Lovely Palo Duro Canyon, one of the most beautiful places in all Texas, is just 25 miles southeast of Amarillo, east of the town of Canyon off the I-27 freeway. Cut into the Texas plain by the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River, Palo Duro stretches for over 100 miles, with canyon walls climbing to over 1,200 feet. Coronado and company were the first Europeans to lay eyes on the area, and numerous Plains tribes, including Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche, later took refuge here.
From the end of Hwy-217, a well-paved road winds past the park visitors center, from which a short trail leads to a canyon overlook. Beyond here the road drops down into the canyon and follows the river on a 15-mile loop trip through the Canyon’s heart. It’s prettiest in spring and fall, and fairly popular year-round; for more information, or for camping reservations, contact the visitors center (daily; $3; 806/488-2227).
On your way to or from Palo Duro Canyon, be sure to stop by the Cowboy Cafe, on US-60 west of Canyon, marked by the towering statue of Tex, the giant (47 feet and 7 tons!) cowboy. Not that you need one, but another great reason to visit Canyon is the excellent Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (daily; $4; 806/ 651-2244), at 2401 4th Avenue. One of the state’s great museums, this has extensive exhibits on the cultural and economic life of the Panhandle region and its relations with Mexico, the Texas Republic, and the United States. The museum, which is housed in a WPA-era building on the campus of West Texas A&M University, has a special section on rancher Charles Goodnight, who once owned a half-million acres here and was also an early advocate of saving the bison from extinction. His cabin is preserved in the “Pioneer Town” behind the museum.
