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Texas trails · El Capitan Trail

El Capitan Trail

A 9.3-mile out-and-back in Texas, with 1,497 ft of climbing. Reaches Guadalupe Spring and other spring/summit destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.

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Length
9.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,497 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
24%
Steepest mile
+675 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
3.3 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Horses
yes
Managed by
National Park Service

Elevation profile

4,972 – 6,464 ft123456789

Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 68% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 3.1. It gives back about 1,256 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of El Capitan Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

Williams Ranch Trailhead. 31.88303, -104.88539 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:37 a.m., the sun rises at 8:02 a.m. and sets at 7:28 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:53 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 27 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 18.6-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 24 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 4:26 p.m. — 3 h 02 min before sunset.

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