Salt Flats: An Unusual, Breathtaking Oasis in the West Texas Desert

A spectacular vista we don’t get to see very often awaits if you’re up for a drive.

Down the road to the east about an hour and half away on Hwy 62/180 near the base of the spectacular Guadalupe Mountains are the Salt Flats.

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Most of the time just a part of the barren landscape you may or may not notice on the way to Carlsbad Caverns, remnants of a one-time salt water sea millions of years in the making still exist.

And El Pasoans can’t stop raving about its current breathtaking, awe-inspiring beauty.

You see the lake bed is dry and unremarkable most of the year; only a significant amount of rain can transform it back into the shallow lake that once occupied the area.

Well, if you’ve been paying attention than you know this year’s monsoon has dropped nearly 10 inches of rain in our area since mid-June.

The copious amount of rainfall this summer has resulted in water reclaiming the Salt Flats, turning the ancient, sun-baked, wind-blown lake bed it into an actual inches-deep lake of pearl-colored water; it's hue a mixture of salt deposits, minerals and gypsum grains.

There’s no telling how much longer this temporary water wonderland will exist; its dramatic transformation will inevitably evaporate, so if you want to see and experience for yourself IRL, hit the road sooner than later.

Head east on Montana Avenue and keep going until it turns into Highway 62/180. It will be on your left just before you reach Guadalupe Mountains National Park.