Hiking to Devil's Hall

Hike Stats

Location: Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Distance: 4.2 miles RT

Elevation Gain: 550 feet

Date Hiked: February 2022

Getting Here

The Devil’s Hall trail starts at the Pine Springs Trailhead which is near the campground and where most of the park’s trails start from. The parking lot is large but can fill up by late morning. Make sure your park pass is visible on your dash as rangers will ticket you if not.

The Hike

I had really wanted to do this hike in 2017 when I went here with my sister on a Texas-New Mexico road trip but wasn’t able to due to time constraints. So I was super excited to have the chance to return to this park and hike it when I was in the area in February 2022. The trail coming out of Pine Springs is a pretty standard rocky dirt trail with a gradual incline and quickly splits off from the trail that leads up to Guadalupe Peak. After about a mile, I came to a sign indicating the start of the section through a rocky creek bed and wash.

I found the wash to be surprisingly tiring. There are no set paths so it is kind of a choose-your-own-adventure type thing. There were several boulders to climb over and smaller rocks to navigate so if you love rock hopping then you will have fun on this part! For me, I’m not a huge fan of that so it was a bit of a slog haha.

My favorite part of the hike actually came at the end of the wash section with a feature called the “Hiker’s Staircase.” It’s a natural staircase formed by many limestone rock strata and is surrounded by giant slabs of limestone that tower over it. There was a beautiful little pool of water near the stairs that I sat next to for a bit to rest.

Not too far past the staircase is the namesake Devil’s Hall, an approximately 200-foot long “hallway” bordered by steep, imposing limestone walls. The geology here is just spectacular. The walls reminded me a bit of layered bricks in a way. After snapping a few photos, I decided to head back as more people were starting to trickle in about mid-morning.

Trail Tips

While this hike is short with a mild elevation gain, it is surprisingly technical. Please take caution on the hike through the creek bed/wash as it would be very easy to roll an ankle or to fall and get hurt. The exit point from the wash is easy to find in the day but I could imagine that it would be easy to miss in the dark so make sure you are leaving yourself plenty of time to complete this hike before nightfall. As always, bring more water than you think you need in the desert, and pack out whatever you pack in.

Nearby Adventures

Go sledding at White Sands National Park

Explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Hike the Lost Mine Trail at Big Bend National Park

Heading to Guadalupe Mountains soon? Pin this post for your trip!