El Paso Region
HISTORY • EL PASO REGION
Magoffin Home State Historic Site
LOCATION
FEES
Adults: $7 • Children 6-17: $4 • Children 5 and under get in free
Step back in time and see what life was like on the West Texas frontier. Built
in 1875, the adobe home of pioneer, civic leader and politician Joseph Magoffin is a prime example of Territorial style architecture and El Paso’s only historic house museum.
Selfie Instructions
Snap a selfie in front of the home’s angel statue, placed in the courtyard by Magoffin daughter Josephine in the 1920s.
PARKS • EL PASO REGION
Franklin Mountains State Park
Situated within the city limits of El Paso, Franklin Mountains State Park is one of the largest urban wilderness parks in the world. Enjoy time in nature with more than 100 miles of great hiking and biking trails. If rock climbing is more your thing, there are designated climbing areas at Sneed’s Cory and McKelligon Canyon.
Selfie Instructions
Snap a selfie inside the Franklin Mountains bird blind (which is also a great place to see wildlife)!
SPLASH • EL PASO REGION
Ascarate Park
The largest public-use recreational park in El Paso County, Ascarate Park features a 48-acre surface lake with some of the best fishing in the Southwest. While swimming in the lake is prohibited, the park also features an aquatic center with a 50-meter Olympic size pool.
Selfie Instructions
Snap a selfie with Ascarate Lake in the background.
WILD • EL PASO REGION
Chihuahuan Desert Garden & Nature Trails
Part of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, the site’s 15 acres of trails offer scenic views of the Franklin Mountains and more than 250 different native Chihuahuan Desert plants. Watch the skies for canyon wrens and sparrows; closer to the earth look for quail and desert cottontail.
Selfie Instructions
Snap a selfie along the trail in front of an ocotillo (pictured) or a cholla cactus – the only cactus with papery sheaths covering their spines.
QUIRKY • EL PASO REGION
Casa de Azucar
LOCATION
FEES
Free, with donations accepted [Note: this is a private residence. Please respect property boundaries]
In 1973, Rufino Loya Rivas promised his wife, Celia, that he’d make their newly purchased home beautiful. For the next 25 years, he spent hundreds of hours chiseling and painting intricate patterns out of cement, transforming their home into a colorful work of art now colloquially known as the Casa de Azucar (House of Sugar).
Selfie Instructions
Being respectful of property boundaries, snap a selfie in front of Casa de Azucar.
BONUS • EL PASO REGION
Gussie’s Tamales
For more than 50 years, Gussie’s has been scratch-making delicious fresh bread, rolls, Mexican pastries – plus menudo and tamales. So whether you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth or bite into something more savory, you’ll find it at Gussie’s. [Note: The menudo is available only on weekends.]
Selfie Instructions
Snap a selfie with a tamale or baked good at Gussie’s.