Before a few months ago, I’d never spent any time at all in northern Texas, and had certainly never considered any hikes in Palo Duro Canyon. But we knew we wanted to try to safely meet up with my sister … Read More
Purim is a Jewish holiday honoring Queen Esther saving the Jews from being killed by the Persians with the help of her cousin Mordecai. Despite the heavy premise, Purim is often celebrated as one of the most joyous and fun … Read More
My very favorite thing about this space is that it’s become a way to combine so many things I care about – travel, education, antiracist action, family life. I love those intersections!! Books are one of the ways I love … Read More
The summer after Dan and I got married, we spent two months traveling extensively across 3 continents. It was incredible! We knew we wanted to have kids, so we figured it would be tricky to save money to travel with … Read More
I’m definitely not a huge shopper, but I do appreciate pretty clothing that is comfortable and fits well into my both my personal look and my lifestyle. I’d say on average, I probably purchase 10-15 articles of clothing per year. … Read More
A big part of travel for our family is learning about the people, cultures, and customs in different places we visit. It’s fascinating to learn about the similarities and differences, and we’ve been so grateful to learn from those who … Read More
I always think it’s fun to know what other families are reading, and it seems you guys love it, too! Here’s what we’re reading right now individually and as a family. This list of what our family is reading right … Read More
I kind of can’t believe we’ve essentially been homeschooling for a year now. While we’d considered doing a homeschool curriculum previously, our kids really enjoy classroom instruction with friends. I didn’t want to push them into doing something they didn’t … Read More
Hiking is one of our favorite ways to explore any National Park. And the great thing about a lot of Saguaro National Park hikes is that you get major bang for your buck even when just going a short distance! … Read More
A couple weeks ago, I shared some of our year round family traditions ideas. Friday pizza and movie night is one of our most beloved and longest standing! And this potato pizza recipe is everyone’s favorite. I was first introduced … Read More
We love learning about holidays around the world, as well as the customs and history behind them. This guide on how to celebrate Lunar New Year festival with kids has books, videos, crafts, recipes, science activities, and more to help … Read More
When I shared on Instagram that we started online language classes for kids this year, I got tons of questions on how we found our foreign language teacher. Here are all the details of where we found her, how often … Read More
Before a few months ago, I’d never spent any time at all in northern Texas, and had certainly never considered any hikes in Palo Duro Canyon. But we knew we wanted to try to safely meet up with my sister and her family. With them living on the east coast and us on the west coast, the second-largest canyon in the United States seemed as good a place as any.
And wow, were we impressed! I don’t know what exactly I was expecting, but the landscapes were somehow reminiscent of both southern Utah and also the Deep South. It was beautiful!
We were super impressed with the hiking in Palo Duro Canyon. There were options for lots of different skill levels, with varied landscapes and difficulty levels.
Here are 10 beautiful hikes in Palo Duro Canyon that are great for beginner hikers or kids, as well as a family guide to Palo Duro Canyon!
Texas weather is notoriously moody and unpredictable, so it’s hard to pin down a perfect time for a family visit to Palo Duro Canyon. That said, most times will be really enjoyable! Summer can get extremely hot, however, so I would personally stick to the other seasons. We visited in December and it was chilly but not cold – great for hiking!
Palo Duro is just outside Amarillo, in the northern panhandle of Texas. We rented a darling little Airbnb that was spacious, had a big backyard, and was conveniently located for driving to Palo Duro Canyon. While we didn’t end up staying there, this is a great and clean hotel in Amarillo for families.
There are plenty of other hotels and home rentals available in the area, as well!
Backpack
We love this backpack to carry our food and extra clothing, as well as any baby items. (It’s also terrific as a travel carry on.) We wore the baby in this baby carrier, but if you’re spending a longer time or have an older/bigger baby, we absolutely love this baby and toddler hiking carrier. It also has plenty of storage room to carry all your gear in there without needing. a separate bag.
This is especially important if visiting in shoulder seasons. I highly recommend packing along waterproof layers – it’s no fun walking around when sopping wet. I like this rain jacket (here’s the version for men, kids, toddlers). If you’re confident in rain happening, we really like using rain pants to keep everyone dry and happy when outside for extended periods. (Here are the rain pants we have for women, men, kids, toddlers, and a one-piece.)
Always important when out hiking. THIS and THIS are great travel water bottles for younger kids when out hiking.
For older kids and adults, we love this water bottle for hiking and anything else – it’s a great size, fits in a side pocket, and keeps drinks cold for forever. We also love THIS one and THIS one. (You can often find them on sale here.)
This is my personal favorite mineral facial sunscreen (use code LPF15 for 15% off). I also love this sunscreen for my kids. It’s a mineral (zinc-based) sunscreen, so it protects the skin on top instead of soaking in, and rubs in so easily (so many zinc suncreens don’t). I also love this mineral sunscreen that smells amazing (or here is the spray version).
I love this hat for babies, and this one for myself.
Footwear
Since we knew we were going on a day that didn’t have rain planned, I took a chance and wore my beloved white tennis shoes and was totally fine. All the paths are on boardwalks, so you definitely don’t need super rugged hiking shoes. If there were a quick, light drizzle, I think they would’ve held up fine.
Still, if there’s a chance of consistent or heavier rain, I highly recommend wearing something a bit sturdier or waterproof. For traveling, I love these boots because they’re cute with regular clothing but also hold up well for walking and are also quite water resistant. If you’re doing any more serious hiking, I really love these hiking boots – super sturdy, really comfortable, and waterproof.
Since we were only doing a day trip to Plitvice Lakes, we opted to stay in Split. This allowed us to spend a couple days in Split, a day trip in Plitvice Lakes, and then leave Split the next morning for Dubrovnik more easily. Especially when traveling with kids, it made it much easier to not need to move around to different hotels. When staying in Split, I highly recommend staying as close to the Old City as possible – we loved being able to easily walk into town.
And here are some wonderful apartment and home rentals if you need more space:
If you’d like to stay closer to Plitvice Lakes, here are some good options:
Distance: 0.5 miles
Elevation: 29 ft
If you’re just interested in a very short stroll, this this is the perfect pick. At only half a mile, it’s great for even toddlers to walk on their own, and you’ll even get to go down to the river.
Distance: 2.7 miles
Elevation: 541 ft
This is a great and relatively short introductory hike in Palo Duro. The hike winds down over a ridge into the canyon, but you’ll get great views even if you don’t go all the way down. The views stop being as stunning as you cross over to the Amphitheater side, so we opted to turn around before going all the way down. The rock vistas are stunning!
Distance: 2.0 miles
Elevation: 95 ft
This flat trail meanders next to the river and has beautiful views of rock formations. It’s one of the best easy hiking trails in Palo Duro Canyon!
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation: 492 ft
This is arguably the most popular hike in the entire park. While a bit on the longer side for young kids, it’s relatively flat and doable for elementary school and up.
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 140 ft
This short little trail is a perfect out-and-back to get a feel for Palo Duro hiking. Starting from the same parking lot as the Lighthouse Trail, it gives a similar feel but is a quick jaunt.
Distance: 2.9 miles
Elevation: 137 ft
Another easy and flat one to add to the list of Palo Duro trails, this one gives great views of Triassic Peak and goes along the river.
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 82 ft
Not many Palo Duro hiking trails are shaded, so this one is great for that reason! Keep an eye out for beautiful gypsum on this trail.
Distance: 2.2 miles
Elevation: 85 ft
If you have kiddos who are interested in history or cowboys (or both), this is the perfect pick. This short Palo Duro hiking trail meanders by the restored Cowboy Dugout to get a glimpse of life nearly 150 years ago.
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation: 777 ft
With nearly 800 feet of elevation gain, this one isn’t for the faint of heart but is definitely doable even for children. And you’ll be rewarded with some of the best views of Palo Duro Canyon, by climbing the only hike in Palo Duro that goes from the bottom of the canyon all the way to the rim.
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation: 192 ft
Though on the longer end, this was our favorite hike we did in the park. With sweeping vistas and stunning views, this trail connects to the Lighthouse Trail but is significantly less traveled. We loved climbing up and down red rock and taking in the beautiful scenery.
If you go to the intersection of the Lighthouse Trail, the round trip distance will be just over 6 miles. If, however, you choose to go all the way to the Lighthouse (which I would recommend), the round trip distance is just about 8 miles with 636 feet of elevation gain.
Have you ever visited (or even heard of) Palo Duro Canyon before? If not, I hope it’s on your list now!
