TripBeta: Hueco Tanks, Texas
Hueco Tanks at sunset. Photo by the beautiful Suzy Q.
Hueco Tanks is a premier bouldering destination located in El Paso, Texas with 1700+ boulder problems. (Please note that I had a house to stay in with friends while in Hueco, so much of this write-up is information I gathered from other climbers.)
Best Time to Visit
Hueco Tanks is a winter destination with the climbing season being from November to March, with the prime season being December to February. Expect it to still be quite warm during these months as the average temperature during my stay, from January 15 – February 15, was mid-60’s.
Length of Stay
The climbing is so numerous that a many month trip might still not be sufficient. I stayed for exactly a month and felt like I had just scratched the surface on the bouldering, and had yet to check out a single route.
How to Get There
Hueco Tanks is quite straightforward to locate. While in El Paso, navigate your way to Montana Avenue (also known as US-180 / US-62). Follow this road East until you see Hueco Tanks / Ranch Road. Make a left turn and follow this road to the visitor center of the park.
Guidebook
The guidebook is called Hueco Tanks and is authored by Matt Wilder and published by Wolverine. It is a phenomenal guidebook, making each area and problem easy to locate due to the inclusion of its 300+ color photos.
Climbing in Hueco
Hueco Tanks has a handful of rules and regulations. Basically there are 4 climbing area: North Mountain (the main area) and West Mountain, East Mountain and the East Spur (all 3 of referred to as the backcountry). North Mountain allows 70 climbers per day, 60 by reservation and 10 walk ins, with a cost of $5 per person. To make a reservation, call Texas Parks and Wildlife at 512-389-8900. The earlier you make a reservation the better, with people making reservations a year in advance.
To access the backcountry, you must have a guide. I believe there are 3 ways to line up a guide: commercial tours, volunteer tours and personal guide (meaning you personally know someone who is a guide and willing to take you out). Commercial tours are (I believe) ran out of the Rock Ranch and consist of groups of 10 people, $20 per person. The volunteer tours are free but it sounds like you are at the mercy of the crowd. My facts on these two types of tours could be a little off as I only went on tours with friends. If I were to do it again, I would strive to hop on more volunteer tours.
Classic Climbs
There are so many must do problems in Hueco, I am going to make this point its own blog post.
Camping
- Hueco Tanks Park – there is camping in the park, ranging from $12 – 16 per night. The upside of this camping is you are located right in the park. The cons include no dogs and gates shut at 6pm (meaning you can not drive in or out after 6pm. Boo!).
- Rock Ranch – the Rock Ranch is located within a mile of the Park. The cost to camp is $5 a night, but discounted to $4 per night if staying for longer than 14 days. This is the main climber hang out and dogs are welcome.
- BLM Land – there is free camping on BLM land. I don’t know where it is located exactly (but could find out if one of you readers are interested). I just heard it was a little sketchy for the lone woman traveler, which I am.
- Vista Market – Vista is a Mexican grocery store that sells the best home made tortillas and salsa. Must stop!
- Burrito Joint – I can’t remember the name of this burrito place, but it has excellent burritos and tacos for mere dollars. It is located down the street from the Vista Market on Montana. It is a main hang out for climbers after a full day on the rock.
- El Ranchito – located on Montana and has quite good Mexican food with excellent margaritas
- Cattelamans – supposedly a great steak house, but I did not make it out that way.
- Showers – there is a shower at the Rock Ranch and I believe at the Park campground. Otherwise, climbers frequent the YMCA and local gyms.
- Laundromats – a variety of laundromats can be found through El Paso.
Wi-fi
There is wifi in the park and at the ranger station. I think you are supposed to use this wifi only if you are a paid camper, but I believe most climbers would just walk over from the Rock Ranch.
Rest Day Activities
I usually worked on my rest days while in Texas, so don’t have too much advice in this area. Below are a few suggestions.
- White Sands National Park – I did take CB to this National Park and it was one of my favorite stops on my trip. The brilliant white sand looks like mountains covered in powder, including a handful of tourists sledding down the billows. It is definitely worth the mere couple hour drive.
- El Paso – El Paso does have a lot to offer including a handful of museums and theaters.
- Carlsbad Caverns – I did not visit the caverns, located within a couple hour drive, but hear it is a worthy destination.
- Juarez, Mexico - Juarez is a mere 30 minute drive. In the past it was common for climbers to cross over the border to explore the neighboring country. However, when I was visiting there was a lot of unrest and violence, especially in Juarez. I only knew of one climber who made the trek on a rest day.
- Petroglyph tour – Hueco provides art tours of the many petroglyphs within the park. I hear the tours are fabulous, but did not go on one.
Other
- Dogs – no dogs are allowed in the park (including the campground), nor can you keep them in your car due to the heat. The Rock Ranch does allow dogs to roam free on the lot, but this alternative didn’t quite work for me as I would have been nervous leaving CB (a chihuahua) to fend for herself.
- The Scene – the scene in Hueco is intense! Whew! Expect your visit to include fabulous climb after fabulous climb, but also expect to hear name dropping and lots of discussion of 8a cards. Expect to daily see v12’s crushed and don’t be surprised at all the photographers and their mass of gear. The climbing still makes it worth the trip, but the scene was by far my least favorite out of all the destinations I visited. I even heard a guy comment that he couldn’t send his project because of his shoelaces. Really?! Come on.
If you have any additional beta, please feel free to comment or email me.
Tags: climbing, hueco tanks, rock climbing, texas