Climate Details (C)
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Min | -6 | -4 | 0.3 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 0.1 | -5 |
| Max | 9 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 26 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 22 | 15 | 10 |
Travel Guides: Amarillo
General Information
The city of Amarillo, about 330 miles (531km) northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, is where the old West lives on in the commercial centre of the Texas panhandle.
Amarillo started out in 1887 as a 'buffalo-hide tent camp' for railroad construction workers. Today, the town named for a nearby stream, the Arroya Amarillo, boasts a convention centre, symphony, ballet, theatre, opera and two higher education facilities, Amarillo College and Texas State Technical College.
Amarillo's fortunes have long rested on the horns of cattle ranching, but it has also become a popular stopover for tourists keen to play cowboy or cowgirl, with numerous motels and restaurants having opened up in recent years. The town is located on the major Route 1-40 east-west highway, making it easily accessible for visitors and those who come for the famed frenetic Amarillo Livestock Auctions.
At first glance Amarillo may seem unprepossessing and have little to offer apart from cowboys and cattle, but it is worth digging below the dust of the high plains to discover its attractions.
Getting Around
Visitors to Amarillo are advised to hire a car from one of the many international agencies in the city. This is the most popular way of getting around as it is the only way to see most places. To hire a car, a full national driver's license, and in some cases and international driver's license, is required and drivers must be at least 25 years (some companies hire cars to those aged 21 to 24 with surcharges). Amarillo has a bus service that runs from Monday through Saturday between 6.15am and 6.45pm and taxis are a good way to get around but must be booked through one of the many private taxi companies operating within the city.
Activities
Palo Duro Canyon, Amarillo
Starting about a million years ago a branch of the Red River carved a massive canyon through the northern Texas plains. The walls of the Palo Duro Canyon plunge down to 1,000ft (305m) at points, exposing the multi-layered coloured rock strata. The colours are particularly brightly picked out on the spires and pinnacles that the forces of nature have carved out on the canyon floor. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a few miles east of Amarillo, reached via Texas 217 highway. The park offers picnic and camping facilities, a visitor's centre with a shop, an amphitheatre where shows are staged, and horseback riding trips. The park also has a famous historic site where the last great battle between troops and Indians took place in Texas. In 1874 Colonel Ranald Mackenzie and his 4th Cavalry defeated a large band of Native Americans camped in the canyon and transported them to reservations in Oklahoma.
Opening Times:
October to March: Sunday-Thursday 8am to 6pm, Friday
to Saturday 8am to 8pm; April to May: Sunday to Thursday 8am to
8pm, Friday to Saturday 8am to 10pm; June to August: Daily 8am to
10pm; September: Sunday to Thursday 8am to 8pm, Friday to Saturday
8am to 10pm
Admission:
$5 (adults); children under 13 are free; group adult
rates ($2) are available, with prior arrangement
Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo
The Texas Panhandle's one and only accredited art museum is the Amarillo Museum of Art. The museum has six galleries housing a permanent collection that includes 17th through 19th century European paintings, 20th century modernists, photography, Asian art and Middle Eastern textiles. The museum also offers frequently changing exhibits ranging from contemporary art to the American and European masters.
Opening Times:
Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday
1pm to 5pm
Admission:
Free
Don Harrington Discovery Center, Amarillo
Focussing on physical, earth and life sciences the Don Harrington Discovery Center is set in a 51-acre park with a lake and picnic area. The centre boasts more than 100 hands-on activities and a recently renovated Space Theater. There is also an aquarium on site featuring both saltwater and freshwater tanks as well as a botanical garden. Most popular sights here are a Foucault Pendulum, rotating independently of the earth's gravitational pull, a helium technology exhibit and a weather-watch section with a tornado machine.
Opening Times:
Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am to 4.30pm; Friday and
Saturday 9.30am to 8pm; Sunday 12pm to 4.30pm; Closed on
Mondays
Admission:
$10 (adults); $7 (children aged 3-12); $7 (seniors aged
60+); free for children under 2 and members; group rates also
available
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo
Approaching Amarillo from the west on the 1-40 highway visitors will come across one of America's most noted roadside attractions, conceived and funded by an eccentric local man, helium tycoon Stanley Marsh III. The Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 finned vintage Cadillac cars, buried nose first in a field about 12 miles (19km) from the town. They have been buried, allegedly, at the same angle as the angle of the sides of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Marsh doesn't seem to mind the ever-increasing amount of graffiti that is spray painted onto the cars by visitors.
Opening Times:
Open 24-hours daily
Admission:
Free
