Culberson County Rest Area

Stayed March 29. Google map shows this as Pine Spring Safety Rest Area 31.96066, -104.67969. Our original plan was to stay at one of the boondocking spots closer to Carlsbad Caverns, but we were in the area to do Guadalupe Peak hike and this was closer. Plus with 60 mph winds it was nice to be on asphalt and tucked in between the semis. Plenty of day parking at Guadalupe with spaces for our SUV + 20 foot trailer, so we rolled out early in the morning. Overnight at rest areas is OK in Texas https://www.txdot.gov/driver/travel/rest-areas.html?msclkid=ecebc5d8aad611ec9c64948fc5c3d415. It was as quiet as you'd expect a rest area on a busy highway to be, but it met our needs. 2 bars 4G, not great throughput.

Texas rest area with overnight parking allowed. no signs are posted but two workers here both confirmed that overnight parking for less than 24 hours was okay. We camped here in the wandervan and the location is extremely convenient to the McKittrick canyon trailhead. Some road noise but not too bad. 24-hour restrooms on site. Well maintained and well-lit facility.

In order to find this place I had to use Google Maps vs Apple Maps. It was listed as Pines springs rest area. It’s about 10 north miles from the Guadalupe Mountain NP visitor center. We arrived here around 8 pm and we were the only people here. We are in a camper van so we parked on the cars side instead of the RV and semi side. Others did arrive later, it is near the road so you do hear traffic but it isn’t a super busy road, so we had no issues sleeping. The center is very clean and has some picnic area with shade. AT&T service is very spotty; I would have one bar and then I would have none.

This place is about 10 miles east of Guadalupe Mtns National Pk, and very welcome since the National Park CG was closed. Since the last user review in 2018, this site has been developed into a Rest Area. Very nice new brick building with spic and span indoor restrooms. A sign indicated WiFi available but we never got any. A few picnic spots along the area. We spent the night in one of the pull-through spots. At both ends, the grounds give way to grass and gravel which are unfortunately full of litter, mostly beer bottles. It made it unsightly to walk our dog. There was a separate concrete pedestrian walkway alongside the rest area, very unusual feature.