Best Things To Do In Palo Duro Canyon State Park

There are so many great things to do in Palo Duro Canyon among just gasping at its beauty.

Palo Duro Canyon is the biggest canyon in Texas and is a beautiful sight to see!

What is there to do in Palo Duro Canyon?

There are at least 19 activities or things to do in Palo Duro Canyon State Park

#1 Drive the scenic loop through the canyon

This is a 16-mile-long scenic drive that takes you through the park’s beautiful landscape. If you drive through without stopping, it may take you only 45 minutes to an hour. However, I’m sure you will want to make a few stops to experience the park more fully. The drive starts at the park entrance and takes you down to the canyon floor, around the entire park, and back up to the top.

#2 Go hiking

Palo Duro Canyon provides several miles of trails to hike. You can choose from multiple trails based on your hiking level and preferred trail length. I will provide more information about some of these trails down below.

#3 Ride Horseback

Horseback riding is available in Palo Duro Canyon. However, it’s important to check the time of year as it may not be offered year-round.
If you have your own horse, you can bring it along as long as you stay on the designated equestrian trails and follow the rules and regulations.

#4 Ziplining over the canyon

This zipline adventure is located outside of the state park and goes over parts of the canyon. While I haven’t tried it yet, it looks like a fun activity.

#5 Camp in Palo Duro Canyon

There are various camping options available in the park including primitive and non-primitive sites. The park offers RV camping spots with hookups.
Additionally, some glamping tents are available for those who prefer a more luxurious setup. Cabins in and around the canyon are also available for rent.

#6 Watch the Texas Outdoor Musical

This is a family-friendly show with beautiful natural scenery, available only from June to mid-August and worth the money.

#7 Star gazing at night

It’s not considered a dark sky due to light pollution from the cities of Canyon and Amarillo, but there are still many visible stars.

#8 Jeep tour

I’ve never tried it, but it sounds like a cool option. Maybe we can plan that expedition for our next visit.

#9 Explore a cave

Exploring a cave requires extra caution and a flashlight.

#10 Visit the Canyon Gallery and Visitor Center

Explore the Canyon through educational videos and nature exhibits. Also, shop for handmade Native American pottery and other unique items.

#11 Palo Duro trading post

Stop and shop for a souvenir or grab something to eat there.

#12 Mountain Biking

Ride your mountain bike on biking trails. There are many trails open to mountain bikers.

#13 Geocache hunt

This is fun to do with your kids. If you are the type to like scavenger hunts and challenges try it out, just make sure that you have a treasure to replace the one you find.

#14 Hunt for Geodes and other cool rocks

It’s so cool to find geodes. You can easily come across ones that are broken open and the sparkling beautiful center is already exposed.

#15 Make a scavenger hunt

You can easily make a list of items for your kids to hunt for and find. This will keep your kids entertained and busy looking for animals and items to see.

#16 Palo Duro Canyon Junior Naturalist Program.

Download the pdf off of their website and print it, let your kids do what it says, and answer the questions. When completed they can earn a badge.

#17 Palo Duro Canyon State Park Bird checklist

Print off the Palo Duro Canyon bird checklist and see how many birds on the list you can find.
For those bird lovers, you may enjoy this. For kids, this can be educational and fun.

#18 Park Ranger Program Fun Activities

Check out the Rangers Programs event page and see what is offered. You might just be able to join a night scorpion scavenger hunt, spider search party, full moon walk, or ride along with a ranger.

#19 Have a picnic in Palo Duro Canyon

Whether it is a small family picnic to a larger gathering. Many areas in the park have picnic tables. We have had some family gatherings and reunions in Palo Duro Canyon and they were memorable.
Even if you are just traveling through for a quick look at the Canyon, pack a lunch and plan for a picnic.

What is Palo Duro Canyon?

Palo Duro Canyon is just as its name suggests – a canyon. It resembles the Grand Canyon, but on a smaller scale, hence it is sometimes referred to as the “mini-Grand Canyon” or “The Grand Canyon of Texas.” It is the second-largest canyon in the United States, second only to the Grand Canyon itself.

This stunning and vast canyon located in the Texas panhandle stretches from Canyon, Texas to Silverton, Texas. The canyon is 120 miles in length, 20 miles wide, and up to 800 feet deep. It was formed over millions of years by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River through water erosion.

This canyon offers stunning views of the geologic layers of rock exhibiting a range of colors, often referred to as the Spanish Skirts. It also boasts beautiful geological features, rock formations, and hoodoos.

Animals like bobcats, coyotes, deer, wild turkeys, and Palo Duro mice roam the area. Roadrunners and other birds, snakes, Texas horned lizards among other types of lizards, tarantulas, and many more creepy crawlies can be found there.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a public state park located in a canyon area.

Palo Duro Canyon, which is open for visitors to explore, spans about 28,000 acres and offers plenty of fun activities for all ages. It’s a great destination for families, and my own family has visited the park countless times.

There are various hiking and biking trails available for different skill levels in Palo Duro Canyon, along with plenty of other enjoyable activities.

What should I do if I only have 1 day in the park? How many days do I need to explore Palo Duro Canyon?

The amount of time you spend in Palo Duro Canyon is unique to everyone as there are a lot of things to do there that can keep you busy for at least a week I would say. If you only have a half to 1 day I would do the scenic drive and choose at least one trail to hike and check out the big cave. Decide what activities and hiking trails you and your family want to do and then base it on that. If you are very limited on time then pick and choose what activities would be the most fun for your family.

Since we have family living near Palo Duro Canyon and visit it every year we usually just go from morning till afternoon or stay till we are tired. So we end up with about a half day to a full day of exploring along with a picnic lunch. With that said we have also experienced camping and many different activities on different trips out there. Doing a short trip each year was enough for us but if you want to go and explore and immerse yourself in the experience and do all that there is to offer then plan for a long stay.

Among the list of things to do in Palo Duro Canyon, is hiking.

There are many hiking trails, among those I will list the ones we have personally hiked:

As you will find out you don’t have to walk the full trail on any of them if you just simply turn around at some point and go back out the way you came in. Of course, you might miss out on the beautiful destination or the loop out another way. But you do what you and your family can or want to do. Moreover when you have little ones you usually just want to pick and choose short or partial trails or ones that are easy.

Sunflower trail– 1.2 mile one-way easy hike.
- We walked a portion of this trail through the sunflowers among other wildflowers and it was beautiful! This is an easy one to just hike a portion of.

Lighthouse trail– 2.8 miles one way. This is the park’s most popular trail. Most of this trail is a pretty easy path from what I remember although it states that it is a moderate hike. Once at the lighthouse, it is more difficult to climb up on the base next to it. But you can still see the lighthouse from the trail without climbing up.
- I highly caution against this trail in the summer heat! Most important, there is NO shade! So, it is very hard in the heat!
- If you are with young ones or older adults try this trail during the spring or fall season. And please don’t do it in the heat of the day.
- Many people struggle with this trail thinking they will be just fine. Unfortunately, there is NO shade! And you need way more water than you think you will need during the summer heat. The best time to hike is in the fall or springtime.
- Many people of all ages have struggled with heat exhaustion and dehydration on this trail. Consequently some are fatal.

Cottonwood trail – 1.4 miles one way. This trail is rated as Easy.

Juniper/Cliffside – 2.9 miles one way. Rated as moderate. We explored part of this trail, noticing a cave that was filled with black widows. But that was a long time ago. It is amazing how as time goes by you can visit the same area and some caves will be gone or have collapsed or other gradual changes will have occurred.

Juniper/Riverside – 1.1 miles one way. Moderate path. I haven’t been on this one in quite some time so I may need to revisit it next time I go.

Givens, Spicer, Lowry – 3.1 miles one way. This is rated difficult. We have only hiked a portion of this trail up to the caves that we explored and back. This is one of our favorites but as I said we don’t go past the caves. That part of the trail was not difficult. Even my 73-year-old mother was able to explore that portion with us with a little help in a couple of spots. The portion of this trail that we hiked is beautiful! There was a constant view of the canyon wall and a valley view. Lots of wildflowers in a small area that was beautiful!

Paseo Del Rio – 1.0 mile one way. Rated as Easy. Kids will enjoy checking out the cowboy dugout to see how cowboys lived in the 1880s. This is a good family trail.

Pioneer Nature – .4 mile loop that is Easy. It has been a long time since we walked this trail but it is great for those not wanting to hike far or long.

Comanche Trail – Upper 3.3 miles one way and Lower 4.4 miles one way. There is an upper and lower Comanche trail – both are rated as difficult. However if only doing a portion of it like we did it could be rated as easy depending on where you hike. We hiked a very low portion of the Comanche trail. We started the trailhead from the road across from the Mesquite campground. This was a beautiful hike! The flowers were so pretty and made for a beautiful walk. Walking along the hillside gave some shade on some of the hike. The kids were quick to point out the spider webs with black widows along the rocky hillside. We only hiked in for a while and then back out the way we came in.

Most important be sure to pack plenty of water. It is recommended to have 1 quart of water per person per mile.

Wear appropriate clothing and have the needed items while enjoying Palo Duro Canyon. We have those items listed on our Palo Duro Questions blog to help you.

Also, be sure to check for trail closures as some may be closed due to rain or poor conditions.

I wanted to talk more about caves, or The Big Cave.

As I had listed it in the fun things to do in Palo Duro Canyon.

The Big Cave

The Big Cave is hard to miss. When driving the loop through the canyon you really can’t miss it if you are looking out your window. You will see a giant cave on the side of the canyon wall. Usually, this attracts a lot of visitors so you might even see people parking on the side of the road before you get to it. You just simply park on the side of the road and walk across to it.

There are two ways to check out The Big Cave.

Directly down below the cave you can scramble up the rocks to get a closer look.
Or you can climb up the paths to the left side of the cave and scramble over some rocks to get to the entrance at the top.
- As I said earlier, I just can’t believe how much things change as the years go by.
- This cave used to be so much bigger inside but now so much has fallen.
- This is another reason why climbing and exploring caves can be dangerous as you never know when they may decide to fall.
- So please be careful and always keep your kids near you. Young kids will need a lot of help climbing to get into the cave. Or just admire it from down below.

There is another area with a cave that we like to explore. Check it out on my blog Questions answered for Palo Duro Canyon in the section about secret places.

Lodging

Among the things to do in Palo Duro Canyon is camping which is a great option as you can really immerse yourself in the environment for a night or more. You can tent camp, camp in an RV, rent a cabin, or rent a glamping tent. I have only tent camped here before but next time we are looking into renting a cabin or glamping tent.

Tips to know when camping overnight in Palo Duro Canyon

Weather– Be knowledgeable about the weather conditions for the time that you will stay there.
- It can get really hot in a tent, especially in the summer.
- Spring or Fall may be more enjoyable but do realize that in that area evenings and mornings do cool down quite a bit so have a sleeping bag or needed blankets to keep you warm.

Burn ban – This park is usually under a burn ban and probably always will be. So be prepared only to use propane to cook your food.

Electricity – If you need electricity, you can get it when tent glamping, renting a cabin, or staying in your RV with hookups. Some camping spots do have electricity so make sure that if you need it, you book the proper place.

Bathrooms – If you need a bathroom near you then make sure there is one within walking distance from where you will be staying. Some bathrooms in the area could be equipped with a shower.

Water – Some camping sites have accessible water.

AC – If you need air conditioning then you will want to bring an RV or book a glamping tent or cabin that is equipped with that.

Limited availability – You never know how fast lodging gets booked up. So, if you need to have a cabin or glamping tent make sure that you book far enough in advance. There are only about 7 cabins in the Palo Duro State Park and 4 glamping tents at this time available to rent.

If you don’t want to stay overnight in Palo Duro Canyon State Park then look into places in the city of Canyon or Amarillo.

Canyon is a very small city with only a few hotels. Amarillo on the other hand is large with many hotels and other lodgings available.

If you find yourself staying in Canyon or Amarillo, you may want to look into other activities to do around there. I’ll list a few places you might want to check out.

There are many other activities or things you can do in the Canyon and Amarillo areas

Canyon

Visit the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. It is nice, interactive, and fun for the whole family.

Amarillo

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame Museum – personally haven’t ever visited there but heard of others that have been so if you or your kiddos love horses this may be a great idea to visit.
Amarillo Zoo – My kids enjoyed going there when they were little. It is not a big zoo like in some big cities but cute and fun all the same.
Cadillac Ranch – It can be fun to be able to legally graffiti some cars. We have done that on a few occasions.
Wonderland amusement park – fun amusement park. It’s very little compared to Six Flags or another big amusement park. Nevertheless, it’s fun for kids and families and we enjoyed it.
Amarillo Botanical Gardens – Beautiful gardens to explore.
The Big Texan – This is a famous steakhouse with a historical background. They offer a free 72-ounce steak for whoever can finish it and the sides in 1 hour.

There are numerous things you can do in Palo Duro Canyon, making it a fun and beautiful place to explore.

I have previously mentioned my other blog which provides great information about Palo Duro Canyon. There, you can find answers to many questions such as what to wear, essential items to bring, secret places to explore in the canyon, and more.

I’m excited for you to go and explore Palo Duro Canyon.

Finally, have fun, stay hydrated, and be safe!

Furthermore, feel free to share your comments about your adventure. I’d love to hear it.