Lone Star Heritage

Amarillo, Hereford, & Canyon

Click on map to view information about
cities and attractions on your tour.

Photographer: Hayes Smith

Wide-open spaces, deep canyons, amazing sunsets and cattle. Amarillo is the quintessential backdrop for any Western adventure. In fact, you’ll find Texas’ largest individually owned livestock auction here -- the Amarillo Livestock Auction. More than 100,000 head of cattle are auctioned off here every year. Cattlemen come from all over to bid here. You can’t move cattle without a good cattle horse, so you might want to swing by the American Quarter Horse Heritage Center and Museum. The entire family will enjoy learning about this beautiful All-American breed. Take a detour on Interstate 40 just west of Amarillo to experience the Cadillac Ranch. This roadside attraction along the old Route 66 features 10 graffiti-covered, finned Cadillacs buried nose down at the same angle as the Cheops Pyramid.

History buffs will enjoy a stop at the Deaf Smith County Historical Museum in Hereford. You can get a glimpse of Pioneer life and see Indian and western artifacts. After the museum, you’ll want to take time to picnic and take in the scenery at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon.

You’ll want to carve out the entire afternoon to enjoy the trails of the stunning Palo Duro Canyon. The "Grand Canyon of Texas" stretches 120 miles through the vast Texas landscape; at one point, the canyon is 20 miles wide. Climb down to the bottom of the canyon and revel among the geologic formations that are more than 90 million years old. Also in the park, you can enjoy an internationally acclaimed performance of the musical drama TEXAS. During the summer, you can catch a performance that traces the history of the region and its people in the Pioneer Theater.