Palo Duro Canyon

The vast Texas Panhandle, with its uninterrupted grassy plains, is famously flat. But just southeast of Amarillo is a hidden topographic wonder: Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States.

Known as the Grand Canyon of Texas, Palo Duro stuns the senses with bulging rock formations, vibrant red hues, and a deep canyon demonstrating the power of water erosion and wild wind. Its walls show off brightly banded geological formations that slice through the flat topography of the Panhandle.

Large swaths of the canyon rim have remained privately owned, including the Fortress Cliffs Ranch. Named for a 6-mile-long ridge of rock, the ranch offered signature sights of the canyon.

When the ranch went on the market in 2008, John Watson (a ranch broker with Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield) raised concerns about the possibility of housing and other development blocking the beautiful views from the bluff. Watson reached out to Trust for Public Land, searching for a solution to permanently protect Palo Duro Canyon’s views.

Trust for Public Land led the effort to purchase the ranch as a 2,912-acre addition to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Both TPL and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) acquired the 6-mile stretch of land critical to preserving the park’s overall beauty and one of the canyon’s most dramatic vistas.

“The rare chance to protect 6 miles of cliffs overlooking the Grand Canyon of Texas, to keep that bluff looking the way the first Texans saw it—this is unparalleled,” says Carter Smith, TPWD’s executive director. “Palo Duro Canyon may not be near our state’s biggest cities, but I know all Texans can appreciate the significance of this acquisition for our park system. It’s for everyone alive today and for generations to come.”