Panhandle Plains
Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1936, and by the 1950s, he was an instrumental and prominent figure in rock n’ roll. The Buddy Holly Center…
Must-see attractions in Panhandle Plains
Palo Duro Canyon
This multihued canyon was carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, a big name for a little river. Its 26,000 acres attract hikers, horseback…
Fort McKavett State Historical Park
Panhandle Plains
This remote but remarkably well preserved fort, near the San Saba River 70 miles southeast of San Angelo, was established by the Eighth Infantry in 1852…
Panhandle Plains
Located off I-27 at Broadway St and Ave A, 248-acre Mackenzie Park has two dynamite highlights amid what's otherwise a mundane urban park.
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Panhandle Plains
It's not every day you can pick up a hammer stone used to make tools 10,000 years ago or hold discarded shards of beautifully colored flint left behind by…
National Ranching Heritage Center
Panhandle Plains
A true Lubbock gem, this open-air museum, part of the large, modern Texas Tech museum complex, provides a fascinating snapshot of what life was like on…
Fort Griffin State Historic Site
Panhandle Plains
Some 15 miles north of Albany, the Fort Griffin State Historic Site showcases a handful of somewhat-restored buildings and the ruins of a fort that served…
Panhandle Plains
To millions of people whizzing across the Texas Panhandle each year, the Cadillac Ranch, also known as Amarillo’s ‘Bumper Crop,’ is the ultimate symbol of…
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Palo Duro Canyon
A Texas plains must-see, this magnificent museum covers a tremendous amount of ground, both literally in terms of floor space, and thematically, with an…
Panhandle Plains
Reason enough to stop if you're any place near Abilene, Frontier Texas! makes 100 years of frontier history (1780–1880) possibly more interesting than the…
Permian Basin Petroleum Museum
Panhandle Plains
This museum is worth a stop even if you're not utterly fascinated with the oil business, for it's as much a history and geology museum as a shrine to the…
Panhandle Plains
For a slice of the real West, head on a Monday morning to the Amarillo Livestock Auction, just north of SE 3rd Ave on the city's east side. The auction is…
Panhandle Plains
The life of musician Bob Wills – originator of Western Swing, and author of the iconic ‘Faded Love’ – is recalled in Turkey’s tiny city hall. Wills’ fame…
Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway
Panhandle Plains
Natural beauty aside, the trail system is what makes Caprock Canyons one of Texas’ best state parks: 90 miles of outstanding and diverse hiking, mountain…
Panhandle Plains
What was once the largest Spanish fort in Texas has been beautifully restored. Presidio de San Sabá dates to 1757 and is close to the town of Menard, some…
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum
Panhandle Plains
Quarter horses, favored on the Texas range, were originally named for their prowess at galloping down early American racetracks, then a quarter-mile long…
Fort Concho National Historic Landmark
Panhandle Plains
One of the best preserved frontier forts in Texas, Fort Concho was built in 1867, by German craftsmen from Fredericksburg, to protect local settlers and…
Panhandle Plains
This fine museum complex includes three distinct collections housed in the former Grace Hotel (1909), once the grandest in Abilene. It features…
Panhandle Plains
Step back to a time long before the invention of air conditioning made the plains safe for city slickers at Buffalo Gap Historic Village. This living…
Panhandle Plains
Play Wile E Coyote and go looking for road runners at 529-acre Abilene State Park, which is 4 miles southwest of Buffalo Gap. Attractions include hiking,…
Panhandle Plains
Junction proper has a few places where you can get organized for a rafting trip on the river. Or you can go hiking (18 miles of trails) and spot deer,…
Devil's Rope & Route 66 Museum
Panhandle Plains
Cross I-40 to the north side and the battered town of McClean. This surprisingly large museum has vast barbed wire displays (where hipsters look for new…
Panhandle Plains
If plowing sedately along the bland interstate leaves you ready for a little excitement, shake off your lethargy by careening through the double loops of…
Panhandle Plains
The dry-as-dust, 382-acre Big Spring State Park perches on a low bluff 3 miles southwest of downtown. The park’s short, one-way loop drive gives sweeping…
Panhandle Plains
Stretch those road legs at this 600-acre nature center, 8 miles northwest of town off TX 335, where trails wind through grasslands, cottonwoods and bluffs…
Panhandle Plains
This well-curated museum has exhibits that cover the history of the region, including the Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne tribes who once called today's…
Panhandle Plains
A remarkable facility, the 1877 Old Jail Art Center houses a surprising collection that includes ancient terracotta Chinese tomb figures and art by such…
Panhandle Plains
Don't miss the restored sumptuous lobby of the 14-story 1929 Cactus Hotel. It was built by Conrad Hilton in the early days of his empire-building. It no…
Panhandle Plains
A diverse collection of art collected around the globe and housed in a 1910 mansion. Good special exhibitions.
Panhandle Plains
Boredom rather than combat doomed this 1851 fort along the clear fork of the Brazos River. Fort Phantom Hill was among the outposts constructed to protect…
Panhandle Plains
George and Barbara Bush moved to west Texas from patrician New England in 1948. A growing family, the Bushes lived in this house from 1952 to 1956, when…
Panhandle Plains
In 1990 the book Friday Night Lights was published to much critical acclaim. In it, journalist HG ‘Buzz’ Bissinger followed the Panthers football team of…
Lubbock Lake National Historic Landmark
Panhandle Plains
A Tech-run attraction, this site is a sort of time capsule for all the cultures that have inhabited the South Plains for the last 12,000 years. Bones of…
Panhandle Plains
Marvel at geological splendor at the Caverns of Sonora on a two-hour tour that covers 2 miles underground. Oddities include everything from sound…
Concho Avenue Historic District
Panhandle Plains
Concho Avenue, at the heart of downtown, is a fascinating neighborhood to explore – pick up a historic walking-tour brochure at the visitor center. The…
Panhandle Plains
Few can resist the come-on of Miss Hattie’s Bordello Museum, which operated as a downtown house of pleasure from 1896 until the Texas Rangers shut it down…
Panhandle Plains
This winery was founded in 1976, making it not only the largest but also the oldest of the modern Texas wineries. Among the two dozen wines produced, the…
Panhandle Plains
The simple plaque, laid into the lawns of Lubbock City Cemetery, on the eastern edge of town, reads 'In Loving Memory of Our Own Buddy Holley. September 7…
Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Museum
Panhandle Plains
Long before today's posh gas guzzling RVs hit the road, laden with every convenience right down to the satellite dish, intrepid Americans looking for…
Panhandle Plains
A squeaky windmill is part of the iconic opening to Once Upon a Time in the West, and you can see more than 90 examples of these Western icons at the…
