Skip to main content

El Paso's Scenic Overlooks


El Paso's scenery is a unique combination of desert and rugged mountains.  The city is located within the Chihuahuan Desert, features the peaks of the Franklin Mountains, and shares a border along the Rio Grande.  It is in this setting that over 700 thousand people live.  

Sunset in El Paso

Just north of Downtown, the Franklin Mountains begin to rise.  Along both Rim Road and Scenic Drive, there are many overlooks of the city, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and the Chihuahuan Desert.


The most popular vantage point is the Murchison Park Overlook on Scenic Drive.  The idea of a sightseeing route along the base of the Franklin Mountains dates to 1881.  Nearly 40 years later, the 1.82-mile roadway opened to the general public.  During the 1930s, two projects paved the road and added drainage culverts.

Nightfall in El Paso and Juarez.

The scenic two-lane roadway winds to a point 500 feet above the city and the Rio Grande.  The drive offers breathtaking views of the El Paso Skyline, Juarez, and nearby areas.  Murchison Overlook is very popular for locals and visitors alike.  Weekend evenings can be busy, and gates on both the east and west ends of Scenic Drive can control traffic.  


The overlook is popular for couples young and old, marriage proposals, senior pictures, and more.  Murchison Park incorporates the rocky terrain of the Franklin Mountains that allow for many great vantage points.

Scenic Drive and Murchinson Park is not the only location to take in great views of El Paso and the Chihuahuan Desert.  Tom Lea Park, located on 900 Rim Road, offers amazing views from a slightly lower altitude.

Downtown El Paso from Tom Lea Park

Known as the "Upper Park," the park sits above El Paso High School and allows for closer views of the city.  It is a more level park with grassy areas that make it more kid and pet-friendly.  It's easy to have a picnic here or relax and enjoy the surroundings.  

The Red 'X', La Equis, is in Juarez's Plaza de la Mexicanidad.

The views here make the park a great alternative to Scenic Drive or a stop on your way to or from the Murchinson Overlook.  

Both locations offer amazing views of El Paso and its surroundings.  They are both must-stops when I visit - and even if you are passing through on Interstate 10 - it's worth the 30-45 minute trip off the highway.

All photos taken by post author.

How To Get There:

Sources & Links:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the s...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...