Trail Overview Video
Curious about hiking Sugarloaf Peak in Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso, Texas?
Trail Overview
Sugarloaf Peak is a short but intense hike in Franklin Mountains State Park. Hikers are rewarded with amazing views of El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, but be aware that you will be hiking on steep loose rock and there are parts that require minor scrambling. Personally, I found trekking poles to be extremely helpful.
You can find location, distance, and topographic information at alltrails:
The link above shows the route as an out and back with 1.1 miles of total distance. However, if you park about halfway up Davis-Seamon road, there is an old double-track that you can hike towards the base of the mountain that skips an unecessary scramble on a bunch of loose talus. We discovered this tip from the AllTrails comment section, and the double-track is easily visible in aerial imagery using Google Earth or another similar program. While this adds some distance to the hike, I find this a favorable trade off. If you're unsure of where to park, or how to get to the ridgeline from the double-track, watch the video linked above. The video has an animated track of the route we took. Note that we wandered a bit on the route up, but we took the proper direct track on the descent.
We hiked up for sunset pictures, and made sure we had lights for the descent. Descending in the dark was not too bad, we just took our time and did not rush anything. Plus, I'm not above butt-scooching my way down steep areas haha!
I would rate this hike as difficult due to the steepness and loose terrain. For hikers comfortable with steep ascents and minor scrambling, this is a fun and quick getaway that's easily accessible in town. Remember to know your limits, and always hike safe.
View of El Paso and Cd. Juarez from Sugarloaf Peak.