Illustrations © Bryan Spear
Alibates Flint Quarries
History | PANHANDLE REGION
Free admission • Free scheduled tours
Snap a selfie in front of the iconic Alibates visitors center.
People have been using the stone from the Alibates Flint Quarries for weapons, tools and trade across the Great Plains and Southwest for thousands of years, from Panhandle mammoth hunters of 13,000 years ago to native tribes in the 1800s. The flint, an agatized dolomite, is known for its striking colors. Check in at the visitors center or hike with a ranger down to the quarries (approximately a 2-mile hike).
Caprock Canyons State Park
Wildlife | PANHANDLE REGION
850 Caprock Canyon Rd. | Quitaque
$5 park admission
Take a selfie in front of any of the park's bison statues or sculptures.
Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam… Famed cattleman Charles Goodnight and his wife, Mary Ann, started the Goodnight herd in 1878. It was one of the five foundation herds that saved bison from extinction, and the descendants of those bison now roam here as the Texas State Bison Herd.
Copper Breaks State Park
PARKS | PANHANDLE REGION
$3 park admission
Snap a daytime selfie in front of one of the park’s iconic pyramid-style picnic shelters or brave the dark and try a nighttime starry selfie.
Far away from big cities, on the broad Texas plains once roamed by the Comanche, you’ll find a stargazer’s dream: Copper Breaks State Park. With an inky-black Bortle dark-sky rating of 2, the park enjoys some of the darkest skies in Texas. Enjoy the grandeur of the Milky Way the way the ancients did or play “spot the satellites.” No telescope needed.
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Splash | PANHANDLE REGION
End of the road • W Lakeview Dr | Fritch
Free admission
Snap a selfie with Lake Meredith (and the Panhandle plateaus) in the background.
The Canadian River cuts dramatic 200-foot canyons called breaks. Nestled within these breaks lies Lake Meredith, offering relief from the windswept plains above. Enjoy swimming, fishing or boating. Don’t have a boat? No problem. Rent a kayak or stand-up paddleboard.
Tex Randall Statue
Quirky | PANHANDLE REGION
Free admission
Snap a selfie with Tex in the background.
Texas is home to a lot of tall tales, but few are taller than Tex Randall, the 47-foot-tall, seven-ton cowboy who stands over Canyon. Built of steel and concrete in 1959, ol’ Tex took quite a beating from Panhandle winds, but a 2016 makeover has him looking good.
Blue Sky Hamburgers
BONUS | PANHANDLE REGION
Snap a selfie with a fresh burger or an order of hand-cut fries
If all this traveling has you feeling hungry, we suggest a stop at BLUE SKY hamburgers, with locations in Abilene, Amarillo and Lubbock.