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4.5
203 votes

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site Campground

6900 Hueco Tanks Rd. #1, El Paso, Texas 79938 USA

$
Budget
Closed Now
Opens Thu 8a
  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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“View the ancient pictographs!”

The site includes a historic ranch house that serves as the park's interpretive center, and historic ruins. Activities include picnicking, camping, hiking, rock climbing, birding, nature study, viewing of prehistoric and historic pictographs, star gazing, slide shows, and guided tours. Tours: Tours are $2 per person, aged 5 and above, with paid entry to the site.  On pictograph tours, guides lead visitors to various areas of the site, showcasing examples of pictographs representing three distinct cultures. Guides also provide information about the site's geology, flora, fauna and history. All tours subject to guide availability.

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Reviews of Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site Campground

27 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.6 Access
4.6 Location
4.8 Cleanliness
4.8 Site Quality
5.0 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G/5G

Confirmed by 8 users | Last reported on March 20, 2024

AT&T 4G/5G

Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on April 25, 2022

T-Mobile 4G/5G

Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on March 09, 2023
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Reviewed by
sheynanovakovski

  • 7 Reviews
  • 5 Helpful
May 28, 2018
Rated 3.0

My family use to hike this area when I was a kid so I brought my son here so he could enjoy what I did. I was told when making reservations that part of the range was by tour only but when we arrived I realized that included 3/4 of the whole area. We hiked the open mountain in an hour and a half. Tours have to be arranged a week in advance. We reserved 2 nights of camping but only stayed one.
I understand the changes were made due to vandalism but I was very disappointed by the changes.
We saw lots of wildlife and the bathrooms and campsites were in good working order.
I do recommend this place but do reserve as many tours as you can in order to see the whole beautiful place.

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
RoadTripLores

  • 16 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
June 16, 2018
Rated 5.0

One of the best parks!! We came to spend the day, introductory video let you know more about how it became a State Park. Also super instructive about your "footprint" in the natural landscape. The Junior Ranger Program is great and the Rangers are so kind. I came with 3 kids under 9 and they loved the climbing and adventure, they completed they ranger program seated in the top of a rock. Did the small trail but it was a 3hrs experience at our own pace.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
sherylthepearl

  • 1 Review
  • 1 Helpful
July 14, 2016
Rated 5.0

Mountain climbing and learning about what and who traveled these grounds years ago, is breathtaking

1 person found this review helpful
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Reviewed by
Campendium

April 03, 2015
Rated

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.

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Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 4

Site Number: 4

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise
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Reviewed by
Campendium

January 07, 2016
Rated

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.

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Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 4

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

December 13, 2016
Rated

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.

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Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 1

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

January 19, 2017
Rated

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.

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Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 3

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

February 17, 2017
Rated

I agree with the other reviews. It was a little out of our way but so worth it. A very peaceful park.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 17

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise
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Reviewed by
Campendium

November 20, 2017
Rated

Enjoyed two nights here. There is some space between sites and it was not full even on a Friday and Saturday. Quiet in our area (away from large RVs). Shady trees or covered picnic tables. Nice plants. Good birding and wildlife viewing. Enjoyed a hot shower with good water pressure (no extra charge). Short walk to interpretive Center.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 8

5 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise
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Reviewed by
Campendium

December 17, 2018
Rated

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.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 4

Site Number: 1 & 15

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile 4G

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Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site Campground

6900 Hueco Tanks Rd. #1
El Paso, Texas
79938 USA
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Hours

Closed Now
  • Sun - Sat: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    Parking
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    Pets Allowed
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    Restrooms
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    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
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    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Back In RV Sites Count
30
Last Nightly Rate
16.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
43.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
12.0
Max Stay
3
Sites Count
20
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    Paved Sites
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    Fifty Amp
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
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    Rec Facilities
  • Unavailable
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    Dump Station
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    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
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    Age Restricted
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    Boondock
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    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Unavailable
    Group Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
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    Permit Required
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    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
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    Public Water
  • Unavailable
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    Reservations
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