Day Trippin' › Texas › From Amarillo
From Amarillo, the Route 66 Historic District is minutes away, the Big Texan and Cadillac Ranch about 10, the TEXAS Outdoor Musical about half an hour, Palo Duro Canyon under 40, and Alibates Flint Quarries and Lake Meredith under an hour. The best day trips from Amarillo, by drive time.
28 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
State park · 39 min southeast
The second-largest canyon in the country, with colorful cliffs and more than 30 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
Wildlife refuge · 33 min southwest
A grassland refuge near Canyon with an auto tour road, a prairie dog town and canyon trails full of migrating birds.
Lake · 55 min northeast
A large lake north of Amarillo for boating, fishing, swimming and paddling.
Family fun · 32 min southeast
A family-friendly summer show with singing, dancing and fireworks, staged against the canyon walls in Palo Duro.
National monument · 55 min north
Ancient quarries where people dug colorful flint for tools for thousands of years, seen only on ranger-led hikes.
Trail · 51 min southeast
The signature hike of Palo Duro Canyon, crossing the canyon floor to the tall Lighthouse rock formation.
Swimming · 1 hr 33 min west
A famous blue swimming and diving hole in Santa Rosa, a classic Route 66 stop.
Town · 1 hr 34 min west
A Route 66 town famous for vintage neon signs, murals and old motels and diners.
Museum · 1 hr 48 min south
A hands-on science museum in Lubbock with over 250 exhibits, the city's only public aquarium and a domed OMNI theater.
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 50 min southwest
A quiet High Plains refuge where sandhill cranes roost on Paul's, White and Goose lakes in winter.
Bike trail · 1 hr 52 min southeast
A 64-mile rail-trail on an old railroad bed for biking, hiking and riding, passing through the 742-foot Clarity Tunnel where bats roost.
State park · 1 hr 52 min southeast
Red rock canyons on the edge of the Caprock where the Texas State Bison Herd roams free; swim or paddle at Lake Theo.
Historic site · 1 hr 42 min south
An archaeological preserve run by the Museum of Texas Tech with an interpretive center and 4.5 miles of nature and wildflower trails.
Historic site · 1 hr 54 min southwest
The site near Portales where Clovis spear points were first found, plus a museum on the ENMU campus.
National monument · 2 hr 54 min northwest
A near-perfect cinder cone you can drive up, then walk a paved mile around the crater rim, or down a short path to the crater floor.
Lake · 2 hr 2 min west
A 13-mile reservoir on the Canadian River near Logan with a beach, boating and fishing.
Historic site · 2 hr 42 min southwest
A memorial and museum at Fort Sumner Historic Site about the forced removal of the Dine and Ndé people in the 1860s.
State park · 2 hr 21 min northwest
A small lake with well-preserved dinosaur tracks near the spillway, short trails and a lake observatory.
State park · 2 hr 3 min southwest
A small fishing lake among cottonwoods and sand dunes north of Portales.
State park · 2 hr 31 min southeast
A rugged Rolling Plains park with the State Longhorn Herd, lake swimming and some of the darkest night skies in Texas.
Lake · 2 hr 55 min west
A lake on the grassy plains north of Fort Sumner for boating, swimming, fishing and birding.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 79101 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.