You will likely notice a trend in many of our blog posts – we absolutely love Texas State Parks.
Texas Parks & Wildlife manages the parks phenomenally, the other folks at the park are generally friendly and well-behaved, and the price is a bargain compared to any private park.
This creates its own problems, as people tend to book reservations and then never cancel them! Boo and fie on you people.
Our first travel-trailer shakedown trip to help us learn what we were doing was to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and it has become a regular trip for us simply because it is beautiful to visit and can be a very quick trip for us.
Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the country and features more than thirty miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. There are multiple RV camping loops, an equestrian campground, tent sites, and luxury glamping as well.
We started our visit at the Sagebrush Loop, site 130 for Thursday through Sunday in mid-June a few years back. The time of year showed us that our trailer air conditioner worked well, as temps are often in the mid-90s during the hottest part of the day.
These sites, like at the majority of Texas State Parks, have electric and water hookups but not sewer. They have communal dump stations at some loops and along the road toward the park entrance, which can lead to a wait. We’ve never found it to be a problem.
Driving down into the campsite was not as bad as I had expected when pulling a 30 foot-long travel trailer. There wasn’t much traffic, most other drivers were pretty polite in giving us room, and nobody was outside gawking too hard while we learned to back into our very first campsite.
There are a number of very pleasant hiking trails, such as the Lighthouse Trail which is very popular and the Goodnight Peak, which is much easier.
Our recommendations are to hike early in the morning, as the heat can suck the enjoyment out of a hike quickly. Also, make sure to bring plenty of water for everyone, including any dogs that you bring along as well. We’ve found that bribery snacks for our kids also help to keep them motivated when the whiny sets in.
During the heat of the day, it can be nice to venture into the nearby city of Canyon or go a little further to Amarillo and use someone else’s air conditioning for a bit. The kids may enjoy napping during the drive as well.
During our first trip, we went to the Panhandle-Plains Historic Museum. It featured exhibits on the natural history of the region including DINOSAURS (which our children are obsessed with), the early pioneers, the oil business, and old automobiles, to name a few.
Unfortunately, at the time of the writing of this post, it is closed due to a number of issues requiring a lot of money to fix. We hope it will reopen again soon.
One of our favorite places to visit in Canyon is Creek House Honey Farm. They have great charcuterie, sandwiches, and even really great honey-mint lip balm (not to eat, unless you’re so inclined). They also feature a mead flight which is well-worth the time and money.
If you choose to head to Amarillo and have the hunger to commit some graffiti, grab some spray paint and go to the Cadillac Ranch and eat somewhere at the U.S. Route 66 -Sixth Street Historical District. We had a great meal at Braceros Mexican Grill and Bar.
No trip to Amarillo would be complete without a trip to the town’s most iconic tourist trap: The Big Texan. While it is famous for its challenge to eat a 72 oz. steak along with a shrimp cocktail, baked potato, salad, and roll within an hour, they do have a normal menu. We ordered a burger and a chicken fried steak sandwich, both of which were pretty good.
The kids’ meals are served in a plastic insert inside a kids-sized cowboy hat, which was a huge hit with our kiddos. While it’s not somewhere we eat at every time we’re in the area, it’s a fun stop and worth the trip if you’ve never been.
The biggest downside to booking a trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park (and this is true at most of the state parks in Texas) is trying to find a spot with RV hookups, because they book up very quickly due to the popularity of the park coupled with the low price.
Unfortunately, when wandering around the campground loops, many spots are vacant because people book them due to the low price and then never cancel when they cannot keep the reservation. I don’t have a simple solution for that, but it does make booking a site difficult.
However, if you’re the type of person that does this and it’s not an emergency, get right with the Lord and Tammy Faye Bakker, because you need all the help you can get.
It’s often best to try and find a spot in months that aren’t July or August due to the high temperatures, but it’s hard to find spots then. You can sometimes find a spot in July, but you’ll want to make sure your air conditioner is up to snuff and can cool your trailer or RV, or you might find yourself sweating a lot.
It does cool down some in the evenings, and the fireflies really do make for a great experience while sitting outside before bed.
We will sometimes have a quick stop at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the hot months when heading north on a vacation to cut a few hours off our drive, because we can get there from our home after work and still get to set up in the daylight.
If you haven’t been to Palo Duro Canyon and are in the area, it’s absolutely worth a day or two visit.
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