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.
Elevation profile
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
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Guadalupe Spring (spring)
- El Capitan (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
El Capitan Trail access. 31.88303, -104.88539 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:09 a.m., the sun rises at 6:34 a.m. and sets at 7:24 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:49 p.m. (MDT) — 12 h 51 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 2:58 p.m. — 4 h 27 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Tejas Trail — 3.5 mi
- Guadalupe Peak Trail — 3.5 mi
- Smith Spring Trail — 5.2 mi
- Kincaid Trail — 5.3 mi