Lost Dog Water Tank Access Road

Dogs Leashed

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Trails around the Franklin Mountains are often rocky and technical, so runners unfamiliar with rough terrain should use caution. Trail shoes with rock plates are strongly recommended.

El Paso is in the desert, so be wise about the climate. Summers are regularly in the 90's or above, winters will drop to the 30's and 40's. Lightning storms are frequent in the late afternoons during the warmer months. Winds are frequent and gusts over 50 mph are not unusual. Dust storms, strongest in the late spring, can be hazardous and reduce visibility to less than a quarter mile. Check the weather before you go, and let someone know where you will be.

Mountain biking is popular in the Lost Dog area, and while runners have right of way over cyclists, it's often the safer option to step or run to the side to allow them to pass. Sometimes you'll get thanked, but usually not - but better to be a good user of the trail than to end up in a cactus, tangled in some guy's derailleur.

This access road, closed to regular traffic, connects the end of Helen of Troy to the water tank intersection at Lechugilla Trail. It is wide, flat, dirt, and unremarkable, but is usually free of other trail users and is a connection to the "backup parking" for the Lost Dog trails on the rare occasion when the trailhead lot is full.

Mainly creosote bushes, acacias and ocotillos.
Jackrabbits