Fun Things to do in El Paso

1. Open year-round and featuring more than 100 miles of hiking and biking trails, Franklin Mountains State Park's claim to fame is that it's the largest urban state park in the nation that lies entirely within a city's limits. If you are interested in a guided route, consider booking through GoBetty Tours, and if you want even more time in the park, book a campsite and stay a few days.

2. The El Paso Zoo is 35 acres devoted to three major areas of animal habitation: Africa, Asia and the Americas. In addition to checking out their collection of more than 220 species, you can ride the African Star Train, play in the Hunt Family Desert Spring, climb around in the Foster Tree House Playground, take a spin on the Hunt Family Endangered Species Carousel or see a show at Wildlife Amphitheater.

3. If a steak dinner and a bit of adventure sound appealing to you, look no further than Cattlemans Steakhouse at Indian Cliff Ranch. This restaurant (and accompanying fully-functioning ranch!) also has a movie set from Universal Studios' Resurrection, as well as a small private zoo, a lake, a playground and a maze.

4. The El Paso Museum of Art downtown is home to collections of European, American, Mexican, Modern and Contemporary Art. The only one of its kind in a 250-mile radius, it also displays various traveling collections of a wide range of artistic genres. Did we mention admission is free?

5. In the days of yore, people used to visit Hueco Tanks State Historic Site to collect the water pooling in the natural rock basins, or huecos. Today, you can book tours of these once-sacred formations by calling a week in advance. You can also go on self-guided tours, but be advised to plan ahead, as they only issue 70 permits each day for access to the North Mountain area. (You are able to request these permits to visit up to 90 days in advance.) In addition to hiking the rocks, you can also view some of the areas pictographs and petroglyphs, which were created by three different cultures and are over 1,500 years old.

6. Youll find the El Paso Museum of Archaeology at the base of the Franklin Mountains. Inside this small museum dedicated to 14,000 years of the prehistory of the El Paso, greater Southwest and Northern Mexico regions, you can look through ancient pottery and displays of early life in the desert. Dont miss taking a walk around the nature trails behind the museum, which are often lined with wildflowers in the spring.

7. If you happen to be in El Paso from March 1 to November 30, make sure to put a visit to the El Paso Municipal Rose Garden on your list. This four-acre garden is maintained in partnership with Texas A&M to care for the 1,500 rose bushes of more than 430 different rose varieties that grow there.

8. The Chamizal National Memorial is a park and cultural center that pays tribute to the history of U.S./Mexico relations on the border (that all started with the signing Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1849 to establish the Rio Grande as the border between our two countries). You can learn about this history and more on your visit to this free memorial.

9. After you've visited the Chamizal National Memorial and still want to learn more about border relations, look to the National Border Patrol Museum. This museum focuses on the various roles Border Patrol agents have played from the 1920s through the 2000s, with memorabilia, oral histories and various galleries on uniforms and vehicles used to patrol the border.

10. The El Paso Mission Trail is named for a nine-mile stretch across the El Paso area, where three historic churches that date back to the 17th and 18th centuriesSan Elizario, Socorro, and Ysleta Missionwere founded. Of these three, Ysleta Mission is the one that falls inside El Paso city limits. It was established in 1682 and has the claim to fame of being recognized as the oldest continuously-operated parish in the state of Texas. All of the churches are still in operation, but you are welcome to visit.