Palo Duro Canyon is the second-largest canyon in the United States! It is about 120 miles long and 20 miles wide and up to 800 feet deep. There are 16 trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, ranging in length from .05 miles to 4.4 miles. It has options for camping, with sites for tents and RV campers with water access. If you have them, you are also welcome to bring in your own horses at no cost. The entrance fee is $8 per person, per day (2023).
Overview
- Planning your visit
- Recommended Itinerary
- Trail Reviews
Planning your visit
How long should you stay?
While you can definitely make this a day-trip destination depending on where you are coming from, there are so many trails worth checking out that would take more than an afternoon to finish. I think 4 days and 3 nights is good amount of time if you are a moderate “nature-lover” and cannot handle a several days in a row of hiking.
Try to visit in the spring or fall! Nice weather always makes views look nicer, I swear. 😉 You’ll also run into crowds less. Just watch out for rainy seasons, and it really effects the trails and their walkability.
Where should you stay?
Amarillo is a 30 minute drive from the Canyon entrance and Canyon is 15 minutes. Both will have a decent selection of hotel and short-term rental options.
Additionally, there are cabins inside the canyon of different sizes available for rent, but are usually booked far, far out in advance. The downside of this is you will stuck inside the park when the gates close which is at 10pm.
For a true getaway experience that offers flexibility in booking last minute, as well as, freedom to come and go as you please, I could not recommend more staying right outside the state park entrance. You will find some options available with Dove Rest Cabins, or where I stayed, Shepard Family Cabin Rentals – a single property with 10 rental options. I had the pleasure of creating a full video tour with the owner unexpectedly, check it out! Here’s the short version ⬇️
Be prepared.
Always keep in mind your limits. The park map offers a breakdown of the trails and their difficulty level. Make sure to get a copy at the entrance and ask the park ranger if they have any closed trails or muddy trails that day, so you know where not to waste your time.
Make sure to have plenty of water. I bought a one gallon jug and small backpack just for carrying it, since most trails took at least one hour.
Check the weather. Heat stroke is a serious culprit of taking out hikers at this canyon. They are known to do at least 1 rescue a week in the summer. Luckily, we went as fall was breaking and the weather was very pleasant!
Recommended Itinerary
This is about what we did, take it or leave it! Skip to the bottom to see my trail recs.
Day 1
- Driving day
- Stop in Amarillo for dinner at 575 and to visit Cadillac Ranch
- Check into accommodation
- Get to bed early
Day 2
- Breakfast at ranch house
- Hike
- Picnic
- Hike
- Dinner in Canyon. Anywhere as long as it isn’t La Bella lolol
Day 3
- Breakfast. Try Got Donuts? Seriously good donuts, and I do not say that lightly!
- Hike
- Picnic
- Hike again or head back home to rest.
- Check out the aoudads on Sunday Canyon Rd during sunset. We were recommended to do this, but didn’t get a chance to. If you go down the road, you might get lucky and see them grazing on what the locals feed them. They are much easier to spot here than in the actual canyon. Of course be respectful of private properties, and don’t get too close!
Day 4
- Visit downtown Canyon for coffee and shops.
- Hike again if it suits you, or head back into Amarillo to do some sight-seeing there. We didn’t really have an interest, but maybe you do!
- Dinner
- Pack up
Day 5
- Have a left over party before checking out
Trail Reviews
Lighthouse Trail – THE iconic trail of Palo Duro Canyon. Definitely worth it and give yourself at least an extra hour, because the trail ends on the map BEFORE the last leg that gets you up on the rock. Mostly easy trail until the top. Stunning views
CCC/Goodnight Peak Loop – CCC is quite difficult terrain and elevation, do it after a warm up. Goodnight loop is not actually marked on the trail. If you are coming from the — direction, after the bench with the view on CCC, take the next left which goes up. That will get you to the loop, it’s an easy trail. The view is stunning, but maybe do not try to catch the sunset here as it is on the west side of the canyon.
Givens, Spicer, Lowry – Really cool trail and easier than expected! Has a decent amount of elevation, but in a fun way! At the time we went, we were too tired to do the whole thing, but we were curious about the Little Fox trail that broke off from it. Another time I’ll have to check it out!
Sunflower Trail – Pretty flat and easy. The views are not as interesting here and if it has rained recently, it will be muddy. We did not finish this trail bc of the mud.
Rock Garden Trail – Unfortunately, this trail was closed to us, but we could drive by the side of it and it looked so cool! This trail was also the only way to the Rylander Fortress Cliff trail which is a long and high trail on the ridge of the east wall of the canyon. There are also several marked spots for gorgeous sunset viewing along that side of the canyon. I am looking forward to trying this the next time I visit.
The Big Cave – This is not marked on the park map, but shows up on google maps, lol. It was a fun surprise to stumble upon and cool little climb. It’s a little steep, but manageable.
Happy hiking!
– 🗺🐭
