USA Guide
Texas
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Palo Duro Canyon is one of Texas' best-kept secrets. Plunging 1,000 feet from rim to floor, it splits the plains wide open and offers breathtaking views and colours, especially at sunset and in spring, when the whole chasm is scattered with wild flowers.
The park is in the most scenic part of the 120-mile canyon. You can explore the depths on horseback (806/488-2180), though backpackers and hikers may want to escape the tourist busloads by following the Prairie Dog Town fork into more remote sections of the park. To camp, or to stay in one of the rustic cabins, call 512/389-8900.
You may balk at heart-warming musical extravaganzas, but the outdoor production TEXAS, about the settling of the Panhandle in the 1800s, has an undeniable pull in an area not exactly throbbing with nightlife, with the dramatic prairie sky as a ceiling, a 600-foot cliff as a backdrop, and genuine thunder and lightning (June– Aug Tues– Sun 8.30pm; $11–27; pre-show steak dinner 6pm, $10; 806/655-2181, www.texas-show.com).
Opening time: Daily 8am–10pm
Price: $4
Telephone: 806/488-2227
Website: www.palodurocanyon.com