OutdoorsState parkState park day-use fee
Franklin Mountains State Park
Inside the city limits
One of the largest urban parks in the United States, sitting in the middle of the city like a spine.
Why go
- Trails for every level, from the easy loops at Tom Mays to the long grind up North Franklin Peak.
- You can be on a desert ridgeline 20 minutes after leaving a downtown lunch.
- The Sunday-evening view back over the city and Juárez is the whole argument for living here.
Planning notes
- Go early. From late spring through September, the mountain is unforgiving after mid-morning.
- Carry more water than you think you need — a gallon a person on a long day is not dramatic.
- Tom Mays Unit is reached off Transmountain Road (Loop 375).
More outdoors
Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site
Rock basins that held water in the desert for thousands of years, ringed by some of the most significant pictographs in North America — and world-class bouldering.
Scenic Drive Overlook
The five-minute version of the mountain view: park, walk to the rail, and see El Paso and Juárez laid out as one city.
Transmountain Road (Loop 375)
A highway that climbs straight through the Franklins — the most casually spectacular commute in Texas.