El Paso Mission Trail
Mission · El Paso, Texas
Nine miles of Socorro Road linking two working adobe mission churches and a presidio chapel that predate the California missions by about ninety years — Ysleta, the oldest continuously active parish in Texas, Socorro with its six-foot adobe walls, and San Elizario, founded as a Spanish military post in 1789. All three stood in Mexico until the Rio Grande changed course in 1829 and left them on the north bank, and the border was drawn around them rather than through them.
Socorro Road (FM 258), El Paso, Texas, 79907, United States
A nine-mile public route on Socorro Road (FM 258) linking Ysleta, Socorro and San Elizario. ⚠ VISITOR REPORTS SAY ALL THREE CHURCHES ARE OPEN AND FREE TO ENTER with parking at each, but they are ACTIVE CATHOLIC PARISHES keeping parish hours that I could not verify — check elpasomissions.org and avoid mass times. ⚠ START AT THE MISSION VALLEY VISITOR CENTER for the overview film and a free trail map. Allow at least half a day. Drive between them; walking is impractical.
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