Devil's Hall
Location: Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
Distance: 4.2 miles (6.8 km) round trip
Elevation gain: ~500 feet (150 m)
Date: November 2, 2012
The Devil's Hall Trail is the most accessible area of Guadalupe Mountains National Park for viewing fall foliage, which is typically at its peak around the first week of November. I also hiked the 2.1 mile long out and back trail last year, which you can view here.
I arrived in the park shortly after 2:00 pm on November 2 and began hiking from the Pine Springs trailhead at 3:00 after setting up my campsite in the Pine Springs Campground. The first mile of the trail through the lower section of Pine Springs Canyon is fairly easy and has great views of Hunter Peak, but it has few trees.
After the first mile the trail drops down into the Pine Springs wash, which the trail follows all the way to Devil's Hall. This second mile is the where most of the colorful deciduous trees are. Because the trail follows the wash it is very rocky and gains some elevation, but is not very steep.
In the last half mile of the trial it passes first through the Hiker's Staircase before ending after passing through Devil's Hall, a very narrow canyon with vertical walls. I continued hiking through the wash beyond the end of the trail for maybe a quarter of a mile, but there were fewer colorful trees here and a more difficult path to follow.
I turned around, and back at Devil's Hall I decided to follow an unofficial path a short, but very steep and rocky distance to above Devil's Hall. The view from there was a very interesting one of Pine Springs Canyon. The foliage along the trail was great, but it did not appear as intense as in 2011. I think that the trees were either earlier this year or just less intense than last year. They might have been late, but the afternoon lighting could also have been less conducive to optimally viewing the trees than in the morning in 2011.
View Devil's Hall Trail in a larger map
© Copyright 2017 Matthew Pintar. All rights reserved.
Distance: 4.2 miles (6.8 km) round trip
Elevation gain: ~500 feet (150 m)
Date: November 2, 2012
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| Pine Spring Canyon |
The Devil's Hall Trail is the most accessible area of Guadalupe Mountains National Park for viewing fall foliage, which is typically at its peak around the first week of November. I also hiked the 2.1 mile long out and back trail last year, which you can view here.
 |
| Looking up Pine Spring Canyon with Hunter Peak at right from the lower part of the Devil's Hall Trail |
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| Pine Spring Canyon from above Devil's Hall |
I arrived in the park shortly after 2:00 pm on November 2 and began hiking from the Pine Springs trailhead at 3:00 after setting up my campsite in the Pine Springs Campground. The first mile of the trail through the lower section of Pine Springs Canyon is fairly easy and has great views of Hunter Peak, but it has few trees.
 |
| Hiker's Staircase |
After the first mile the trail drops down into the Pine Springs wash, which the trail follows all the way to Devil's Hall. This second mile is the where most of the colorful deciduous trees are. Because the trail follows the wash it is very rocky and gains some elevation, but is not very steep.
 |
| 2011 |
 |
| 2012 |
In the last half mile of the trial it passes first through the Hiker's Staircase before ending after passing through Devil's Hall, a very narrow canyon with vertical walls. I continued hiking through the wash beyond the end of the trail for maybe a quarter of a mile, but there were fewer colorful trees here and a more difficult path to follow.
 |
| Devil's Hall |
I turned around, and back at Devil's Hall I decided to follow an unofficial path a short, but very steep and rocky distance to above Devil's Hall. The view from there was a very interesting one of Pine Springs Canyon. The foliage along the trail was great, but it did not appear as intense as in 2011. I think that the trees were either earlier this year or just less intense than last year. They might have been late, but the afternoon lighting could also have been less conducive to optimally viewing the trees than in the morning in 2011.
View Devil's Hall Trail in a larger map
© Copyright 2017 Matthew Pintar. All rights reserved.
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