Things to do in El Paso

EL PASO SPORTS & STADIUMS

Sun Bowl Stadium

Located on the University of Texas El Paso campus, the Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium that has been up and running since 1935, only second to the Rose Bowl in longevity. The Sun Bowl is home to the UTEP Miners football team, and also hosts the Sun Bowl college football bowl game each December. Opened in 1963 and refurbished in 2000, Sun Bowl Stadium features seating for 51,500 fans, plus an artificial grass playing surface, a state-of-the-art video board, three scoreboards, food and souvenir concessions, and more.

El Paso Chihuahuas Triple-A Baseball

MountainStar worked for more than two years to bring professional-affiliated sports to the El Paso community.
Minor League Baseball and the Pacific Coast League approved MountainStar's acquisition of Tucson Padres in October 2012.
El Paso citizens approved $500 million in "Quality of Life" bonds, including the building of a state-of-the-art baseball stadium nestled in the heart of downtown.

EL PASO CASINOS

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a thoroughbred racing track and slot machine casino located just outside of El Paso. The casino features more than 700 slot machines, and racing meets featuring both thoroughbred horses and quarter horses. Live racing is offered Tuesdays through Sundays, from December through late April.

PARKS, RANCHES, & MONUMENTS

Hueco Tanks State Park

Located 32 miles outside of El Paso, Hueco Tanks State Park is an 860-acre park named for the large natural rock basins (huecos) that trap rainwater. In addition to these unique land features, the park also offers ancient rock paintings, a historic ranch house, and a stagecoach station. The park offers a range of outdoor activities, including picnic sites, camping, hiking, rock climbing, bird watching, bouldering, and free guided tours

Franklin Mountain State Park

El Paso’s stunning the Franklin Mountains were protected in 1979 and opened as a public park area in 1987. The park overlooks the Rio Grande River, covers more than 24,000 acres, and features hiking and biking trails, rock climbing, tent camping, RV camping, and ranger-led tours on the first and third weekends of the month

White Sands National Monument

Home to one of the world's most beautiful natural wonders, Whit Sands National Monument features pristine white sand dunes made of gypsum sand. The park’s visitor center includes a museum, an orientation video, a bookstore and a gift shop. The Dunes Drive is an eight-mile-long scenic drive that takes visitors into the heart of the dune fields, with several wayside exhibits and pullouts where visitors can stop and walk in the white sands.

Western PlayLand

Western Playland is a family-style amusement park offering a full day of fun for the whole family with exciting thrill rides, family rides and kiddie rides, plus live entertainment, classic amusement park eats and souvenir stands.

El Paso Zoo

The El Paso Zoo features over 220 species of animals including elephants, lions, zebras, sea lions, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and other animals from around the world all displayed in naturalistic habitats.

EL PASO MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

Viva El Paso (Seasonal)
This exciting musical drama showcases the cultural history of El Paso, with performances detailing 400 years of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Western American history through traditional dances, songs and traditional costumes. The exhibition is performed at McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre and is one of El Paso's top summertime attractions. Performances held Fri-Sat, 8:30pm from June through August.

Alfresco! Fridays
Experience some of the best local bands in El Paso at this ongoing summer concert series held at the Arts Festival Plaza. The weekly concerts include something for every age ad taste, from big band jazz to Latin, classic rock, rockabilly, and more. The free concerts are held at 5:30pm each Friday, from April to September.

Plaza Theatre
Originally opened in 1930, this historic theater is one of El Paso’s best-known landmarks. Fully restored in 2002, the theater is still in operation and offers a wide schedule of programming, from Broadway theater productions to live concerts, dance performances, film festivals, live speakers, and more.

EL PASO MILITARY/ARMY BASE

Fort Bliss US Army Post
Established in 1893, Fort Bliss is the second-largest U.S. Army installation in the country. Fort Bliss is home to more than 30,000 troops, and provides anti-aircraft and missile defense services, maintenance and training of Patriot Missile battalions. Live fire exercises, tank testing, missile launch exercises, and more. The post is also home to the Fort Bliss Museum and Biggs Army Airfield.

Biggs Army Air Field
Originally established in 1916, Biggs Army Airfield (Biggs AAF) is an active military airport located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The airfield was decommissioned in 1966, but it was reactivated by the Army in 1973 as a permanent airfield. Today, Biggs AAF is the largest active army airfield in the world and is used by NASA as a layover point for the Space Shuttle carrier

EL PASO UNIVERSITIES

UTEP - University of Texas-El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a state university, founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. The university offers 81 undergraduate degrees, 65 masters-level degrees and 16 doctoral degrees to more than 19,000 students each year. The UTEP campus is also recognized for its unique buildings, which were built in the distinctive Bhutanese architectural style found in the Himalayas.