Palo Duro Canyon State Park is located in the panhandle of Texas, and is a phenomenal place to go hiking because of the amazing views. There are 16 trails marked on the official trail map… but more if you use the All Trails App. You could probably spend a week or so hiking in Palo Duro Canyon if you have the time.
There are trails that go along the upper cliffs of the canyon, trails that hug the bottom, and also ones that send you up and back down again to hit it all. You can find popular landmarks, and little hidden caves. Trails as short as a mile or as long as 10. I’ll give a review of the trails I was able to accomplish in my 2 days there.
The Lighthouse Trail hiking in Palo Duro Canyon
Trail Name: Lighthouse Trail
Trailhead Address: Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Directions: About halfway down the driving loop, on the west side of the park.
Trail Length: 5.8mi or so round trip out and back. The length will depend on how far you go and how much you wander.
Admission fee: State Park admission fee is $8/person or year long parks pass $70/yr.
Difficulty: moderate. I’ll go more into detail below, but the difficulty will change based on how far you go and time of year. You could make this a VERY easy hike, or a more difficult one.
Elevation Gain: 500ft
Dogs: Welcome, on a leash
Restrooms: Not on the trail, but scattered through the park.
Parking: There is a parking lot at the trailhead for Lighthouse AND other trails. It fills up QUICK though.
Visited: January 2021
When you see photos of Palo Duro Canyon, one of the main things photographed is the iconic Lighthouse. It is the most heavily trafficked trail in the park. You can spot the lighthouse itself from miles away.
Most of this hike is basically flat. You go through washes and around some of the smaller canyon walls. There is virtually NO shade during this hike. Near the end, you’ll see a picnic table. Here is where you can choose a few different ways up. Rest assured, you can’t really make a wrong decision. One way goes straight up, while the other kind of goes around the back side of it.
If you want to get up to the top, you will undoubtedly need to do some scrambling.
The difficulty factor will depend on multiple things. First, obviously the weather. If it’s summer, this trail will be a whole lot harder unless it’s a very cloudy day. There are signs everywhere at the trailhead reminding you of how much water you need. Take those signs seriously.
The weekend we were there was a little weird. We went in January. The first day it was 35 degrees, windy, cold, freezing, and rain on and off. This was the day we did the Lighthouse hike, which made it easier. (and the next day was in the 60s and sunny. Lol).
The other difficulty factor is how far you go. From the trailhead to the picnic table, which is technically the “end” of the trail… is easy peasy lemon squeezy. It’s all flat. The last little bit to get to the rock formation is much harder. It requires some rock scrambling.
When at the top, you can choose a few different loops to get back down again. Use the All Trails app to stay on target so you know you aren’t adding unnecessary miles if you’re a “ooo what’s that” type of wanderer, like I am.
Rock Garden Trail Hiking in Palo Duro Canyon
Trail Name: Rock Garden Trail
Trailhead Address: Palo Duro Canyon
Directions: On the east side of the park drive, about 3/4ths of the way down.
Trail Length: 5mi round trip out and back
Admission fee: $8/person or $70/yr for Texas State Parks PAss
Difficulty: Difficult.
Elevation Gain: 700ish ft (it ranges from 600-800 depending where you look for information)
Dogs: allowed on a leash
Restrooms: scattered through the park
Parking: There is parking scattered at the bottom, and it is easy walking distance from spots further away
Visited: January 2021
If you want to get away from some of the crowds that are at the Lighthouse trail, head further south into the park and go to the Rock Garden Trail.
This trail starts at the canyon floor and climbs up out of the canyon to the ridge, giving you fantastic views the entire way. You’ll encounter everything from straight climbs up, to switchbacks, to flat chunks of trail (which are needed to catch your breath).
This trail is labeled as one of the more difficult trails on the parks trail map, but only as moderate on the All Trails app. I would say that depends on how comfortable you are with inclines. You are basically scaling a canyon wall in under 2.5 miles from bottom to top. If you live in somewhere without many hills or elevation gain, this could be a difficult trail. I found it to be more on the moderate level.
Make sure you decide how much time or how far you want to hike on this trail. There are a few that intersect it about halfway up, and at the very top as well. This means you could easily turn a 5 mile hike into a 6, 7, or 10 mile one. You can pop onto the Comanche trail from there if you want to stay under the canyon wall, or even add on a few miles on the top of the rim if you want to add on the Rylander Fortress Cliff trail.
Cave Hiking in Palo Duro Canyon
Trail Name: Palo Duro Caves
Trailhead Address: This is not a marked trail for hiking in Palo Duro Canyon.
Directions: UNMARKED. Small parking area 1/4th the way into the park, on the west side about halfway between Sagebrush and Hackberry Camp areas.
Trail Length: short. A mile or so out and back
Admission fee: State Park admission fee is $8/person or year long parks pass $70/yr.
Difficulty: easy
Elevation Gain: none – 100ft maybe
Dogs: Allowed on leash
Restrooms: Dispersed throughout the park
Parking: Small parking lot
Visited: January 2021
There is a large cave that you can see from the road, which is on the parks trail map. These caves are not that cave. These are completely unlabeled.
I’ll preface this by saying… since these are not labeled on the maps, PLEASE be careful of leave no trace. Not that this should ever be something you ignore other places… but let’s keep this area where it looks untouched. If you see any trash, pick it up and carry it out.
It IS tough to find these caves. While out there, we only came across one other person. A guy who said he typically hikes that area at least once a week.
You’ll want to use All Trails here to try to stay as on track as possible. Hug the walls that are to your left. You’ll see a trail in some areas, and it’s more of a washed out walk in other areas.
We ended up turning this 1 mile out and back into about a 2 mile easy walk, because we were walking around trying to see what we could find. We thought we wouldn’t find it and wanted to turn back… but kept going and came right up on it a few minutes later.
You will need a light to get through, so make sure you have a head lamp or flashlights. You can see for most of it if you just want to pop in and explore… but if you go deep enough, you’ll need light.
Hiking Tips
It will take a few days if you want to do more than just a few trails.
WATER. Bring way way more of it than you think you’ll need, especially if you aren’t hiking in the dead of winter.
Hike in the dead of winter. Seriously, going in January is probably the best decision we made. It will probably be windy and cold, but that’s much easier to dress and prepare for than how hot and packed it is in the warmer months. We had many of the trails to ourselves for most of the weekend, just passing a few people here and there.
Long sleeve shirts with UV protection and hats. Yes you can wear sunscreen, but you’ll be happier if you choose a long sleeved shirt that is loose enough to let wind in, while keeping your skin protected. Pick one up for any hot desert hikes, especially.
Want to read about the rest of the weekend hiking in Palo Duro Canyon and the town itself of Canyon, TX?
Part 1: Things to do in Palo Duro Canyon
Head over to instagram to chat about your favorite trail for hiking in Palo Duro Canyon!
