We all know the most difficult part of planning a family getaway is making everyone happy. The spouse loves sports, the youngest child just wants to play games, the oldest is into the outdoors, and you want nothing more than a good museum. You might even find yourself planning multiple trips to make everyone happy. Save yourself the headache and the money with a trip to El Paso, a one-stop shop for family fun. But don’t just take our word for it! Check out the list below for some of the very best family attractions El Paso has to offer.
La Nube STEAM Discovery Center
One of El Paso’s newest and most unique attractions is La Nube, a state-of-the-art children’s museum like no other. With a focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math), the museum is made up of nine themed areas across four stories. That said, one of La Nube’s most popular features, the 50-foot Anything’s Possible Climber, spans all four stories! Among the themed zones, you’ll find one focused on weather, another on desert biomes specifically for toddlers, and another on aeronautics. Unlike most museums, these zones invite families to participate in hands-on exhibits designed to ignite creativity and wonder. Kids can code their own video games, construct their own habitats, and record their own music videos, just to name a few of the activities. David Deutsch, a British physicist, proposed the idea of the “fun criterion.” The fun criterion is the concept that the ideas worth pursuing are the ones we find fun, because they align with our natural creativity, curiosity, and satisfaction from solving problems. La Nube taps into this idea, helping children view education not as a chore, but as something exciting, engaging, and rewarding. You might even have a hard time pulling them away!
Mexican American Cultural Center
Another of El Paso’s latest additions is the Mexican American Cultural Center, or MACC, a celebration of the city’s layered heritage. Within its main gallery, you’ll find a rotating collection of art from regional and worldwide talents, whereas the community gallery focuses more on regional and emerging artists. If your family wants to make a little art of their own, the center features its very own teaching kitchen. Here, you’ll be able to make your own Mexican-American dishes—yes, that includes Tex-Mex—under the guidance of professional cooks, bakers, and chefs. But that’s not all! The MACC provides a wide variety of classes in watercolors, crafting, and wellness, among many others. For the up-and-coming artists out there, you’ll also find a 3-D printing lab and recording studio, both of which can be rented out. This goes to show that the center isn’t just about preserving Mexican-American culture, but about ensuring its future, too.
Southwest University Park
We hope there are some peanuts and Cracker Jacks left over from the road trip, because Southwest University Park is the premier destination in El Paso for sports fans. This ballpark is where you can watch the El Paso Chihuahuas, El Paso’s minor league baseball team, while also enjoying such family-friendly amenities as the baseball-themed Chico’s Playground. In addition to traditional stadium seating, the ballpark features premium viewing locations with dining patios, shaded pavilions, an indoor saloon, and even a rooftop—ahem, wooftop—deck for the best possible view of the Chihuahuas. But baseball isn’t the only thing you might see at Southwest University Park. Concerts, festivals, and even marathons are all part of the year-round lineup, making the stadium more than just a ballpark. It’s a cultural hub for the entire city.
Franklin Mountains State Park
When people think of El Paso, the first thing that often comes to mind is the rugged landscape—the regal mountains standing watch in the distance, the fields of cacti tinted by the warm sunset, and the big blue sky that seems bigger and bluer than anywhere else. There’s no better doorway to this West Texas wonderland than Franklin Mountains State Park. Families looking for an active getaway will find no shortage of hiking, biking, and rock climbing across the 27,000 acres of varied terrain. If you want the experience but don’t consider yourself an outdoorsy type, the trails come in a wide range of difficulty levels. One of the most popular trails is the aptly named Aztec Cave Trail, which will take you across an arroyo, then up a steep hillside, and ultimately into some truly astonishing natural cave formations. Oh, and be sure to keep an eye out for the natural wildlife. It’s not every day you get to see a jackrabbit up close!
El Paso: A Perfect Vacation Spot for Families in Texas Out in the Far West Texas town of El Paso, your family will fall in love with the sheer variety of attractions we have to offer. With the innovative museums for both children and adults, all-inclusive ballpark for sports fans, and outdoor adventures at Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso is no one-trick-pony. Each member of the family is sure to find something to get excited about. The only thing now is to decide on who gets to do their activity first. We wish you luck!
To make the planning a little easier, take a look at our collection of the coziest hotels in El Paso.