Best Trails near Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Great trail close by the Guadalajara metropolitan area, on the North of the city. Can be accessed by car and public transportation Just to correctly locate, there are two “Barrancas”. Oblatos which is an easy 5 km hike located on Avenida Periferico Norte. The Barranca de Huentitán, located in the Avenida Belisario Domínguez, is the one trail that will take you to the river. The trail traffic is crowded on the weekends. In the early mornings you see many trail runners, local habitants and tourists. We visited on January 4th, 2020 The trail to the river and historic Arcediano bridge is about 5.8km, 1.2h in a slow pace. So mind a 2 to 3h total hike. Take water, supplies and trash bag with you as you won’t find them down the trail. Also no restroom is available until you reach the lowest portion of the trail, where you see a chemical toilet, which does not seem to be maintained. It starts with a concrete stairway with a few small local businesses, where you can find food, refreshments, buy supplies for your hike. The stairway ends up in the chapel. You will see some people warming up and stretching. Now it the trail starts with switch backs of stoned path. Be prepared to use your legs and knees, it’s quite demanding irregular path. The scenery is nice, as you can see the canyon and the river at the bottom. Along the way down you find different landscapes, from stone path surrounded by trees with shadow to semi arid thin soil with cactus, to dense forest where it is signaled “Herradura path”, where you feel a cooler air. The trail is well signaled and you can go to different paths. On the way to the Arcediano bridge you will pass a bridge by a waterfall. Unfortunately the water is contaminated by city waste, so we were able to se chemical foam and a funky smell. The trail is most of the way clean, but you can find some trash left by visitors. We were able to see other trails and pathways, but since those were not signaled, we did not risk to explore The overall impression is great, as it is a wonderful preserved natural area with beautiful fauna and flora. Great place to practice hiking conditioning.

Went down the main trail, crossed the river at the pipe bridge walked along the far side of the river to the suspension bridge crossed back and ascended the black dashed trail where a large rockfall wooed out a good portion of the trail ~1 month ago. Good fun scramble for adventurous ones. Some locals do it daily and appreciate the adventure :)

The views are great, the hike is a bit tough on the way up. The river is in very bad conditions (sewage and foam) I recommend to go very early because there’s a lot of traffic and the heat can become unbearable. There’s people selling water, fruit, etc on the top and along the way.

The trail is great for a good work out on the way up. I would recommend going early to avoid the heat and during spring when everything is nice and green to really enjoy the views. I went on May 28th and the views were some what disappointing because everything looked dead and dry. Also, don’t plan on going in the river or even hanging around the river bed to enjoy a little break before heading up the trail because it’s all foamy and full of raw sewage.

A memorable experience. The trail is quite busy — locals from the area love this spot. There are people selling water and gatorade along the way. The hike back up the canyon is a bit challenging, but worth it!

great place to spend a few hours with friends and family. looking forward to doing it again. the ghost town down by the river is fun to explore.