Palo Duro Canyon

45 minutes southeast of Amarillo, Texas was my first real taste of the Southwest. Palo Duro Canyon drops almost 1000 feet from the rim and after driving a few miles into the canyon, we made site 14 at Hackberry Camping Area our temporary home. This was one of my favorite camping areas of all time. It was tucked away in a wooded area providing solitude while also sharing views of the colorful canyon walls. A rustic pergola protected the picnic table from the sun and a nice fire circle was placed out back. The pull-up was perfect to make basecamp with our rooftop tent.

There are around 35 miles of hiking, equestrian and mountain biking trails that weave and undulate through the canyon and along some of its walls. And since we arrived early enough, I took my bike for a quick tour before sunset hitting the Lowry, Lighthouse, Paseo Del Rio loop. Everything was different from the smells, the land formations and the way the sun rested in the sky. The trails ran fast and flowy with an occasional sand bar which made me glad I was riding a fat bike. The 4.2” tires floated quite well. The ride was surreal and peaceful, but I was glad to have made it back before dark. By the time I returned, Eva had a fire going and dinner boiling.

As we rested by the crackling fire with stomachs full and night falling low, we were surprised to see so much wildlife passed directly through our site. First was a roadrunner followed by a flock of wild turkeys. Then came a coyote that appeared to be on a mission as it passed trough without even a glance. Finally, a band of raccoons shuffled through on their way to plunder picnics. As the chill of the air overcame the warmth of the fire, Eva, our dog Bundas and I hopped up into our tent to go to sleep. But after about thirty minutes, we heard the band of raccoons come through chattering and messing with all kinds of things. One even managed to open the tailgate of our SUV, but as the scent of our dog caught their attention, they quickly scattered.

As with other cold November nights, we had an electric blanket heating us from under our sleeping bags. But it was remarkably cold that night getting down to about 23 degrees. All of our water got frozen by morning and even the water spigot at the site was frozen solid. This set us back a couple of hours as it took a while to get enough water to make breakfast.

Finally, with winter gear protecting us from the cold, we began our hike. Short on time, we chose to take the Lowry Trail and although we hoped to have time to make it to the lighthouse rock formation, we had to return. In short, the hike was still spectacular given the abbreviated duration. The sun baked away the cold and by the time we broke for lunch, we were stripping down. Eva and I really enjoyed the hike as with Bundas too.

Once we returned to break camp, we realized pretty much everyone rolling in had high end mountain bikes. It turned out the park hosts a major race each year and it was happening that very weekend. It would have been fun to join them, but we had our sites set on Santa Fe.

Video about our Palo Duro Canyon excursion: