48 Hours in El Paso Texas | PART 2

48 Hours in El Paso Texas | PART 2

Picking Up From Day One

Welcome to Living in El Paso, Texas. This is part two of 48 Hours in El Paso. We're John and Leah Peña, wrapping up our two part series on spending a weekend in town.

The idea behind the 48 hours: you come into town on Friday, then spend Friday, Saturday, and most if not all of Sunday checking out our city. Day one, covered in part one, is a full day of exploring the different areas of El Paso, and if you're serious about relocating, that video is worth checking out. It runs a little long, but there's a lot packed into it, and the description has actual addresses for places to check out in the Far East, Horizon City, the West Side, and more.

This video is about day two: enjoying El Paso and finding different types of things to do once you've gotten a feel for the neighborhoods. If you did the full tour on day one, you're probably a little worn out, so day two tends to be more relaxing. Some of you may want to use day two to go back and re-explore an area you missed or wanted to see a second time. But for most people, while where you live matters for location and neighborhood, what there is to do in the city matters too.

Brunch at Anson 11

One recommendation for day two: brunch at Anson 11. The watermelon mimosas are a favorite, and it's a great brunch spot right in the heart of downtown, literally across the street from the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park and Paso del Norte. The food is great brunch fare, omelets and some Hispanic inspired dishes, all at a nicer level, with indoor and outdoor seating. There are gluten free options too, including an egg white omelet with goat cheese. Check it out, and definitely try the watermelon mimosa.

Part one also has a lot of recommendations for places to stay and different restaurants, so if you couldn't make it to one of those spots on day one, day two is another chance.

Hiking the Franklin Mountains

From here, a quick run through some options for things to do, some of which Miguel may cover in more detail elsewhere. If you're outdoorsy, hiking is a great option. Renting mountain bikes would work too, but hiking is the easier one to point you toward. There's a ton of it right around town thanks to the Franklin Mountains, no matter if you're on the east side or the west side. If you're not up for an actual hike, Scenic Drive is worth checking out just for the overlook of Mexico and all of El Paso. For trails, Lost Dog is one we've walked quite a bit, and McKelligon Canyon is another good one. Just search El Paso hiking trails on Google and you'll find plenty of options. Bring water and watch where you're going. It's a great way to spend half a day or so.

Water Parks

If you have kids and the weather is good, water parks are another option. El Paso has several around the area, somewhere around three, four, or five, plus splash pads scattered around town.

The Sunland Park Casino

For something not really aimed at kids, there's a casino, in Sunland Park on the west side, and remarkably, we haven't actually been ourselves yet. If you want to explore the west side and grab brunch out there, the Kitchen at 150 Sunset is a great option, with the casino right nearby. That's a video we're planning to do soon.

Western Playland

Western Playland, an amusement park more geared toward kids, is another option. We haven't been there either, but it's right down by the casino as well.

Shopping

Some of you might be more inclined to explore the shopping scene. It's decent, not the best shopping scene around, but more and more boutiques are opening up. Near 210, we recently ran into a really cute boutique that had just opened. There's also a great outlet mall on the west side with a good selection, though it gets packed during back to school season and the holidays. The Fountains is another good shopping area, and the city has two big malls as well.

Crossing Into Juárez

For the more adventurous, there's Juárez. We've had great experiences there ourselves, and so have many of our clients. You can park off El Paso Street and walk right across the bridge. Bring your passport. Some people say you can get back and forth with just your license, but technically you're supposed to have a passport, so bring one along if you plan on crossing the border. If you're staying downtown, El Paso Street runs right through the area we recommend, so you can literally walk to the border crossing in about 10 minutes. While you're downtown, check out El Paso Street itself too. It has stores with more of that Juárez feel scattered all along it.

Ascarate Park

For something more outdoorsy, there's Ascarate Park, a name John admits he can never pronounce correctly. It's a really interesting green space with a man made lake, which we've actually covered in its own video. People can fish in it, since it's stocked with fish. The understanding is that it was built during World War II for seaplanes to land on, for whatever reason, though it's unclear why regular planes with airstrips wouldn't have worked instead. The park also has a golf course, a huge amount of open space, and is great for kids, with plenty of soccer fields.

Golf, Topgolf, and Skydiving

Believe it or not, there are also a lot of golf clubs around town: some down in the valley, some up on the west side, and more out by Ascarate Park on the east side. That's the same park John made one of his very first videos about. Within an hour of it going up, a commenter had already corrected his pronunciation, and by his own admission, he probably still doesn't say it right. If outdoor golf isn't your thing, there's a Topgolf on the west side, an indoor outdoor driving range with a few tiers and pizza, which people say is a lot of fun with kids. Right next door to that is the skydiving place, another great option.

Cattleman's Steakhouse

Someone in town just yesterday asked for the best place for steak. You're in Texas, so it has to be Cattleman's, in Fabens, Texas, spelled F-A-B-E-N-S. Don't confuse it with the chain restaurant of a similar name; this is a different, one of a kind place. It's great for kids too. The grounds are phenomenal, with a small zoo on the property, lakes, birds, and the steaks are unbelievable. Give yourself about 30 minutes of travel time to get there, and think about making a reservation, or at least getting there early, since it's packed most nights.

Downtown Museums

One last thing worth mentioning: if you're downtown and want something more cultural, there are plenty of museums to check out. A children's museum is being built, not quite ready yet but expected to be fantastic. There's an art museum, and a history museum too. That should give you at least a handful of options for your second day, on top of everything else there is to do.

Wrapping Up the Weekend

Realistically, if you come in on Friday, do the hard explore of the whole city on Saturday, and fly out Sunday night, you have about half a day for day two. If you're around Sunday night for dinner, check out part one, which lists about six great restaurants.

Next week's video is one we think might appeal more to a younger crowd, and as a preview of what's coming: tomorrow we're headed to Chile, Mexico, a place we used to live a number of years back, for a week. Since we're flying to a city in Mexico, we're going to walk over the border at the El Paso crossing with our luggage, like we suggested earlier, get an Uber to the airport in Juárez, fly from Juárez to Mexico City, then on to Mérida, and rent a car to drive to Chile. It should be a great adventure, and we look forward to sharing it with you.