The Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas is open when the weather allows; there are different hours for various times of the year. March and April the canyon opens at eight in the morning seven days a week. The park closes at 6pm Sunday through Thursday and at 8pm on Friday and Saturday. The first of May until the 30th of May the park is open from 8am until 8pm on Sunday through Thursday, on Friday and Saturday it is open from 8am until 10pm.
The 31st of May though the 15th of August Palo Duro Canyon State Park is open from 8am until 10pm seven days a week. From the 16th of August until the 30th of September the canyon is open from 8am until 8pm Sunday through Thursday and from 8am until 10pm Friday and Saturday. From the first of October until the 28th of February the canyon is open from 8am until 6pm Sunday through Thursday and from 8am until 8pm on Friday and Saturday.
The 4th of July, 1934 is when the Palo Duro Canyon State Park opened with over twenty-nine thousand acres of the Palo Duro Canyon's northern region. The 1930's Civilian Conservation Corp built most of the roads and buildings that are in use by both visitors and staff of the park. The maximum dept of the Palo Duro Canyon is over 800 feet; it is twenty miles wide and one-hundred-and-twenty miles long. The canyon is said only to be smaller than the Grand Canyon making it the United State's second largest.
The Red River's Prairie Dog Town Fork caused the water erosion that formed the Palo Duro Canyon. Sediments are moved downstream by the water which deepens the canyon; it is widened by the water and wind erosion. The area is believed to have been found by Spanish Explorers that gave the canyon the name of Palo Duro which means hard wood in Spanish referring to the juniper and mesquite trees that are abundant in the area.
The Palo Duro Canyon has been occupied by people for an estimated twelve thousand years. The area which is rick in history has been occupied by a variety of cultures. The JA Ranch was opened in the canyon by Charles Goodnight who went into the canyon in 1876. There were over 100,000 head of cattle supported by the ranch at its peak. It was operated by Goodnight until 1890 and while not as large as it once was the JA Ranch is still a working ranch.
The entrance fee for the Palo Duro State Park is only $5 a person with children from the age of twelve and below getting in at no charge. Admittance is also free to those with educational groups sponsored by a school and those traveling with them as long as the School Group Entrance Wavier fee form has been filled out. These forms are available at the park's entrance. The park interpreter must be contacted to make advance arrangements for educational programs.
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