on holidays (we were calling on a holiday). The park, however, is open all year everyday. So...if you look on the park website, there is the actual park phone number (with the little phone symbol). Call that and push the number for the staff directory. Then push the number for the head ranger and you have the office. They were very helpful and told us they plenty of spots in the campground. The sites run from 35 ft to 75 ft. Our site #3 was very long and easily accommodated our 40 ft MH and Jeep. All the sites have 50 amp E/W and are paved and level. Some site are right at the base of the mountain. There is a dump station in the camping area. Each site also has a covered picnic area. Everything the others say is true about entering and using the park. If you don't have a Texas park pass, it can be pricey. You EACH need to pay the daily park fee of $7. That added $28 dollars to our final cost. I would recommend getting to the office closer to 7:00 AM for a permit. There are only 10 permits for the campground and each person needs one and MUST be present. It was a hassle to be able to hike the mountain, but worth it. We were the only hikers we saw. Everyone else was there to boulder. One thing you don't want to miss is finding the eight faces or "masks." They are in Cave Kiva. The ranger will give you a VERY general direction sheet in exchange for your license. These are written directions with photos. It is a fun adventure and so exciting when you find the cave and masks. Check our blog post attached for some photos! Winter is the most popular time at this park because the bouldering folk like it very cool. Guided tours are inexpensive, $2 a person, and will take you to the other two mountain areas that can not be accessed alone. They are challenging with lots of climbing, crawling, and sliding. Not for everyone! However, there are different Level tours for difficulty to see the Rock Art. There is a Verizon cell tower right outside the park but the small mountains do block it in the campground. We used our booster and got decent 4G, but at times it dropped to 3G and also disappeared.

Hueco is a world-class bouldering/rock climbing destination and is usually packed. We were surprised to find the campground empty (we were told we needed to reserve long in advance). What makes things more complicated here, is that it is a very well protected historic site and there are lots of rules to follow. To simply hike in the park, you need to obtain a permit (70 permits are given every day - 60 are reserved long in advance and only 10 are available each day, so you need to be in line at 7:45 to get that permit or you have to stay on the paved road between the campground and the ranger station. The good thing is that most climbers stay outside the campground and they are not allowed in before 8, so if you are there before them, you have a decent chance at getting the permit (you have to do this everyday).

At your arrival in the park, you also have to watch a mandatory 20 min videos. Make sure to be there before 5 (between 2 pm and 4 pm) would be ideal to have the best chance at a camp spot. Then, get up early the next morning to get your permit. I highly recommend you take the Chain Trail up to the Small Potatoes Area and go explore there. If you can't get the information from the rangers, use the Mountain Project App and follow the GPS to that area. Then, go explore The Grenade area (right behind). Retrace your way back to the Small Potatoes and then go the New Meadows (you'll have to squeeze through some boulders, cross a cave and you'll get there (not for the faint of heart, but a great adventure!). Note that only the North Mountain Area is accessible without a guide, but it's plenty to have fun! It's an awesome playground for little and big kids! And you'll get to see some strong climbers at work.

That being said, if you are not into hiking or climbing, you might find the jumping-through-the-hoop process quite annoying.

The signal was OK to get work done (2-3 bars 4G), but not always stable.

Just absolutely beautiful. The Rangers were more than friendly. The sites were immaculate and surrounded by boulders and mountains. I am saddened to my core that we were on a mission West and will write a better review some down the road day when we've had the true experience here.

Note that Verizon 4G was great when it worked, but faded in and out regularly. AT&T was so spotty I wouldn't even say it existed. I imagine that different spots would prove better than ours as service was good at the ranger station.

Truth be told we stopped here because it was conveniently on our route and we liked it so much we extended our stay. This is a small quiet park which has very controlled access because of the petroglyphs and pictographs that are here. In order to stay here you have to follow a lot of rules, one is that you have to call a special phone # listed on the website and you can initially only reserve 3 nights. When you are reserving you are also told that the park gate closed at 6 and there is no entry after that, even by campers. When you check in you must watch a 15 minute movie and sign an agreement that you understand the rules. Even when you are camping here you're not allowed to hike the trails unless you reserve one of the day passes that allows you access. Because they are trying to protect the site only 70 people at a time can be hiking.

With all that said the campsites were nicely laid out, well separated and provided a very nice stone and log picnic structure. Site 4 is right against a mountain with large boulders on the site which we thought was pretty cool. All of the facilities were very clean and trash pick up is provided right at each campsite.

If you go here sign up for one or more inexpensive guided tours where you can see more of the historic artifacts then day hikers can. The tours are offered Wed thru Sun and take about 3 hours. Be prepared for boulder climbing! If you day hike be sure to do the chain trail, it's the only trail up the mountain and provides a chain to hang onto in the steep areas.

We camped here in a 24' travel trailer.