CITY LIGHTS
Wyler Aerial Tramway Experience stunning views while hanging from a single steel thread.
fills the dream of philanthropist Karl O. Wyler, who strongly believed that the lofty views from atop Ranger Peak, just north of downtown El Paso, should be available to the public. He included this wish in his final will. The story begins, however, in 1959 when NBC affiliate KTSM Radio built the tramway to aid the construction of a transmitter antenna and service platform. A real workhorse in its early days, the tiny tram hauled concrete, water, heavy equipment, workers — even sections of the antenna itself — to the
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mountain summit. Wyler directed this ambitious construction project and, in the process, fell in love with Ranger Peak and its top-ofthe-world view. Privately owned and operated first as El Paso Aerial Tramway, • EL PASO the facility allowed public access from 1960 to 1986. Although it continued to provide access for maintenance of telecommunications equipment, high liability insurance costs caused the tramway to close to the public. Wyler would later buy the tramway,
then willed it to Texas Parks and Wildlife upon his death in 1997. Texas Parks and Wildlife reopened the tramway to the public in 2001 following extensive renovation. The tramway operates on a 2,400-foot-long singlespan cable system, meaning there are no support towers along its nearly half-mile length. From bottom to top, visitors are lifted some 940 vertical feet as they glide high above the rugged terrain below. Swiss-made gondolas carry tramway passengers. A haul rope pulls each gondola on a track
Wyler Aerial Tramway HOURS
Friday and Saturday Noon–7 pm Sunday 10 am–5 pm except in the case of inclement weather Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for children. The awesome view of El Paso from the parking lot of the lower tramway station is free and often accessible even when the tramway isn’t operating. For information, call (915) 566-6622 or go to tpwd.state.tx.us.
VISIT EL PASO visitelpaso.com
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FROM ON HIGH: The Wyler Aerial Tramway is operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is located in El Paso’s Franklin Mountains State Park. The tramway complex covers 196 acres on the east side of the Franklin Mountains. The gondolas travel along two 2,400-foot steel cables to Ranger Peak, 5,632 feet above sea level.
