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Guadalupe Mountains

On this page you'll find site information for flying the Guadalupe Mountains, including directions, flying site information, weather and maps, courtesy of Air Addiction. All information herein is believed accurate, but there are no warranties. Contact Air Addiction with corrections and contributions.

There is an annual camp-out/fly-in each year over President's Day weekend, in February.

Depending on how fast you drive and how often you stop, it takes about 8 hours to get to "The Guads" from the Austin area.

Topographic Map of the Guadalupe Mountain Range (Wide Area View):

Driving Directions and Tips:
First, find your way to Carlsbad, NM. (From Austin, take 290 West to I-10 West until you get to Ft. Stockton. Then drive North from Ft. Stockton on Hwy. 285 until you get to Carlsbad.) Get gas in Carlsbad. Fill up an extra gas can. Now fill up another one. Carlsbad is the last gas, and it's ~2.5 hours round trip from launch (but at least it's paved most of the way). Also, the retrieve from the bottom if you don't top-land can take a couple of hours round-trip on a gravel road, and you don't want to run out of gas or have to go all the way back to Carlsbad. Bring at least one spare tire, if not two, and make sure there is air in it. Drive slow on the gravel to preserve your tires. Head North out of Carlsbad on Hwy 285 for ~10 miles. Now look for the barely marked New Mexico Route 137 and go West/Left. (This is opposite Bradley Lake State Park; if you see water on your right, you went too far.)

Topographic Map of the Guadalupe Mountain Range (Medium Zoom View):

Driving Directions continued...

You start on 137 at around mile marker 53. Drive until mile marker 12, passing through the small town of Queen (no gas, but reportedly they do have breakfast and snacks). Keep going past mile 12, and be looking on your right for gravel Forest Road 67 (a.k.a. Rim Road, and a.k.a. route 413, as well). If you miss FR-67, you'll start hitting switchbacks and begin descending.

Proceed 9 miles on Forest Road 67. (The road forks at one point, giving you the choice to take Forest Road 413 off to the right. Stay on Forest Road 67, which is the left fork, even though the left fork is not marked as such.)

Launch: There is an almost entirely unmarked left turn off of FR-67 that goes 100 yards off to the left to the rim. Look for a pile of rocks with a stick in it (~18" high about ~2' off the road).

Link to Adobe Acrobat file of road maps from Carlsbad to Launch.

Topographic Map of the Guadalupe Mountain Range (Close Zoom View):

Flying Site Information:

The Green Flag above is the main Launch (LAUNCH: N32.25378 W104.89343). The Red Flag above is the primary LZ. The Blue Flag above is the approximate location of the top-landing LZ that hang glider pilots like to use. Paraglider pilots have a lot more options. The campsite is ~0.25 mile past the turn-off that leads to launch and on the right. It's marked on the map above by the small, black triangle icon between the green and blue flags. No services are there, so bring everything you'll need with you.

LZs: It's about a 2:1 glide down to a safe landing area; about a 5:1 glide to the official bottom LZ; and you can top land if the conditions permit. The official top landing area is past the camping area about a mile, or land where it looks good to you. Beware top rotor.

Site: P2/H2 friendly. Ridge faces W/SW. The official Launch faces SW, but there are other options if you go looking. 1,400' AGL.

Weather: West to southwest winds are perfect. Don't check weather in Carlsbad, it's useless. Check Dell City, TX and Whites City, NM, instead.