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Texas panhandle escarpment
Photo: Peter Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Palo Duro Canyon cuts through the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle, in the southern United States. It is a protected area, part of the Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
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In production for over 40 years, the show plays nightly Tu-Su from early June to mid-August at Pioneer Amphitheater. There is a steak dinner before the show which is catered by the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo.
Near the entrance of the park. This is a replica of the dwelling of the first white man to colonize the park. Charles Goodnight started the JA Ranch in 1876, raising up to 100,000 head of cattle here. A small portion of the ranch is still in operation today, in the lower parts of the canyon.
This working cattle ranch spans part of the canyon. It offers horse and jeep rides, cowboy poetry and music, chuckwagon meals, and its authentically-costumed staff do their best to make you feel you are out on the range in the mid-1800s.
Guided horse rides. Various routes are available, Reservations are required for the 6-mile loop route to see the Lighthouse formation. Chuckwagon meals and other food items are also available.
4 vintage cabins built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corp workers who developed road access into the canyon. Now renovated, they provide microwave, refrigerator, and cots. No bedding is provided. $60/night plus entrance fee.
Two 2-room cabins on the canyon rim. Both have a bathroom/shower and twin futon beds with bedding provided. $110/night plus entrance fee.
A single cabin on the rim of the canyon. A large deck gives a panoramic view of the canyon below. Bedding provided. $125/night plus entrance fee.
Offers six tiny luxury cabins, providing spectacular views and a unique stay on the edge of the edge of the canyon.
Near the Givens, Spicer, and Lowry trailhead.
By air
Amarillo's Rick Husband International Airport is served by American, Continental, and Southwest.
A road winds down into the floor of the canyon where you will find the visitor center and the amphitheater. The road continues on to some campsites, but many areas of the park can be reached only on foot or horseback.
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Amarillo · Regional · AMA
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