Hueco Tanks

Sorry if this is a dumb question but is there any climbing at Hueco that doesn’t require a guide?

Yes. North mountain is self-guided. You have to watch a video and pay a park fee of $7. They only allow 70 ppl on north at a time, so prior reservations are helpful (they reserve up to 3 months in advance, and reservations go quick during peak seasons). If you don’t have a reservation, and they’re all booked, you can wait at the gate outside the park until they start giving away reservations of no-shows (I’ve gotten in a number of times doing that)

Honestly, it’s absolutely worth getting a guide and checking out the other mountains (I find those areas have higher concentrations of good problems). Almost all of the guides are climbers, and, unless you do a private tour, you’re likely to meet people from all over who have stoke and pads. Plus reservations can be made way closer to your climbing dates. Check around online for different companies that offer tours.

Great thanks Matt that was super helpful. On the spur of the moment i’m driving a friends car cross country for them and was thinking i’d just pop in to Hueco n have a poke around. I probably only have a few hours, half a day at best so thought the guide thing would be to much hassle to worry about. I appreciate your help!