Palo Duro Canyon State Park – Lighthouse Peak Trailhead loop from Capitol Peak

Mountain biking trails

United States

Texas

Randall County

Palo Duro Canyon State Park – Lighthouse Peak Trailhead loop from Capitol Peak

Easy

4.7

(7902)

18,435

riders

Palo Duro Canyon State Park – Lighthouse Peak Trailhead loop from Capitol Peak

00:54

11.7km

80m

Mountain biking

Easy mountain bike ride.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Waypoints

Start point

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3.76 km

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Highlight (Segment) • Canyon

Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon in the Texas Panhandle in Texas between Amarillo and Lubbock.

It is the second largest canyon in the United States. It is about 193 kilometers long and has an average width of 10 kilometers, increasing to 37 kilometers in some places. The maximum depth is 244 meters. Palo Duro Canyon is also known as the Grand Canyon of Texas because of its size and impressive geological features, including multicolored rock layers.

The canyon was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, which meanders through West Texas' relatively shallow Caprock Gorge. The canyon's geological formations, including caves and pinnacles, have been formed by water and wind erosion over thousands of years.

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6.91 km

Capitol Peak View

Highlight • Viewpoint

This is a beautiful view, regardless if you're a geology enthusiast or not. The resistant sandstone beds of the Quartermaster and Tecovas formations are prominently exposed, while the overlying Trujillo and Ogallala formations have eroded away. This erosion creates dramatic geological features like the hoodoos, which are visible here. Massive Trujillo sandstone also caps the mesa to the north called Timber Mesa, home to the iconic formation "Santana's Face" by the Trading Post.

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7.58 km

Lighthouse Trail

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Take plenty of water with you and enjoy the view.

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7.95 km

Lighthouse Peak Trailhead

Highlight • Trail

7 mile trail behind the backside of Capitol Peak mostly flat to the foot of the iconic Lighthouse Peak natural rock towers. Refill your water bottles at the visitor center or campground before coming out here.

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8.01 km

Capitol Peak Trail, Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Highlight • Trail

The distinctly multi-colored peak is close to the parking area and can be viewed from here. It can be approached a little closer either along an easy multi-use loop trail that includes Capitol Mesa, or directly on an easy half-mile trail that also continues 3 miles from the road to the Lighthouse, the most famous rock formation in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This popular trailhead for these hikes is half way along the park drive, on the west side. It has an information board and parking area, from which the wide trail heads off westwards, through bushes and over sandy ground, towards the colorful, eroded cliffs that border this side of the valley, about half a mile away. The Lighthouse trail then turns right to skirt around the base of the Capitol Mesa cliffs, mildly up and down small hills and stony washes. The vegetation thins out to a mixture of small bushes and cacti, including two species of spiny opuntia: tree cholla and pencil cholla, which has bright red berries in the fall. The path may also be used by both horses and cycles, and remains generally level and well marked, with distance signs at half mile intervals and several rest stops with some tree-shaded benches. A trail guide and map can be downloaded at tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyon

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11.7 km

End point

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

8.26 km

3.32 km

157 m

Surfaces

8.26 km

3.32 km

125 m