Established on July 4, 1934, on the northern side of the Palo Duro Canyon, the Palo Duro Canyon State Park encompasses over 16,000 acres. It is located in Armstrong and Randall County in Texas. Built in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps created the buildings and infrastructure utilized by the park. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a tourist destination and many people enjoy hiking, horseback riding and camping within the park. Palo Duro translates into “hard wood.” The canyon’s name comes from early Spanish explorers who noticed the mesquite and juniper trees in the area.

The canyon is one hundred twenty miles long, twenty miles wide and is eight hundred feet deep in some areas. Water from the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River created this awe-inspiring land feature. It is the second largest canyon in the United States, behind the Grand Canyon, and referred to as the “Little Grand Canyon.”

Before the establishment of the state park, nomadic tribes lived here for an estimated 12,000 years. Later on, Apache Indians took up residence in the canyon, followed by the Comanche and Kiowa tribes. These Native Peoples lived in the Palo Duro Canyon until 1874. These tribes experienced a gruesome fate when Colonel Ranald Mackenzie tried to relocate them to Oklahoma. He stole more than fourteen hundred of their horses, thus limiting the tribes’ mobility. Colonel Mackenzie kept the best horses for himself while the rest were transported to Tule Canyon and killed. In 1876, Charles Goodnight established the J.A. Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon. During its prime, the ranch oversaw the care of 100,000 head of cattle. The ranch remains operational to this day.