Your first 48 hours in El Paso
One weekend, no wasted driving: the mountain, the missions, downtown, and the Tex-Mex that started it all.
El Paso is long. The city stretches along the base of the Franklin Mountains for about 25 miles, which means the wrong itinerary is mostly windshield time. This one groups by geography: mountain and West Side on day one, downtown and the valley on day two.
Rent a car. There is no version of this weekend that works without one.
The route
Sat 7:30 a.m.
Breakfast on Mesa
Machaca or a breakfast burrito before the day gets hot.
Sat 8:30 a.m.
Franklin Mountains State Park
Tom Mays Unit off Transmountain. Two hours on the trails while the air is still cool.
Sat 12:30 p.m.
Lunch at L&J Cafe
Cheese enchiladas under red chile at the Old Place by the Graveyard. Walk Concordia Cemetery next door afterward.
Sat 3 p.m.
El Paso Museum of Art
Free, cold, and downtown. Then a coffee and a lap around San Jacinto Plaza.
Sat 6 p.m.
Scenic Drive at dusk
Park at Murchison and watch El Paso and Juárez light up as one city.
Sat 8 p.m.
Dinner downtown
Elemi if you can get in, Café Central if you want white tablecloths, Tabla if there are four of you.
Sun 9 a.m.
Pan dulce in Segundo Barrio
Tray, tongs, and a walk past the murals on the way back to the car.
Sun 11 a.m.
The Mission Trail
Ysleta, Socorro, San Elizario. Three centuries in about three hours, plus the plaza in San Eli.
Sun 4 p.m.
Cattleman's, or a patio
Drive east to the ranch for a steak and a sunset, or stay in town and take the patio at Ardovino’s.
Swaps and variations
- Baseball season: swap Saturday dinner for a Chihuahuas game downtown and eat in Union Plaza first.
- Too hot: flip Saturday — museums in the afternoon, mountain at sunset instead of sunrise.
- Extra day: White Sands is 90 minutes away and worth the entire day.