The first night in El Paso is on Franklin Mountains State Park, desert rock that is already inside the city. You hike the ridgeline in the afternoon and sleep at Tom Mays that night. Climbers work the boulders at McKelligon Canyon and Sneed's Cory on the same range you camp on.
Summer heat is the constraint, because most Tom Mays sites have no shade on Chihuahuan Desert rock. Winter is mild, and that is the easy season for the overnight.
The pads are self-contained, with no water and no electricity, so plan the tanks as part of the night. Spring and fall fill the unit, and Texas Parks and Wildlife recommends reservations in the busy season.
Hueco Tanks is next, for pictographs and bouldering. That park is a separate reservation from Tom Mays.
Hueco Tanks State Park
Pictographs mark the mountain faces, and boulderers chalk up around the huecos, rock basins in the stone. The park is mainly day-use, and a reserved pad is how you hold a night on that rock. You lock a campsite before you lock the van.
Camping is reservation only, and you book up to three months ahead for a hookup loop or a water-only site. An orientation video is required before you camp.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
El Capitan's cliff face shows from the highway into Guadalupe Mountains National Park. You walk Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in Texas, on the maintained Guadalupe Peak Trail from Pine Springs, a day hike.
Sleep at Pine Springs, the campground under the peak. The campground has no hookups and a 50-foot RV cap. If you need a longer rig than that cap, look at RV rentals in Texas. The park is open with no alerts as of September 2026.
White Sands is a day from El Paso, and that trip belongs with Las Cruces. Carlsbad Caverns is a cave day if you already have extra nights around the Guadalupes. Big Bend National Park is a long drive from El Paso.