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Adventure Guide: Trip to Palo Duro Canyon anyone?

Campus Live gives you tips for what to take on a trip to Palo Duro Canyon

Ever wanted to take a trip down to Palo Duro Canyon and didn’t quite know what to bring or what trails were the best to take?

Well, you’re in luck because
Campus Live has got you covered! I took a trip to Palo Duro for weekend getaway and here are my tips for your adventure guide.

Palo Duro Canyon is known as “The Grand Canyon of Texas.” It is 120 miles long and as much as 20 miles wide. They open the gate as early as 7:00 am and then close automatically at 10:00 pm.

Surprisingly, they have a calendar of events on their page of special hikes you can take such as Full Moon Hikes, Star gazing hikes, Canyon Driving Tour, Naturalist Training and more.

You can go hiking, road biking, camp- ing, picnicking, and even horseback riding here. We chose the typical (and cheapest route), hiking.

We chose the most popular hike, The Lighthouse Trail. It is 2.7 miles long
to get to your destination and you go through a trail and climb up the side of a mountain to get there.

Now, when it comes to hiking, there are a few things you must consider:

1. How long you will be at the park?

2. What’s the weather?

3. How long you will be walking?

When figuring out how long you will be at Palo Duro, you must remember water and food are top priority when going on a long hike. In order to bring these things you will most likely need a backpack to carry everything.

Now, depending on the time of day/ year you are deciding to go, you must keep the weather in mind. If it is going to be scorching hot, you probably don’t want to be too covered up and you’ll probably be sweating a lot, so bring breathable clothing as well as extra water to cool off. If it is chillier, bring extra layers and maybe don’t take the longest hike.

Here are some of my top sugges- tions of things to bring in order to experience the best day of hiking possible. Not all are completely necessary, but you can pick and choose based on your own trip.

1. Food (plenty)
2. Water (plenty)
3. Hiking backpack
4. Comfortable shoes, preferably nonslip
5. Proper wardrobe for the weather
6. First aid kit
7. Knife
8. Trial snacks
9. Compass
10. Map 11. Hand sanitizer

12. Sunscreen
13. Sunglasses
14. Sun hat

12. Sunscreen
13. Sunglasses
14. Sun hat

15. Insect repellent 16. Toilet paper 17. Baby wipes
18. Camera

19. Cash
20. Cellphone

21. ID

Again, not all of these are necessary for a hike but they can vary depending on the circumstances and variations of the different hikes, the different weather, and the amount of time spent there.

I hope you take time out of your weekend soon to come and check out Palo Duro Canyon and I hope you find these tips very helpful. Keep up with Campus Live for more of my first hand experiences in and around Lubbock. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Story by: Airielle Urias – Campus Live Writer

Email Airielle: [email protected]

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