The paved path along the Rio Grande in the Upper Valley runs 10.9 miles north to south, from the Texas–New Mexico state line down to Country Club Road. At Country Club Road it stops. Anyone who has walked or ridden it from the north end knows that last stretch as the place you turn around.
That turnaround point is where the regional plan now ends up. In June, the City of Sunland Park and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation started a trail project on the New Mexico side. Its full route is drawn to reach the state line near Country Club Road and Rio Bravo Drive. For The Willows and the rest of the Upper Valley around the El Paso Country Club, the trail's southern dead end is planned to become a meeting point between two trail systems.
The trail that started the whole network
The Rio Grande River Park Trail is older than the regional plan. When El Paso Matters looked at the Paso del Norte Trail this July, it reported that the idea for the larger network came in the early 2000s, after this Upper Valley segment was finished. The Health Foundation tells the same story. The vision "began in the early 2000s with the Rio Grande Riverpark Trail in El Paso's Upper Valley" and grew from there into a connected system.
So the segment closest to The Willows came first. Most of the newer pieces either connect back to it or extend it.
Here is what the trail offers today, according to its official page:
- Length and grade: 10.9 miles, rated easy
- Allowed uses: cycling, walking, running, skating, and other non-motorized activities
- Along the route: benches and trash cans
- Main access point: Mary Frances Keisling Park, 651 Gomez Rd, with a water fountain and a bike repair station
- Listed parking: Mary Frances Keisling Park and 900 Country Club Rd
The trail runs through Vinton and Canutillo before it ends at Country Club Road, so an out-and-back from the southern end passes through a long stretch of farmland and river corridor. Keisling Park is the access point most people know. For anyone living near the El Paso Country Club, the Country Club Road parking is the end you reach first.
What Sunland Park is building across the river
On June 18, 2026, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and the City of Sunland Park held a groundbreaking for a new segment that brings the Paso del Norte Trail into Sunland Park. The Health Foundation's announcement describes a corridor of about 5 miles on each side of the river, roughly 10 miles in all. It starts at Western Playland and Mender Park on Calle Carrousel and follows the Rio Grande to the state line near Country Club Road and Rio Bravo Drive. The new segment is also part of New Mexico's Rio Grande Trail system.
The money breaks down into three parts, and the gap between them shows how far along each piece is:
| Piece of the Sunland Park project | Foundation investment | What it delivers |
|---|---|---|
| Design and engineering | $800,000 | Plans for 9.2 miles of trail on both sides of the Rio Grande |
| Construction | $798,297.92 | 0.69 mile of new trail extending the existing path to Frontera Road |
| Wayfinding | $300,000 | Signage along completed trail segments |
The total comes to nearly $2 million. The construction money covers 0.69 mile. The 9.2 miles that would carry the trail toward Country Club Road are being designed, which is the step that comes before construction money.
In its September 15 City Manager report, the City of Sunland Park said the Rio Grande Trail was about 80% paved and expected the whole project to be complete in October. Work still listed at that point included forming the remaining trail sections and a roundabout, planting four trees, and getting areas ready for site furnishings. The city's Public Works team was to install the benches and trash cans.
Sunland Park's mayor, Javier Perea, put the city's goal plainly in the Foundation's release:
"By integrating our local paths into this regional trail network, we are providing our residents with new, accessible spaces for physical activity and recreation."
Why the Country Club Road end matters in a 70-mile plan
The Paso del Norte Trail is expected to run about 70 miles once it's finished, linking communities from Anthony, New Mexico, to Tornillo, Texas. El Paso Matters reported that the route would lead walkers past the river and farmland, through neighborhoods, and on to Downtown, the El Paso Zoo and the Lower Valley missions. From the Upper Valley, the Rio Grande stretch heading toward the rest of the city goes through Sunland Park. El Paso Matters called the short Sunland Park path from Racetrack Drive to Frontera Road "the next part of the Rio Grande segment on the Westside."
So the existing 10.9 miles reach Country Club Road from the north. The Sunland Park corridor, as drawn, reaches the state line near Country Club Road from the south. Once the designed miles are built, the place where Upper Valley residents now turn around is where the two meet.
The timeline is long, and the people behind it say so. El Paso Matters reported that more than $80 million has been awarded since the master plan was written, covering design and construction of about 35 miles. The goal is to fund the last 20 unfunded miles by 2030 and finish construction by 2035. The Country Club Road connection fits inside that window.
The shorter path on the El Paso side
The City of El Paso lists another paved trail in the same area. The Rio Grande North Linear Trail runs 2.8 miles from Country Club to Borderland, in the city's Northwest planning area. It's on the city's trails and trailheads page next to the other linear trails it maintains. It works well for a walk that doesn't need the full out-and-back on the river trail.
Between the two, someone starting from Country Club Road already has a choice of distances. The 2.8-mile city trail is the short one, and the 10.9-mile river trail is the long one.
Heading out this fall
The trail is easy and flat. Here are a few practical notes for using the Country Club Road end over the next few weeks:
- Choose your parking by direction. The 900 Country Club Rd lot puts you at the southern end. Mary Frances Keisling Park at 651 Gomez Rd puts you farther up the route and has the water fountain and bike repair station.
- Bring your own water from the south end. The fountain the trail page lists is at Keisling Park.
- Expect company on wheels. The trail is open to cyclists and skaters as well as walkers and runners.
- Keep an eye on the Sunland Park side. In September, the city expected its segment to Frontera Road to be complete in October, with benches and trash cans going in at the end.
There's also a trail event coming up. Friends of the Trail is holding its first Paso del Norte Trail Friendsgiving on Saturday, November 14, 2026, as a fundraiser for the trail's Zoo Segment. The bike ride and run start at 3 p.m., the group gathers at 4:30 p.m., and the feast begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $75. Details are on the Friendsgiving event page. Ticket money goes to a different part of the same network that started on the Upper Valley stretch.
The Health Foundation's CEO, Tracy Yellen, said in the June release that the goal is "to make active living the easy choice for residents by increasing access to safe, accessible hike and bike trails." In the Upper Valley, that access already exists, and the Country Club Road end is the part of the map where the plan calls for more of it.
Location along the trail network is one of the details we look at when valuing homes in The Willows and the surrounding Upper Valley, near Country Club Road. If you'd like to know how your home's location shapes its value today, Cornerstone Realty can walk you through it, in English or Spanish. Request Your Free Home Valuation.
