North Franklin Mountain via Cottonwood Spring Loop

Franklin Mountains State Park, TX Chihuahuan Desert

Trip stats

Distance
4.6 mi
Net Gain
2,300 ft
Time
2-4 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Loop
Peaks
1

Ratings out of 10

Effort
3.2/10
Personality
4/10
Beauty
4/10
Solitude
2.4/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

  1. North Franklin Mountain
    7,192′ elevation · 2,982′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

31.916740, -106.509320

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Feb 20, 2018 — Rather than do North Franklin Mountain as an out-and-back by using the winding trail/roadbed, I decided I would first follow an established trail to Cottonwood Spring. The last bit of this trail follows a rocky talus field befor reaching the spring. I continued on a pretty obvious social trail leading past Cottonwood Spring and up to a beautiful ridgeline. There was a short section of Class 2 along the ridgeline to meet up with the official North Franklin Mountain Trail. This trail is really just a dirt road, so I was happy I added the Cottonwood Spring Trail and subsequent ridge into the mix. After summiting North Franklin Mountain, I followed the official trail back to Mundys Gap. This trail leads back to complete the loop.

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Photos

23 photos

  1. Start along the Cottonwood Spring Trail.
  4. Cottonwood Spring is where that cottonwood tree is on the left, between some little rock features.
  5. Cottonwood Spring. I guess?
  6. Continue up the hill from Cottonwood Spring.
  7. Approaching the ridgeline.
  8. Looking north along the ridgeline.
  9. Continuing south up the ridge.
  10. There' an easy to follow trail along the ridge.
  12. Looking back along the ridge.
  13. Meet back up with the official North Franklin Mountain Trail.
  14. Looking back along the trail.
  15. Summit of North Franklin looking toward South Franklin.
  16. Because Texas.
  17. Continuing back along the official North Franklin Mountain Trail. That little hill thing over there was tempting to hike to, but...
  18. ...there was a sign reading there was an unexploded thing up there. So, I decided to listen to the military and not go.
  19. Continuing north along the trail.
  20. Approaching Mundys Gap.
  21. Looking back toward North Franklin Mountain from Mundys Gap.
  22. The view after passing over Mundys Gap.
  23. Meet back up with the Cottonwood Trail to complete the loop.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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