Lower Sunset Alternate Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Historical Significance · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Intermediate trail for all ages under 5-miles with beautiful views of the Franklin Mountains, Rio Grande, and desert valley.

Trailhead can be found on the south parking lot of Tom Mays just past the Visitor's Center. Trail starts of as doubletrack and turns into a singletrack as it turns northward. Elevation gradually increases with rolling terrain and arroyos.

The trail becomes moderately steep as it turns eastward. Trail sign will point to the Tom Mays picnic/campground area, where the trail will lead right to the north pavilions. The main park road can be used to reach your vehicle at the southern trailhead/parking lot.

Desert plants tend to bloom in waves in spring and summer after the short periods of rain that El Paso experiences. Ocotillo tend to turn green and blossom first, followed by barrel and claret cup cacti, and finally flowers and prickly pears.

Animals are mostly limited to jackrabbits, lizards, and small birds. Roadrunners will dart across the trail at times, and hawks circle overhead, looking for prey. Coyotes are hard to spot and tend to only come out after dusk, though they leave runners alone.

Keep an eye out for snakes. They avoid the hot desert sun and are more common during the winter months. Most are harmless, but rattlers are a part of the local wildlife. Give them a wide berth, and if they're blocking the trail, tossing a few rocks in their direction tends to be enough incentive for them to leave.

Views of the Rio Grande where the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Road of the Interior, spanned 404 miles between San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, and the present-day national border with Mexico at El Paso, Texas. It is the earliest Euro-American trade route in the United States and historically continued roughly 1,000 miles further south to Mexico City. For nearly 300 years, the trail remained the principal trade route between New Mexico and the regions of Spanish-occupied New Spain, located to the south.