Guadalupe Mountains: McKittrick Canyon Closed by Wildland Fire

If you're planning a trip to Guadalupe Mountains, there's one piece of logistics to sort out before you lock in your itinerary. McKittrick Canyon is currently closed because of wildland fire activity in the park. The closure is temporary, but it stays in effect until further notice, and it really does change what you can do once you're there.

The closure covers more than just the canyon's headline trail. Every day use area in this section is affected. On the camping side, three backcountry campgrounds are off-limits too. Those are McKittrick Ridge, Wilderness Ridge, and Mescalero. If any of them was part of your multi-day hiking plan, you'll want to rework the loop now.

There's a solid reason for it. A wildland fire creates two separate risks. There's the direct danger of the flames, of course, but there's also the smoke, which can fill a tight canyon and make the effort miserable, even dangerous. Closing the area also gives the crews on the ground room to work without hikers to manage nearby.

Here's our practical take. Don't assume McKittrick Canyon will be open the day you show up. Keep a backup ready in another part of the park, which stays big and varied. And above all, check the access status right before you hit the road, because a fire situation changes fast, in either direction.

To place this section within the wider park and plan a visit that holds up despite the closure, lean on the Guadalupe Mountains park guide. You'll find the main sections there, plus enough to build a fallback itinerary without giving up the good stuff. McKittrick Canyon is well worth the trip, so it's better to save it for later, when it's safe, than to catch it on a smoky day.