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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
To reach the park by road from Amarillo, go south on I-27 about seventeen miles to the town of Canyon. Then head east for about twelve miles on Texas State Highway 217. Don't be concerned by not being able to see the canyon on this road, as it doesn't come into sight almost until you reach the park entrance.
Several of the maps of the park which I have found are printed with North facing downwards, so that the entrance is at the bottom of the map. This can be rather confusing when trying to figure out how to get to the park.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park is on the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. Perhaps surprisingly, it is not on the Palo Duro River, which also runs through the Texas Panhandle but to the north of Amarillo.
As well as the overlooks providing views of the canyon, this park also offers a visitor centre, a number of hiking trails and from mid June to late August an outdoor drama called "Texas".
The entrance is on one rim of the canyon. Shortly after entering the park a short spur road leads to an excellent viewpoint over the canyon, from which there is a short walk to the visitor centre.
The main road then descends quite steeply and with a number of bends down into the canyon. On the canyon floor the road crosses a stream in a number of places by means of shallow fords. When we visited the water level was so low as to barely wet the tyres. I do not know if the water ever reaches higher levels. Beware of children playing in the water when driving through these fords.
The road to the park and the main roads in the park itself are paved.
Some sources of information about the park mention the Sad Monkey Railroad, a miniature railway line which tours part of the canyon floor. However, we didn't see any sign of this when we visited.
We were very impressed by Palo Duro and would highly recommend a visit. A particularly good feature is being able to view the canyon both from the rim and from the floor.
Palo Duro is Spanish for hard wood, referring to the cedar trees found in this area.
Children and senior citizens free.
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Most recently modified 29-Mar-02