Palo Duro Canyon State Park encompasses the second largest canyon in the United States. The beautiful red rock and sandstone canyon is also much more accessible than it’s big brother the Grand Canyon. Palo Duro Canyon campgrounds are actually on the floor of the canyon, and it’s a short 5-10 minute drive from the entrance and Visitor’s Center on the rim down into the canyon. Once in the canyon, you’re surrounded by hiking trails and other activities, as well as some awesome scenery. It was really cool to be able to camp right in the red rocks at the bottom of the canyon.
Campsite at Palo Duro Canyon
There are more than a dozen hiking trails on the rim and at the bottom of the canyon. These range from some short, easy ones to the Lighthouse Trail a 6 mile out and back to a scenic point of interest. It is very hot depending on season at the bottom of the canyon. The Ranger told us that it can be as much as 30-40 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature. So make sure you plan accordingly and take a lot of water! We visited in June, so the ambient temp was already almost 100 degrees.
Trail Head Temperature
Several of the trails were also open to equestrians, and we rode the one that was open to mountain bikes. It was a short 3-mile trail, but great scenery and lots of red rocks and cacti.
Capitol Peak Mountain Bike Trail
We explored several of the hiking trails on foot, and especially enjoyed the Juniper Riverside trail an easy 1-mile hike along the river.
Juniper Riverside Trail
We also enjoyed hiking up to the small cave overlooking the mountain bike trail head.
Palo Duro Cave
It was a short hike, but had a great view from the top.
Palo Duro Cave View
The park itself was very well run and maintained. There are four campgrounds with more than 300 sites available, most with power and water. Each campground also has a nice bathroom/shower house, dumpster, and overflow parking. There is a large visitor center which features several informational displays as well as a souvenir shop. There’s also a great little restaurant/shop down in the canyon that features “World Famous Burgers” amongst a pretty wide menu, including staples like ice, fire wood, and gas.
Overall Palo Duro Canyon State Park is an outstanding place to visit for camping, hiking, and other activities. Very highly recommended!
Looks great guys! We lived in Albuquerque for a couple years, probably passed that hidden gem going by on I-40 a dozen times. We’ll have to check it out next time we head southwest. Those bike “paths” look like a good workout. Enjoy your summer and keep in touch. If there’s a way to subscribe, shoot me a text.
Hey Don, I haven’t gotten to the subscription link yet but should shortly. I’ll definitely shoot you a text! Hope you and Laurie are having an awesome Summer. Looking forward to being back in Tampa next November, and want to see if we can tag along when you go to the Keys. Talk to you later!