Pat O'Rourke Memorial Trail

My best friend, my girlfriend, and I decided to start going on walks and we wanted to mix it up so we decided to try out this trail one of the days that the Franklin football team had practice. When you walk down this path, there are two divides in the side walk for each direction that someone could be walking in! Be careful though as some people do not follow which side you should be on and if they're not paying attention they'll bump into you running at full force (as that happened to me). The park is also lined up with many trees so during the hot days, you have a nice shade! It's a beautiful walking trail and I always love when it's walking day on it! If you are looking for a place to go on walks, I definitely recommend this trail!

It's a great trail both day and night. Should use a flashlite or headlamp at night. Some bikes don't know the rules, and one will run up from behind if not alert. A possible 6 miles round trip but no bathrooms! So, if you can hold your gastrointestinal distress, Providence Hospital at Trans Mtn is available if you ask nicely. Great trail for walking and jogging. Good luck, but not break a leg!

This 2+ mile bike trail is named after former El Paso County Judge killed in an accident when hit by a car while riding his bike. It is located along Resler between Helen of Troy and Transmountain. It is a simple little path but a gem when it comes to El Paso.On any given morning, especially Saturday, you will see a mix of runners and people pushing strollers or walking dogs. Hopefully the high use of this path hasn't gone unnoticed and there are more planned. Downside - Bike lanes (which is good) were recently painted on Helen of Troy followed by no parking signs. Which I totally understand however, took away all the good parking for the bike path. Hopefully in the planning there is a plan to address parking issues with new green spaces. As this gets busier and the area grows, this may become more of an issue.

This is a 2 mile steady incline/decline trail that runs on Resler from Helen of Troy to Transmountain. The trail is completely paved and divided in two lanes. Stick to your right, just like you're a car. Although this is a walking/running/biking trail, cyclist always stay on the road (I think us non-cyclist would get in their way if they did). The trail is not a walk through the beautiful wood or anything, but there are plenty of trees, bushes and other landscaping. For the most part the trail is straight, but there are a few slight curves and a small bridge that goes over a rain ditch. I love walking my dog Bambi here because it tires her out, but leaves her with enough energy to finish the walk (yes, on multiple walks/runs I've had to drag, beg, and coax her with treats to the end because she is that lazy). There are about five dog stations along the way, but the bags can run low. Although I did notice the last one was relatively untouched. There aren't any water fountains so I would definitely take a water bottle or two with during the summer. There's a few benches as well so you can stop and relax if you need to. Even though technically this trail is done, I'm hopeful they'll add an actual turn around, some fountains, and some more landscaping on the side furthest from the road. Some lighting on the trail would be nice for night strolls too.

Laura is right about the lack of parking. That being said, I love this trail. There is a lot to work on still. I would love a drinking fountain for those hotter days when me and my pooch are feeling the heat. Also, the traffic can be a little fumey during really high traffic hours, but usually it's fine. El Pasoans don't have the cleaning exhaust sometimes...I've only walked the whole trail once, so for the beginners to intermediates like me, this trail is an awesome challenge. It's not too hilly, but it is not flat. There are doggie waste bags in a few posts (hurray!) but they are fairly far separated and sometimes out of stock of bags, so don't forget to bring your own.People are usually pretty good about keeping poo off the trail, but I still watch for it because it is inevitably there at least three times during my run.If El Paso was rich and awesome, this trail would be perfect with added water and some more foliage to help keep it cooler in the hotter months. But, it isn't, so this trail is awesome for what El Paso can produce so far. I hope to see more of these pop up around the city. This one is well loved and used!

Perfect for walkers and runner on the west side. This is completely paved trail. However, it is a bit more challenging because it's an uphill trail starting at Helen of Troy ending on Transmountain. I recommend running during the cooler hour of the day or carrying some water. This is also a great option for walking your pets they even have doggie disposal baggy stations throughout the trail.

Okay, this place is the perfect locale to take your out-of-town friends that complain about the lack of level and easy bike trails. It is a bit up in the northwest part of the city, but worth the drive. The place is barely being developed so you have housings and warehouses to the west, and nothing but the expanse of the desert, the Franklin mountains, and Transmountain highway snaking up said mountain. Parking is anywhere you can. It is parallel to a main avenue (Resler), but you usually see most folk parking in side streets along this trail. You won't be fighting for parking here, but most of the places to park are less than a block (or across the street) from this trail and traffic is usually light around here (again, development arising north and south of the trail, so this may change in a few years). The trail isn't very busy, part is the climate, other part is the lax exercise culture in this city (which, again, may change with influx of commerce, government jobs, etc.). This is one of the few nice trails in the city and one of the quietest with quick access to civilization/emergency services (desert wilderness, just putting the caution out).Public facilities are none. Infrastructure is well made and maintained (no major potholes to be dodging and foliage looks well groomed), and the bridge was a fun touch and looks high enough to dodge whatever flash flood hits this region. But there are no bathrooms, water fountains, etc. Take some bottled water, this is the desert, and you are not superman. Heat stroke is a serious issue here. If you forget some items, there is a gasoline station with a minimart at the southern end of the trail.Access is somewhat easy, drive to I-10 West until you get to Transmountain, get on the ramp to it, and then exit on the Resler off ramp and it is right there to your right.

This is an awesome trail for West El Paso. It gets good use and since the construction has moved away you can easily go all the way out and back. The trail is hilly for 1 mile but not too challenging. The next 1.2 miles the trail gradually rises almost the entire way. Even with the gradual incline the trail is very walkable. Of course coming back the first 1.2 miles is downhill and hilly the last mile. At the end you will find yourself walking up a bit of a hill but by that time your blood will be well oxygenated and you will be energized so it will present no challenge. This walk is very scenic at sunset. On those warm mornings if you get out before sunrise you will catch the cool breezes coming off the mountains which are very refreshing.