After leaving El Paso, the final stop in Texas on our 50 state road trip was the city of Canyon.
Canyon is located near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle (the section that juts up). The city is presumably named that way due to its proximity to Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the US (I’ll let you guess which canyon is the largest). It was therefore somewhere we knew we had to visit during our four days in the area.
Due to me needing to work one day and us procrastinating the next, Thursday ended up being our only opportunity to explore Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Unfortunately the temperature dropped about 20° to about 40°F, with gusts of 65mph making it feel much colder than that.
We’d originally planned to go hiking, but the cold temperature and strong winds dissuaded us from that idea. Instead, we decided to drive around the park and see as much as we could.
You get the best views by walking closer to the canyon walls though, so our entire time wasn’t spent in the car. A few minutes after arriving in the park, we pulled over on a gravel shoulder as there appeared to be a scenic overlook.
There was a path leading down, so we decided to take a walk for a little while to see more of the park that way.
We stayed well away from the edge though as the sudden gusts felt like they’d blow us off if we weren’t careful.
Interpretive Center
Our hands were starting to get frostbite by this stage, so we headed back up to the car and continued driving through the park. We stopped off at the Interpretive Center to learn more about the park’s history and geology. The lady working in the center was very kind and let us bring Truffles in with us seeing as she’s small enough to be held in our arms.
Canyon Base
One of the nice features of the canyon is that you can drive all the way down into it. The park also has campgrounds dotted all around the base of the canyon if you’d like to stay for longer.
We drove the length of the main road through the canyon, then took the alternate route back to the top. While driving along that road, we spotted a giant cave off to the left. We weren’t in any hurry to return to our hotel, so we headed back to check it out.
The Big Cave
The giant cave we’d spotted is called The Big Cave and has a fairly easy trail leading up to it past some interesting-looking formations. It’s worth wearing good footwear as some of the path involves walking over rocks.
Due to how big The Big Cave is, it didn’t offer much respite from the wind, especially because there were some large holes in the cave’s ceiling that drew the wind through the cave.
It was worth walking up there though as there were some great views looking out at the canyon wall on the other side.
Final Thoughts
If you’re driving through the northern section of Texas, be sure to make a stop at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The entrance fee is only $5 for ages 13+, while children aged 12 and under get in for free.
There seemed to be numerous hiking trails, although the cold weather meant we didn’t end up exploring those. We visited in the middle of December which is why it was colder; apparently the canyon gets very hot in the summer.
Despite not going hiking, the scenic overlooks, Interpretive Center, cave, scenic drive through the base of the canyon and pet-friendliness made for an enjoyable afternoon at the second largest canyon in the US.
Address
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 11450 State Hwy Park Rd 5, Canyon, TX 79015
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