Hiking the Old Tin Mine Trail

We hiked the Old Tin Mine Trail on a Monday morning in mid-January. The air was warm and the breeze was light.

Andy was off work and wanted some outdoor therapy. He was slowly recovering from an upper respiratory infection and felt that a day outside, breathing in the fresh mountain air would make him feel better.

It was also our last chance for a hike before we left El Paso at the end of the week.

We pulled up the AllTrails app on our phones and searched for an easy-to-moderate trail fairly close to the Ft. Bliss RV park. When we saw that the El Paso Old Tin Mine Trail was rated easy and had great reviews, we started planning our route.

The trail is the former access road to what was America’s only operating tin mine. The El Paso Tin Mining and Smelting Company, founded in 1909, proved unsuccessful and closed in 1915 after the project yielded only 160 100-pound pigs of tin. Two portions of the mine can be explored using the access points off Mundy’s Gap and Scenic Road trails. We explored the mines off Scenic Road because they were visible from the trail.

However, we didn’t exactly follow the Scenic Road trail.

Our map indicated that the access point for the trail was at the end of Jon Cunningham Boulevard, which is the parking lot at Chuck Heinrich Memorial Park. The parking lot was full when we arrived. Luckily, we were able to find nearby street parking directly across from the park and close to the parking lot.

a dirt road through a desert
Near Tin Mine Trailhead

The gradually inclining trail started as a combination of sand, dirt, and small bits of gravel. As we ascended higher, the trail became more like that of a creek bed. The rocks were larger, with varying sizes.

old-tin-mine-trail
Old Tin Mine Trail

We kept the dogs on their leashes the majority of the way up because of the other hikers and mountain bikers on the trail. Having the dogs leashed made it a bit more challenging to walk up the rocky portions of the trail. When we had the trail to ourselves, we unhooked their leashes, making it easier for all of us to walk. And the dogs were happy to have the freedom to roam a bit.

small-cave-entrance-old-tin-mine-trail
Exploring a small cave with Max on the way to the Tin Mine

The views were spectacular and we stopped often to take pictures, look around, and let others pass. We watched as the city became more distant and listened as the traffic and other sounds became fainter. It was definitely worth the hike and the work to get up to the mines.

trails-on-mountain
Mountain bikers heading down the trail.

When we reached the trail junction with Scenic Road on our right and Mundy Gap on our left, we took the Scenic Road trail. After only a few feet, we saw the dark metal top of a tin mine up the mountain on our left. The trail we were on would take us up and around the backside of the mine. We didn’t want to walk that far so we decided to follow a narrower trail that appeared to be more direct. It went right up to the mine.

distant view of tin mine
The Tin Mine we explored is the dark rectangular shape in the middle of the picture, about 1/4 up the mountain.

We were no longer on the easy trail. I admit I was nervous climbing up. The higher we went, the harder it got. As I struggled to get to the next level on the trail, I called out to Andy “This is NOT what I thought we would be doing!”

Off-leash at this point, little Sadie had trouble getting up a few of the inclines to the next level area, and at one point, refused to climb. Once I was safely on level ground, Andy went back to carry Sadie to the next level.

When we reached the top, five teenage girls were resting on the edge of the mine’s metal grate roof. They were very helpful and friendly, letting us know that this entrance went back into the mine.

We declined their offer for snacks, however, the dogs were happy to munch on a few of their Cheez-Its.

Andy and I passed through the mine entrance, followed by Max. Sadie was not at all interested in walking into a dark place that had all kinds of strange smells. She ran back out and sat with the girls.

entrance to tin mine
Looking back at the mine entrance

Max and I followed behind Andy. Looking up I could see the metal grate roof and around me bars lining the pathway. It reminded me of a cage for wild animals in a zoo.

Soon, the metal grate roof was replaced by rock and it was too dark to see.

Andy continued walking into the mine while I was looking around and soon the light from his flashlight faded. I started after him, with Max at my side. However, we got further and further behind him because we were walking very slowly.

At this point, I called out to Andy, letting him know I was going back. I found the flashlight on my phone (not really the best flashlight for dark mine exploring) and lit a path for us back to the entrance. Max quickly ran ahead and out of the mine.

When I stepped out, Max and Sadie were happily resting next to the girls. I walked around the outside of the mine, looking down through the grate for Andy. A few minutes later he came out, saying he had walked as far as he could into the mine.

outside top of mine
Top of the Mine

The girls got ready to leave, saying they were taking the stairs in front of the mine towards another entrance.

Stairs? We could have taken the stairs?

When we mentioned we wanted to explore the other mine on this level, they told us about another trail on the far side of that mine that wound around and back down to the main trail.

We thanked them as they walked towards the stairs and we headed towards the other mine. Max and Sadie decided they wanted to try the stairs and ran after the girls. We called them, yelled their names, and eventually, turned around to get them.

We walked the short distance to the next mine. It was not open, but we could see into it through the grated roof. The trail we took around the mine was rough, but not nearly as rough as the trail we climbed to reach the first mine. It wound under an overhanging, narrowed to a single-file path, and finally opened up to a smaller version of the creek bed trail we had hiked up the mountain.

After about 20 minutes of walking, we were back on the main trail and headed down the mountain.

stacked-rocks-on-old-tin-mine-trail
Stacked rocks mark the trail

Walking down the mountain was faster than going up, however, we slowed down through the parts of the trail I called the creek bed.

A little more than halfway down, Sadie left the trail and walked alongside it instead. Maybe her paws were tired of all the rocks and she was looking for a smoother path. Eventually, she started walking farther up into the brush. She would come down when we called her, but it was getting annoying.

At one point, when the trail was mostly dirt, she did it again. I turned to find her and immediately fell to the ground, yelling out in pain. I had stepped on a rock with the outside of my left foot, the same part of my foot I injured when we walked the Rio Bosque Wetland trail. It still hurt when I put weight on it.

We continued down the trail, much more slowly this time as I was in a lot of pain and being extremely cautious with my steps. Andy put the leashes on the dogs and led them down.

We started up the trail at 12:30 pm and arrived back down to the parking lot around 5:30 pm. We walked about 9 miles, based on my phone tracker. It felt like more to my injured foot.

sunset-over-franklin-mountains
Sunset over the Franklin Mountains

This week I am resting my foot, elevating and icing it. It needs to heal before our next adventure.

If you are looking for another adventure in the Franklin Mountains, check out Riding a Gondola up the Franklin Mountains.

Peggy Staver, the author of this blog, is a freelance copywriter specializing in outdoor recreation and hospitality. You can contact her at PSCopywriting.com. The majority of photos are taken by Photography by Andreas. Visit his portfolio here.

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