The notebook of Palo Duro Canyon et Amarillo
Moving from forests to open horizons.
Grand canyon of the high plains, Route 66 culture and Panhandle red landscapes.
At your own pace
Identity summary
3 to 6 days
Spring · Summer · Autumn · Winter
Recommended car
Desert · Countryside · Heritage · Nature
Variable accessibility
Sweet rhythm
General presentation
Palo Duro Canyon et Amarillo
Grand canyon of the high plains, Route 66 culture and Panhandle red landscapes.
Palo Duro Canyon, Lighthouse Trail and Cadillac Ranch give the most telling landmarks of Palo Duro Canyon and Amarillo. Together, they make up a destination where the desert areas, the countryside, the heritage and the natural spaces meet, with atmospheres that change over the stages rather than just one uniform decor.
See all
For a stay of 3 to 6 days, a quiet rhythm works well. Also to be anticipated: conditions to be checked according to the season. A car is usually the easiest way to connect different sectors. Accessibility varies from site to site and deserves to be checked step by step.
Strengths and constraints
Strengths
- Palo Duro Canyon
- Lighthouse Trail
- Cadillac Ranch
Before you choose
- Car often useful
- Conditions to be checked by season
Places worth visiting
A selection to start dreaming and organizing the stay — not an exhaustive list of everything there is to see.
Nature and panorama
Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon cut the Texas Panhandle plains into red cliffs, ochre layers and mesas carved by erosion. The road descends directly into the canyon, allowing you to pass in a few minutes from flat fields to a landscape of western, with paths, views and burning light.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse Trail
The Lighthouse Trail leads to the most known rock formation of Palo Duro Canyon, a hairy column that stands out on the red walls. The walk crosses an open terrain, very exposed to the sun, but rewards by a gradual approach to the rock and frank views of the canyon badlands.
Place indismissible
Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac Ranch line ten Cadillacs planted nose in the earth at the edge of Amarillo, covered with successive layers of paint. The work lives by visitors as well as by cars: aerosol bombs, fresh colours, mud after rain and absurd silhouettes in the flat immensity of the Panhandle.
Culture and heritage
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum tells the Texas Panhandle by its fossils, Native American objects, oil halls, ranches and border towns. Located in Canyon, it complements Palo Duro usefully by giving faces, tools and narratives to the plains surrounding the Canyon.
Practical tips
This information helps know if the destination matches the planned trip before starting a fuller search.
To go further
More activities
Restaurants, walks, culture, leisure and outings to search without leaving the destination card.
Explore this destination in the Universes
The nearest destinations
The closest ideas on the map, to extend your trip.
Similar destinations
Same landscapes and the same pace of travel, elsewhere in the world.
