Lighthouse Trail -- A Happy Ending
Palo Duro - Lighthouse Trail
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9/20/2008
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Rating: 
Difficulty:
Distance: 6.00 Miles
Duration: 2 hours
This review is for the Lighthouse Trail, not the Givens, Spicer & Lowry Running trail.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a very beautiful park and the Lighthouse Trail, in my opinion, is the trail you will want to take if you don't have a lot of time and just want to get to see Lighthouse Peak, Castle Peak and Capitol Peak.
The trail is fairly flat the entire distance out and back, although you have some light climbing at the end of the trail near Lighthouse Peak. What made this particular hike difficult was the extremely warm weather. It was over 100 degrees in late September and so warm that I decided not to stay overnight and camp. Although there are interesting sites along the way, the big attraction is Lighthouse Peak. You have to ascend some hapzard steps to get there and the ascent is quite steep. Once you get to the top, however, it is flat again and quite beautiful. The trail runs out at the peak, although you can go adventuring beyond the peak if you want to brave it. There are a few inviting canyons in the vicinity.
Aside from hiking, I recommend seeing the park by car as the park has many beautiful sections that can be seen from the road.
Be aware that there are a lot of snakes in this park. i saw several crossing the paved road and another hiker told me she saw two snakes hiding in the shade beneath the steps. They weren't aggressive, so you need to take caution regardless as medical help is not nearby in the event you are bit.
One last advisory -- this park has several low areas that are prone to flash flooding. In fact, there are 6 river crossings on Park Road with water height markers. As a result, do not go hiking in inclement weather as dangerous conditions could arise.
Trails Galore! At Caprock Canyons
Caprock Canyons - Upper Canyon Trail
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9/19/2008
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Distance: 8.00 Miles
Duration: 4 hours
If you like hiking, you'll find plenty of trail in and around the Caprock Canyons State Park. There are a couple of scenic trails within the park itself as well as a LOT of lengthy trails along the Trailway, including The Plains Junction Trail (10 mi), Grundy Canyon Trail (12 mi), Oxbow Trail (10 mi), Kent Creek Trail (10 mi), Los Lingos Trail (5 mi) and Quitaque Canyon Trail (17 mi).
I only hiked within the State Park, not along the Trailway.
I camped at the South Prong Tent Camping Area, so my hike departed at the parking lot. This trail provided breathtaking vistas of cliffs and canyons, so remember to bring your camera! The Upper Canyon Trail was a fairly easy hike until you reach a section where you have to ascend an extremely steep and rugged cliff that takes you from 2,500 ft in elevation to 3,100 ft. It is not an easy climb, so I would not recommend it for elderly or people in below average health. I had just finished a 10 mile hike the day before in Copper Breaks State park so my legs were still aching, which made this ascent more difficult than usual. Once you get to the top, you are afforded some beautiful views, making the ascent worthwhile. From the top, you can continue along the crest on the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail (2 mi) or to descend along Upper Canyon Trail towards Fern Cave. The cave sounded interesting, so this is the route I took. The cave proved to be an interesting site with large boulders and lots of moisture and ferns. At this point, however, I found the trail to be poorly marked and I got off trail several times once I left the cave. It wasn't a big problem, however, because at this point in the hike you are essentially hiking along the bottom of the canyon adjacent to a small winding stream. You can't really get lost since mountains surround both sides of you.
Once I got out of the canyon, I hiked back towards the North Prong Primitive Camping Area. There were several trail marker signs indicating trails like D1, C2, etc., but I was a little frustrated because these trail numbers do NOT appear on the provided trail map. Consequently, it would be easy for a hiker to take the wrong trail if he did not have a compass or good orienteering skills. Luckily, I took the right trail (Canyon Loop Trail) back to the parking lot and then along the paved road back to the South Prong Camping Area parking lot.
As I mentioned before, I found this hike to be challenging, but very rewarding in terms of scenery. Be sure to take plenty of liquids with you and allow enough time for a slower than usual pace.
There are several other trails in the park, such as Eagle Point Trail, the Lower Canyon Trail, Mesa Trail, and Canyon Rim Trail, but I did not hike these trails on this trip. This is a beautiful state park, so this provides me an excuse to go back! :-)
Copper Breaks - A Nice Hike
Copper Breaks State Park
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9/18/2008
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Distance: 10.00 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
My route left from the parking lot near Lake Copper Breaks and out the Rocky Ledges Loop. This was a scenic portion of the hike. from there, i took the 3 Mile trail along the Pease River and then along the perimeter of the park on the 2.1 Mile Loop trail. i then took Chris' Link, which was also very scenic, to the 3 Mile Loop. as I approached Big pond, I took the equestrian Trail towards the big Pong Equestrian Camping Area. I then took the paved road back, passing the Comanche camping Area and the Kiowa Camping Area, along Lake Copper Breaks.
the hike was not particularly difficult, although the trail along Rocky Ledges Loop was not very well-maintained. i was wearing shorts, which I do not recommend doing unless the trail is better maintained and the foliage is cut-back. The hike had several scenic spots, which makes for some good photographs. The trails were well marked, although a couple of the trail marker signs had been wiped out due to some recent rain/flooding. All in all, it was a nice hike and I would recommend it if you are in this State Park looking for something to do. It's also a great place to camp with affordable rates -- $10 to $20/night, with the latter having electrical hookups.