Hike Location: Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park
Geographic Location: northwest of Brownsville, TX (26.01538, -97.47966)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: An out-and-back through an 1846 Mexican-American War battlefield.
Park Information: https://www.nps.gov/paal/index.htm
Hike Route Map:
On The Go Map
Photo Highlight:
From the back of the Visitor Center, pick up the concrete trail as it heads northeast past the small picnic area toward the battlefield. Interpretive signs describe the battle and the people who fought here. All of this land is pretty flat, but there is no shade almost anywhere on this short hike. This battlefield sits at the same latitude as south Florida, so this will be a warm and sunny hike on all but the coolest days of the year.
At 0.4 miles, you reach a trail intersection with options going straight, left, and right. The option going left leads to an overflow parking area, but we will go both of the other 2 directions eventually. For now, turn right to begin the Mexican Line Trail. True to its name, this concrete trail heads east along the line where Mexican troops were stationed during the battle.
As you approach the east end of the Mexican Line Trail, you reach an area with blue Mexican cannons and Mexican flags whipping in the breeze. If you turn to your left and look north, you will see the battlefield the way the Mexicans saw it. The American flag in the distance marks the American line; you will be there in a few minutes. As you look at all of the tall wiry cordgrass and sticky prickly pear cactuses between you and the American flag, you start to see why this battle became a battle of cannon fire as opposed to running and charging: I know I don't want to run through that prairie!
When you reach the end of the Mexican Line Trail, backtrack to the previous intersection, then turn right to head for the American Line. On your way to the American line, you pass through the battlefield overlook pavilion, which is located atop a small knoll. The overlook provides a nice view of the battlefield, but its roof also provides the only shade available on this hike. I enjoyed the seating and shade this overlook provided when I hiked here on a warm sunny afternoon in early February.
Continuing north past the overlook, begin the American Line Trail and reach the American line just shy of 1.1 miles. A simple visual inspection reveals how much newer and bigger these cannons are compared to the ones you saw on the Mexican line, but some interpretive signs give you more details. The American line is the north end of the trail and of the battlefield. Retrace your steps past the battlefield overlook and the Mexican Line Trail to return to the Visitor Center and complete the hike.
Hike Video: (coming April 9, 2027)
Directions to the trailhead: Northwest of Brownsville, take I-169 to Paredes Line Road. Exit and go north on Paredes Line Rd. The signed park entrance is on the right in 0.2 miles. Turn right to enter the park, and park in the parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.
The hike: The Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 is an oft-forgotten page of American history. The war had its roots in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36, which left 2 disputes between Texas and Mexico unresolved. First, although the newly-formed Republic of Texas governed more or less autonomously, Mexico never formally recognized Texas' independence from Mexico. Second, a boundary dispute arose with Texas claiming the Rio Grande as the Texas/Mexico boundary and Mexico claiming the more northerly Neuces River.
When the United States admitted Texas as its newest state in 1845, those Texas/Mexico disputes became American/Mexico disputes. The Mexican-American War was fought to settle those disputes. The war lasted only 2 years, the Americans won a decisive victory, most of the present-day American southwest was ceded to the United States, and the Rio Grande was established as the official border between the United States and Mexico. The Mexican-American War was also a stepping stone to the American Civil War: slavery was supposed to be illegal in all newly acquired American land, but it was allowed to continue in some of the land acquired via this war.
One of the first battles in the Mexican-American War was the Battle of Palo Alto, which occurred just north of the Rio Grande near the Gulf coast on May 8, 1846. American General Zachary Taylor was ordered to march his troops all the way south to the Rio Grande, a move Mexico viewed as an incursion into Mexican territory. Mexico dispatched General Mariano Arista to engage Taylor, and they first clashed on the prairies known as Palo Alto.
Due to the flat prairie terrain and the long cordgrass and cactuses that made movement difficult, neither side wanted to risk large losses by charging the other side, so the battle came down to an exchange of cannon fire. Because the Americans possessed newer and bigger cannons, most of their cannon shots hit their Mexican targets, while most of the shots from Mexico's older and smaller cannons fell short of the American line. Tired of playing the you-can-hit-me but I-can't-hit-you-game, Arista withdrew his army to nearby Resaca de la Palma at the end of the day. While the Battle of Palo Alto was only a minor American victory, it set up the Battle of Resaca de la Palma the next day in which Taylor's men stormed the Mexican fort and won decisively. The Battle of Resaca de la Palma effectively ended all major Mexican military operations north of the Rio Grande.
Today both battlefields are preserved as Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, which was established in 1978. An excellent Visitor Center tells the story of the battles, but only the first battlefield has significant hiking trails. This hike uses every trail at the park, and it is a great way to explore one of the few sites in the United States that preserves Mexican-American War history.
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| Leaving the Visitor Center |
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| Approaching the battlefield |
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| Mexican cannon |
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| Looking north across the battlefield |
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| View from battlefield overlook |
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| American cannon |
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