An all-too-short afternoon at Palo Duro Creek Ranch

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The area around Canyon Texas, near Amarillo, is one of my favorite places on Earth. I travel often and I'm fortunate to have seen a lot of the world so I try not to throw around phrases like “My favorite” and “The best” but this area of the country is what I think of first when someone asks me for trip recommendations. I have a lot of fantastic travel memories but the memories of the afternoon my family and I spent at Palo Duro Creek Ranch are of a just about perfect day.

Palo Duro Creek Ranch doesn't often show up on Google searches of things to do in the area and I think it is the best thing to do in the area.

Spring and summer are the most popular times to visit this area. Read more about visiting Palo Duro Canyon during the off-season.

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Palo Duro Creek Ranch Canyon TX – What is it?

Palo Duro Creek Ranch – you might also hear it referred to as Elkins Ranch – is a piece of privately owned land in Palo Duro Canyon, not to be confused with Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which is operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife. You can explore a lot of Palo Duro Canyon via the state park but the land that sits on Palo Duro Creek Ranch is much cooler to explore and offers a much more unique experience.

In addition to being a tourist attraction, Palo Duro Creek Ranch is also a working ranch. The scenery is about the same as what you'll find on the state park side but the sense of hushedness that comes from a lack of other humans makes it really special.

Palo Duro Canyon is the second-largest canyon in the United States. I'll let you guess what the first is. When I tell people outside of Texas about how awesome Palo Duro is, there's at least a 50-percent chance they haven't heard of it. Canyon is kind of a sleepy little college town and nearby Amarillo isn't exactly the biggest city in Texas, so it's not an area that is widely known.

Part of me has mixed feelings about sharing the secret but the other part of me wants everyone to have the experience of seeing the canyon.

Why go to Palo duro creek ranch?

Palo Duro Creek Ranch offers several tour options that allow you to experience the rugged terrain and soak in the beauty of the scenery without running into as many humans as you do in Palo Duro State Park. You'll have the opportunity to see wildlife that you might not get in Palo Duro Canyon State Park and, if you want to, you can have a really cool jeep experience, which is what we did.

We went during the off-season so we were the only tour group on the property at the time. It was a fantastic afternoon that had the “away from it all” vibe. If there were other tour groups on the property, maybe a little bit of that would be lost but you're still giving yourself more of a people-free experience than exploring Palo Duro State Park. I'm not knocking the park at all, by the way. You should absolutely go and spend time there. But, do this, too.

Palo Duro Ranch Jeep Tours – and other tour options at Palo Duro Creek Ranch (AKA Elkins Ranch)

I mention that Palo Duro Creek Ranch is also known as Elkins Ranch, which is the former name. When we visited, the sign at the entrance still said Elkins Ranch, which was a little confusing. Whatever you call it, there are some great tour options here.

There are several options for Jeep tours and horse tours listed on the website. You can find the different options at Palo Duro Ranch Jeep Tours here.

We did Hidden Springs Canyon, which was a two-hour tour. I really wanted to do the Spirit of Palo Duro Canyon which takes you all the way to the canyon floor but we were bumping up against another commitment and had to opt for the shorter tour length. We did get a good view of the canyon floor, though, and saw two coyotes chasing a rabbit, which is probably something you won't see on the park side in broad daylight.

Is Palo Duro Creek Ranch a good activity for kids?

My kids really enjoyed themselves at Palo Duro Creek Ranch. The jeep ride is pretty rough, which may not be as fun for younger kids – or any adults with a back or neck problem – but everyone will enjoy the views of the wide open spaces. There were several spots where we got out of the vehicle to check out the scenery that could be very dangerous if your kids can't follow directions to stay away from the rock's edges where the drop-offs are steep.

Kids are safe inside the vehicle but parts of the canyon aren't safe for kids to run around freely.

If you lay on your belly and shimmy to the edge of the rock you're treated to incredible views. My husband reported seeing a lot of lost hats.

Obviously, if your kids can't follow directions to stay well away from these steep drops, this might not be the activity for you. My kids are junior thrillseekers and were unhappy with my decision not to allow them to get this close to the views but I was confident in their ability to listen to me.