williams ranch

Get the key form the Pine Springs visitors center and drive this rugged rocky trail up to the ranch house and get some awesome views along the way. Must have 4x4 high clearance vehicle, we took a Wrangler and had no problem, not only is it loose rough rock but the washes are deep and steep, very real possibility for bottoming out, approach an departures angles are really sharp. Not much danger of getting stuck in sand or mud, it’s mostly rock, sharp turns steep hills with lots of tire puncture hazards. I would recommend you not even try it with 4 ply street tires. Traction isn’t a problem but the sharp rocks are. Wash boarded on the flat sections keep the speed down, not too much pin stripping., and not much traffic, we were the only ones on this trail all day.

Most people view Guadalupe Peak from the east as they are approaching the mountain on the Guadalupe Peak Trail. After reaching the summit, hikers can scramble down just a few yards to the west and peer down a huge 1500 ft. vertical limestone cliff. Taking a trip out to Williams Ranch allows you to look at this cliff from below rather than from above. Williams Ranch is an old Ranch house built in 1908. It's hard to imagine someone calling this place home as the house is really out in the middle of nowhere in the midst of the largest desert in North America, but it was for a while. Now you can drive to it via a rough 4x4 road. The house itself is mildly interesting, but the best reason for driving out to it is to view the cliffs of Guadalupe Peak and Shumard Peak (3rd highest peak in Texas) from below. There are also excellent views of the salt flats to the west and several 7000 ft. summits that border Texas and New Mexico including Wind Mountain. Williams Ranch is also the termination of the El Capitan Trail that starts 9.1 miles away back at Pine Springs. Getting to Williams Ranch requires a high-clearance 4x4. The road is fairly mild for a 4x4 road, but it's certainly no place for the average passenger car. A 4x4 CRV, Escape, or RAV4 could no doubt make it, but I am not sure you would want to. It's best to have a 4x4 built for off-roading that has 4x4 low. The road is a little over 7 miles and will take about 45 minutes one way to get to Williams Ranch. It will take you a minimum of 2.5 hours to get from Pine Springs to the ranch and back. The Williams Ranch road requires a key from the GMNP visitor centor at Pine Springs. They will jot down information from your drivers license and give you a key to the gate. They won't give it to you if you don't have a 4x4 high-clearance vehicle. You must return the key before the center closes which in the winter is 4:30 p.m. The entrance to the Williams Ranch road is exactly 8.26 miles from the GMNP visitor center at Pine Springs. After driving .16 miles down to highway 62/180, take a right and drive 8.1 miles. The gate is on the right side of the highway just after an electric line crosses the road. Keep your eyes open because it's easy to miss. You will have to locate the GMNP lock amongst several other locks. The dirt road is smooth for about 3/4 of a mile before you come to another gate (spectacular views of El Capitan from here) with only one lock. After this gate the road becomes rough but not too bad. The roughest part of the road is the last 2 miles as the road climbs uphill to Williams Ranch and crosses a few washes.