Palo Duro Canyon Trip (San Antonio, Abilene: where to stay, for rent, hotels)

[G Grasshopper]

We are thinking about a trip to Palo Duro Canyon. If anyone has been there and has tips about where to stay, I would appreciate it. I know it is a long drive (9 hours), and I doubt that my husband would be able to tolerate that, so we may need a place to stay on the way there and back. Any tips on a good place to do that? We are not too concerned about cost here - just want to make it a comfortable trip. I have looked at the park web site and it says nothing about wheelchair access, so if anyone has any knowledge of that, I would appreciate your input.

Also, any input about other vacations in Texas would be great. We want to celebrate our 30th anniversary, and were thinking of going on a cruise or to Mexico, but my husband's health problems make it pretty necessary to stay in the country. We are thinking of late March, but want someplace warm.

[Westerner92]

Palo Duro is great, but I'm not sure it's worth the nine-hour drive. It's pretty, but I'm not sure there's really enough so that you could make an entire vacation out of it. It's more of a place for weekend trips for hiking/biking/etc. My brother was just there yesterday to climb and bike, and it was pretty dusty. It might be better to wait until the summer when there's less wind/dust and there are shows like the Texas Musical in the amphitheater. The closest place to stay is in Canyon, and the halfway point is Sweetwater, though Abilene is also on the way depending on which route you take.

[CptnRn]

I have never visited the Palo Duro canyon, it is supposed to be pretty scenic.

It does have cabins for rent, some are fairly modern. Palo Duro Canyon State Park Reservations, Fees,& Facilities

Abilene is pretty close to half way there, and big enough you can probably find a decent place to stay. Doing a google search for hotels there they almost all are 3 stars, two have 3.5 to 4 stars.

Hampton Inn Abilene
3917 Ridgemont Drive, Abilene, TX (325) 695-0044 () ‎ · hamptoninn.hilton.com Best Western Abilene Inn & Suites
350 E Interstate 20, Abilene, TX (325) 672-5501 () ‎ · book.bestwestern.com

Alternatively:


Another fun thing to do in March is to go on a whooping crane tour from Fulton, TX, they take a boat load of people out to see the whooping cranes and wild birds nesting around the Aransas Wildlife Refuge. When I sailed through the inter-coastal canal there one spring it was amazing to see all the wildlife and newborns in the spring, lots of baby ducks and waterfowl all over the place. Home - Whooping Crane Tours and Coastal Birding Aboard Skimmer

It is only a 3.5 hour drive to Rockport/Fulton via Victoria. We like to stay at the Lighthouse Inn, on the edge of Aransas Bay. Boutique Rockport Texas Hotels | The Lighthouse Inn at Aransas Bay Get a room with a bay view, each room has a private balcony overlooking the bay.

This post I made sometime back has some other recommendations of things to see and do in the area.

//www.city-data.com/forum/corpu...l#post22172305


Another nice option could be to go to San Antonio and stay in the historic Menger Hotel next to the Riverwalk.

http://mengerhotel.com/

Tour the Riverwalk which is a block away and the Alamo Plaza is right next door.

The Omni La Mansion Del Rio Hotel has rooms with balconies overlooking the riverwalk http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel...AndSuites.aspx

http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/

Dowload river walk map http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.co...r-Walk-Map.pdf

I have always wanted to visit the McNay Art Museum, and will probably do so this spring. http://www.mcnayart.org/