How to Get There

From Amarillo (30 miles): Head east on E Amarillo Blvd/U.S. Rte 66 toward N Pierce St. Turn right onto N Pierce St. Use the right 2 lanes to take the ramp to I-27/I-40. Continue onto US-287 S/US-60 W/US-87 S. Continue straight onto I-27 S. Take exit 122B for Farm to Market Rd 1541 toward Washington St. Merge onto Canyon Dr. Turn left onto S Washington St

Overview

Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly 120 mi long and has an average width of 6 mi, but reaches a width of 20 mi at places. Its depth is around 820 ft, but in some locations, it increases to 1,000 ft. Palo Duro Canyon (from the Spanish meaning "hard stick") has been named "The Grand Canyon of Texas" both for its size and for its dramatic geological features, including the multicolored layers of rock and steep mesa walls, which are similar to those in the Grand Canyon.

Geology

The canyon was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, which initially winds along the level surface of the Llano Estacado of West Texas, then suddenly and dramatically runs off the Caprock Escarpment. Water erosion over the millennia has shaped the canyon's geological formations.

Notable canyon formations include caves and hoodoos. One of the best-known and the major signature feature of the canyon is the Lighthouse Rock. A multiple-use, 6 mi round-trip loop trail is dedicated to the formation.

Seven units of the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the park from 1933 until 1937.

Tourism and Activities

Palo Duro Canyon hosts a number of activites throughout the park. There are 16 trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, ranging in length from .05 miles to 4.4 miles. There are options for camping, with sites for tents with water access and RV campers alike. There are also sites for keeping horses available to campers planning to horseback ride in the canyon. In addition, lodging cabins are available for rent that sit on the outer rim of the canyon, providing an impressive view of both the canyon and the sunrise.

In culture

The painter Georgia O'Keeffe, who lived in nearby Amarillo and Canyon in the early 20th century, wrote of the Palo Duro: "It is a burning, seething cauldron, filled with dramatic light and color." She made paintings of Palo Duro Canyon between 1916 and 1918, when she was an instructor and head of the art department at West Texas State Normal College.

Palo Duro Canyon is the site of an outdoor historical and musical drama, titled Texas, presented annually each summer by actors, singers, dancers, and artists of the Texas Panhandle region. The spectacle, created by playwright Paul Eliot Green, premiered on July 1, 1966, at the newly constructed Pioneer Amphitheatre in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It has continued each summer through the present, making Texas "the best-attended outdoor history drama in the nation."

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Palo Duro Canyon", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0