Finding Normalcy in Nature: A Guide to Palo Duro Canyon State Park

View from Goodnight Peak at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
View from Goodnight Peak, Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

A few weeks ago, Mike was notified he needed to use or lose some vacation time. Travel options are limited right now (thanks, COVID), so we decided to take a chance on a state park adventure. Texas has over 90 state parks, featuring everything from canyons to waterfalls to swampland. We narrowed our options to Palo Duro and Colorado Bend, but the latter’s zero capacity made the final decision for us. In this post, I share our experience at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Texas State Park’s website system isn’t very intuitive, so it was kind of a pain to get our reservation in order. Once I finally figured it out and made an account, a pop-up asked if I’d like to spring for a State Parks pass. Passes run $70 and give you free entry, camping discounts, and special deals at park shops. Mike and I decided it was worth the splurge, so we purchased one. It immediately applied to our online reservation, saving us more than the cost of the pass. I highly recommend you take advantage of the deal!

Getting There

We planned our trip for Thursday through Sunday, starting our eight-hour road trip to the Texas panhandle at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning. Since we packed everything into our car the night before (except the cooler), all we had to do was fill up our travel mugs with coffee and go. The drive was pretty uneventful. We saw some pretty hill country, but most of the scenery was as dull and flat as Amy Schumer’s comedy.

Juniper/Cliffside Trail at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Peering down into an abyss on Juniper/Cliffside Trail.

At around 2 pm, we turned onto road 217 and the world around us transformed. Cut away from the endless flatland, the canyon reaches down and out of sight. Bright red rock lines the craggy cliffs and pops against the blue Texas sky. Wide strips of gypsum decorate the landscape. Trees curl up into sagebrush. Down low, a river winds. Mike and I stared out the window, slack-jawed. We pulled up to the park entrance window, and Ranger Joe (not his real name) smiled behind his mask. After a quick information exchange, he handed us our camping pass and a park map, bidding us well.

Though not as celebrated as its superior, Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in North America. It boasts a rich history as home to the Comanche, Apache, and Kiowa people, as a battle site during the Red River War, and as a cattle ranch. The park has over 30 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails – you can even bring your own horse. Half a dozen campgrounds with various features dot the canyon. The Trading Post offers camping essentials, gifts, and hot meals.

Day One

We booked the last available campsite in the Mesquite campground, at the far end of the park road at the bottom of the canyon. After a twenty-minute drive, we pulled into our spot. Mike was thrilled to see a rustic pergola over the picnic table, the perfect place to hang his hammock. We still had hours of daylight, so we set up the hammock stand and hung some ratchet straps, then drove off to start hiking.

Hiking at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
One of the park’s many highlighted features.

I pored over the trail map ahead of time, so I already had route planned out. My inner completionist set out to hike every trail in the park. For our first foray, we walked Juniper/Riverside and added on Sunflower trail’s shady path through red rock formations cut with white gypsum veins. We continued north on Rojo Grande‘s scenic route, then doubled back on Juniper/Cliffside‘s 3-mile jaunt past Spanish skirt formations and massive caves. Our first afternoon was humid and hot, and by the end of our 7-mile hike, we had early symptoms of heat exhaustion. The cooling towels we bought before the trip sustained us.

An Eventful Evening

Back at the campsite, our hammock stand had disappeared. Confused and irritated, Mike walked campsite to campsite on a retrieval quest while I prepped skillet chicken stir fry on the camp stove. His smiling face finally appeared, hammock stand in-hand. A young kid spotted it in our seemingly empty site and took it as abandoned. Case closed, we ate and then set up our beds. Mike hung his hammock from the pergola while I camped in the car.

Mike is camp stove king.

A twilight visit from a rather rotund raccoon spiced up our evening. He tried to grab our garbage bag and Mike shooed him off. Then, Mike left to brush his teeth while I set up the mosquito net in the car. As I tucked and tied, I heard a rustling sound at looked over at the picnic table. The raccoon had returned, and stood on his hind legs, flipping through the pages of Mike’s book. I couldn’t help but crack up as I scared him off the second time.

Exhausted, we fell asleep almost as soon as it was dark (though not before gazing up at the dazzling Milky Way).

Day Two

Walking the Lighthouse Trail at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Soaking up the Lighthouse Trail.

I woke up before sunrise, eager for camp coffee. Fumbling around in the dark, I tried to keep quiet (but failed), and eventually pulled together hot coffee, bacon, scrambled eggs, and pan-fried diced squash. We took in the pretty sunrise from our camp chairs before loading the car up for a full hiking day. The temperature sat around 95°F (35°C) for most of our trip, so we loaded up with tons of water. These backpacks were perfect – they held up to our heavy water bottles, lanterns, first aid kits, and piles of high-protein snacks. We also grabbed this lightweight, waterproof Bluetooth speaker, which we hung from Mike’s backpack. It kept us grooving the entire weekend.

Lighthouse Trail at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Lighthouse Trail summit.

Palo Duro’s most popular trail is Lighthouse, which winds toward the iconic hoodoo perched atop a bluff. Lighthouse also causes the most heat-related deaths and rescues, so we made sure to start early. At 8 am, plenty of parking was available at the trail head. Generous clouds obscured the sun. We sprung along, admiring our gorgeous surroundings, until we reached the end of the road about 2.5 miles in. A picnic table sits under shady trees, and just beyond, a trail mazes up the steep hill. We pressed on, adding a half mile to our trek before leveling out at the base of the imposing rock formation. After a quick photo sesh and a handful of salty snacks, we bumped back down to the main trail.

Danger, Will Robinson

Our second day was by far our most rigorous. After Lighthouse, we branched off to attempt Givens, Spicer, Lowry, a demanding but magnificent trail. Partway through GSL, we veered onto Little Fox Canyon, an easy loop through some riverbeds and pretty glens. We met back up with GSL about the time the sun came out in full force. Our water supply was already over half depleted and our cooling towels had completely dried. We were overheated and still had 2.5 miles to the trail head. In the limited shade we could find, we slathered on sunscreen, munched on a bag of hydrating vegetables, and poured a little water into our hats.

Texas Collared Lizard.

Givens, Spicer, Lowry undulates through the canyon, rising up to rocky plateaus, then dipping again to the sweltering valley floor. The sun blazed, drawing moisture out of us. I had to stop half a dozen times just to slow my heart rate. We rationed our water with care, but permitted an occasional splash on our cooling towels or hats. It became hard to enjoy the scenery. I took a quick snap of a vibrant collared lizard, but didn’t stop to observe. When we reached the post marking half a mile to go, Mike and I retreated to a covered shelter for at least ten minutes. We were so hot it was painful. The breezy rest revived us just enough to make it to the trail head, but we still needed to return to our car.

We dragged across the street to a day use site where we rinsed off, soaked our towels, and refilled our water. Somewhat refreshed, we hopped onto Paseo del Rio, a flat, tree-lined path along the riverbank that delivered us safely back where we started. It was 2 pm and we had hiked nearly 10 miles. We agreed to call it a day and returned to our camp site, where we did absolutely nothing but lounge in hammocks and read for the rest of the afternoon.

Day Three

Trail Ride at Palo Duro Canyon
Comanche and Jake.

Saturday morning brought an early wake-up call. We had an 8 am trail ride scheduled, so we sped through our coffee and breakfast. People were already gathered for briefing when we pulled up to Old West Stables, so we hurried through registration and slunk into the mix. Mike was assigned “Comanche” while I hopped onto “Jake”. The 3-mile horseback jaunt through rugged terrain was a perfect respite for our overworked feet. A little over an hour later, we clopped back into the paddock. We had an excellent experience, and would definitely ride with Old West Stables again.

View of Palo Duro Canyon from Rylander Fortress Trail
View of Mesquite Campground from Rylander Fortress.

Still exhausted by our previous day, we decided to only attempt one – maybe two – trails. We settled on Rock Garden, a trek through an ancient landslide that takes you 600 feet from the canyon floor to the rim. At the terminus, we’d continue onto Rylander Fortress Cliff if we felt up to it. We did. Thankfully, powerful winds and shady snack breaks tempered the grueling ascent. At the top, Rylander was mostly flat ground and cooled by breezes. We followed it all the way to the scenic lookout at the southern end (hey, I can see my campsite from here!).

A Colorful Side Quest

Cadillac Ranch
10 points if you can find Mike.

Our descent moved quickly, powered by pistachios and beef jerky. Again, about half a mile from the finish line, I started to experience heat exhaustion symptoms. I felt chilled and dizzy. Goosebumps popped up all over me. My vision prickled. We stepped into shade for a few moments whenever possible, and finally stumbled back to our car. I guzzled the last of my water. The clock read 2 pm. We decided to treat ourselves to giant cheeseburgers at The Trading Post. We soaked up the air conditioning as we downed our burgers, debating how to spend the rest of our day. Eventually, we concluded a trip out to Cadillac Ranch on the outskirts of Amarillo would be our best use of time. The art fixture reminded me of Austin’s Hope Outdoor Gallery, where anyone can express themselves with a spray paint can.

Skillet Nachos at Palo Duro Canyon State Park

We wandered around Cadillac Ranch for fifteen minutes or so, then gassed up and drove back to the park. As the sun set, we gorged ourselves on skillet nachos. Our raccoon friend made another appearance. We wound down and went to bed, nursing sore calves and aggressive blisters.

Day Four

Camping at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Coffee, the best part of camping.

By our last morning, I waved goodbye to my dreams of completing every trail in the park. We slept in, savored our coffee, and took our time packing up. Mike had one more route he wanted to attempt – the short but strenuous CCC trail. We drove up through the park’s switchbacks, lapping up the view, before parking at a gravel pullout. Mike tied my hat into my hair so it wouldn’t fly away in the gusts, and we stepped onto the end of CCC. We detoured onto Goodnight Peak Scenic Loop for a stunning view of the canyon, then amped ourselves up for the big climb to CCC‘s trail head. It was pretty, rocky, and filled with lovely viewpoints. At the top, we took in a final view, then turned around to hike back to our car. We made it before 11 am, still feeling cool.

Our journey home took little more than 7 hours. By dinnertime, we were in our driveway unpacking our car. Once we had everything safely inside, Mike and I collapsed on the couch. We were wind-burned, depleted, and contented. Four days in the Texas wild, detached from WiFi and social media and news, filled our spirits. We were refreshed by nature’s oblivious predictability. The trip did more than just make us feel challenged or inspired. It made us feel normal.

Goodnight Peak View Palo Duro Canyon

Have any questions about Palo Duro Canyon or the way we camp? Leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability!


You may be interested in: I’m About to Embark on a 2400 Mile Road Trip and I’m So Ready.

1 thought on “Finding Normalcy in Nature: A Guide to Palo Duro Canyon State Park”

  1. Hello! I have lived in Texas my entire life, 66 years, and never been to Palo Dura Canyon, but I am headed there tomorrow through Friday. I plan on doing a couple of trails (not athletic), but your blog has helped me be more prepared. Maybe I will be able to get a horse riding reservation. I have added some last-minute items to my last-minute shopping list: “salty snacks” and cooling cloths. I will not be camping but maybe next time. 🙂
    I am so excited to see this marvelous creation of God.

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