Adventure Outdoors Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 143

ADVENTURE ABOVE & BELOW The Guadalupe Ridge Trail winds through the hidden oasis of Sitting Guadalupe Ridge Trail Reach new heights. Bull Falls in Lincoln National Forest and continues through rugged backcountry, past Carlsbad Caverns for a bonus underground adventure and into the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This moderate trail is great for hiking, walking, nature trips, birding and is open year round. guadaluperidgetrail.com Funded in part by city of Carlsbad Lodgers Tax Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe Mountains National Park rises from the Chihuahuan Desert, just 50 miles south of Carlsbad, in a landscape that expresses the mighty power of nature. It’s a unique convergence of desert, conif- erous forest, gypsum sand dunes and ri- parian habitat nestled along creeks and around springs. El Capitan is an 8,085-foot high monolithic landmark rising from the desert floor in serene majesty. There’s a 260 million-year-old fossilized reef. The austere landscape of the Salt Basin Dunes was sculpted over eons from water, wind and earthquakes. The Park is home to 900 plant, 310 bird, 55 reptile and amphib- ian, and 60 mammal species. It’s nature at its best. The Park offers presentations, a bookstore, plus Junior Ranger, Junior Pa- leontologist, Wilderness Explorer Junior Ranger, and Senior Ranger programs for children of all ages. For details contact the Pine Springs Visitor Center at 915-828- 3251. CarlsbadNMTrue.com