Palo Duro Trail Run Course Guide

Foreword
If you're a canyon veteran, I'm going to apologize in advance for leaving anything out. (Please leave a comment and tell me what I missed.) If you've been to Palo Duro Canyon before but don't really remember much, let this serve as a refresher. And finally to those who have never been to the canyon, I hope I provide enough information to give you an idea of what to expect but not enough to spoil the experience of your first time out there.

Anyone who knows me or has kept up with this blog should know that I am extremely proud of Palo Duro Canyon. But never let it be said that I'm not equally appreciative of those who have taken the time to make it such a wonderful place to go trail running. The trails are in great shape and have a good variety of difficulty and technicality, and they didn't get that way because of deer or cattle or a band of magical elves with construction hats and tiny shovels. So let this guide be dedicated to those folks - Red Spicer, Bill and Wynn Ross, Kevin McClish, et al. - who gave up countless hours of their free time so that goofballs like me can have such a fun and amazing place to go trail running. I just hope that one day I can look back and say I ran these trails, and made a respectable attempt at working on them, as much as they did.

Update: After corresponding with Bill and Wynn Ross, there are a few more individuals (by no means though is the list complete) who deserve recognition for the contributions they've made to the beauty and success of the PDC trail system:
 - Bill Snure
 - Chris Villagomez
 - Jason Bass
 - Bryan and Nuggett Quillin

Thanks, guys!


Notice: you may consult or print this park map for additional reference.

How to Get to the Starting Line (Juniper Day Use Area)
After you've entered the park there's really only one way to go, so just stick with it for a while and take care not to hit any deer. The road will wind and turn and go downhill until you eventually get to the bottom of the canyon. What you're initially going to be looking for are river crossings, so don't let anything else distract you.

River Crossing #1

River Crossing #2

The first significant structure you reach will be the Pioneer Amphitheater where the musical Texas is performed every summer. Just around the corner from that is a convenience store for tourists the trading post. (No, kids, we're not stopping for candy. We just ate an hour ago.) Also on the way you'll pass the Interpretive Theater (on your left), Givens, Spicer & Lowry trailhead and race aid station (on your right), and river crossing #1. Keep going though until you reach river crossing #2 and the Lighthouse trailhead.

Lighthouse parking

Now the Lighthouse trailhead is probably the most frequently used area for the thousands of hikers/bikers/runners who visit PDC every year. This is mainly due to the Lighthouse trail itself, but also because it's literally the center of the whole trail system. So naturally it serves as the "middle" of the 12.5 mi loop that you'll be running as well as home to another aid station. If you're a 20K runner, you'll pass through it twice. If you're running the 50K, you'll pass through five times. And if you're running the 50-mile like a boss, you'll go through here...yup, you guessed it. Eight times. So smile big and give an enthusiastic "Thanks!" during your first time through, because the good folks manning this station are going to be real familiar to many of us before the day is over.

Back to the driving directions. You'll want to really slow your vehicle down once you reach river crossing #2, because it will be dark and this is where a lot of people have gotten lost in the past (me included). Immediately after the Lighthouse parking area is Alternate Park Road 5. Turn here. Do not go straight/left. Most likely it will be marked before race day, but you can look for the road sign just in case it isn't.

Juniper Day Use Area entrance

After you make the right onto Alternate Road 5, drive a mile or so until you see the Juniper camp on your left (sign on the right, pictured here). Do not drive down in there. Pull up a tiny bit more and you'll see a flat, unpaved area on your left that serves as parking. If you don't get there early enough and it's filled up, don't panic. Volunteers will help you park along the road. Once parked, just walk down into the camp and start warming up for the big race!



The Bottom Loop (First Half)
Juniper camp: start/finish, restrooms, an aid station, and post-race burgers can all be found at this spot. Toe the line, take a deep breath, and get ready to have a great, great run!

Juniper  Trailheads

The race starts on the second half of Juniper Riverside, which is pretty narrow in its entirety so there won't be a lot of passing going on at first. If you consider yourself a faster runner, trust me when I say you want to start up at the front. If you don't, it's going to drive you nuts not being able to find your happy pace. Really though, this trail is a great warm-up, and it's going to be dark, and everyone is going to be amped up itchy britches, so just relax and settle in for the first mile. Eventually the trail will end and you're going to come out of the trees, cross Alternate Road 5, and switch over to the Juniper Cliffside trail. If you need to pass some folks, this is where you want to do it since the course gets narrow again on the other side.

Juniper Cliffside

Juniper Cliffside

Juniper Cliffside, I have to say, is my least favorite part of the course and I honestly can't figure out why. It doesn't have much sun cover but neither does Lighthouse or GSL. It is pretty hilly, with many using that as reason enough to tag it as the most difficult trail on the course. I kind of like hills though, and the scenery isn't bad either. Eh, I guess there has to be a loser in every contest even when all the contestants are pro. You'll see here that I've provided a few looks that you'll get over the next three miles.

One significant thing about this section though is the inspiring landmark named after one of the most well-liked people to ever walk these trails. I'm talking of course about the late J.M. "Red" Spicer, former director of the PDTR and one of the folks who helped create and maintain a lot of this course. It's at this landmark that many runners, myself included, pay their respects by tapping the rock every time they pass by.

Red's Rock - Juniper Cliffside

Not long after you've passed Red's Rock, you'll briefly hop off the trail and into the Lighthouse parking area. If you can't decide right away that you need anything from the aid station, take into consideration that the next one is about 2.5 miles away. And remember: always thank those volunteers whether you take something or not!

Juniper Cliffside exit

Now you're about to get friendly with the most popular kid in school. No joke, in one training run I typically come across more hikers and bikers on this trail than I see on all the other trails combined. There's just something about Lighthouse that everyone loves. It's like people who go to New York City and they just have to go to the top of the Empire State Building. Not that the Lighthouse isn't really cool, don't get me wrong. I always have a lot of fun getting up there.

The Top Loop

Lighthouse Trailhead

Let me start off by saying you will not run all the way to the Lighthouse during this race. If you want to see it up close, my suggestion would be to go out the day before and hike up to it. Stretch your legs a little. Take some nice pictures. The round-trip is a little under 6 miles, and it's a fairly easy trek overall so you're not going to tire yourself out or anything.

Lighthouse Trail

As I hinted earlier, the Lighthouse trail doesn't have much in the way of trees. Or anything that gives you shade really. Right around the 1.1 mile marker there's a cliff that provides some protection from the sun, but forget about that after 9am or so. The trail is nice though, starting out flat, then gradually going uphill into a mix of surfaces and elevations. There are plenty of open spaces as well, similar to what you saw on Juniper Cliffside.

Lighthouse-GSL junction

After around 1.8 miles, you'll find yourself at the LH-GSL junction. (Regarding what I said earlier about it's popularity, can you see the footprints going to the Lighthouse? And see the lack of them on GSL?) Take a right on Givens, Spicer and Lowry, ignore the big thermometer if it's trying to tell you it's hot, and get ready for a few of the more demanding sections of the course.

Now when I say "demanding," I don't mean GSL is super hard or anything, because none of the trails at Palo Duro Canyon are super hard. But there are a few relatively lengthy uphills, and there's quite a bit of loose, gravely rock, and there are some tight, winding corners (in a section I call The Racetrack). And running it in the middle of the summer can be brutal and make you wish you had brought more water. But having said that, this is definitely my favorite section of the course. Maybe it's because of the increased difficulty or maybe it's because of the scenery. I don't know. There's even a spot where I bonked once (it's a long uphill starting at the .6 mile marker), instantly becoming a zombie and dragging my knuckles the 4 miles back to Juniper camp. But I try to run it almost every time I go out and I'm like a kid at Christmas when I do.

One important note about the first quarter mile or so of GSL. There will be a creek bed that you'll cross over, and immediately take a left after you do. This isn't really part of GSL proper, but instead an addition that was made a few years back to increase the length of the course. Just a small detour, nothing big. About 400 yards in you'll come across another fork. Go right this time and you'll quickly see the 6 mile course marker. From there it's a hop and a skip to the GSL-Little Fox junction.

Now you're at the famous Dos Loco Senioritas aid station. Maybe you even heard these great ladies before you got there, whooping and hollering at the runners ahead of you. There won't be as many treats at this station compared to the others since it's not exactly close to the main road, so plan accordingly. From here, you'll take a left and continue on down GSL.

Cottonwood Flats - GSL Trail

And don't let this next section - Cottonwood Flats - trick you into thinking that the rest of the trail is flat and fast. You're about to run into what I affectionately call The Moon. Why I call it that and not "Mars" is beyond me, since the black rocks and red dirt probably make this section look more like the latter rather than the former. I'm guessing it's because "moon" is easier for me to say when I'm exhausted and deliriously talking out loud to myself.




The Moon - GSL Trail



Cairn - GSL Trail

A few more things about GSL. (I told you it was my favorite!) At one point when you're about a mile away from the trailhead, and the trail opens up into a plateau-like area, look for the cairn (pictured on the right) and feel free to add a rock of your own. As a matter of fact, there have been a lot of cairns popping up all over the course lately, but this one seems to be my favorite. (I've even seen a lizard perched on top and sunning himself on this one.) I suppose it's just a unique way visitors can leave their "graffiti" without doing any damage. (If you spot a medium-sized piece of white gypsum on this particular cairn, I carried that from a few miles back!) Also look directly to your right before continuing on. In my opinion it's one of the best views on the whole course, even offering a nice look at the Lighthouse off in the distance. Oh and the last 0.1 mile section of GSL (or first if you're going to be picky about it) is probably my most favorite of all tenths out there. Why? Well for one thing it's downhill. And it signals that I've survived GSL. And there's an aid station at the bottom during races. But if it's a summer training run, it's because there's a rest area nearby where I can wash my salty face and fill up my water bottle after the 100 degree heat has beat down on me so bad, I keep imagining that a football helmet-wearing monkey standing on the back of a unicorn is going to burst out of the bushes any second and start singing Broadway show tunes.



Givens, Spicer & Lowry Trailhead

Once you're off GSL, you'll turn right and have to run on the main park road. Not for long though. At the bottom of the hill, right after river crossing #1, you'll see a narrow trail to your right. That's Paseo del Rio and that's where you want to go.



Paseo del Rio Trailhead

There's not much to say about this trail really. It's flat, relatively straight, and absolutely the shadiest part of the course. Love and appreciate the abundance of trees and cliffside here, because it's a Palo Duro Canyon luxury. This trail is pretty narrow too, but there's a very slim chance of racers being clumped up at this stage so there's little worry of getting stuck in slow traffic.

Paseo del Rio exit

After a mile or so, you'll pop out of the trees and back onto the main park road. Very similar to what you saw coming out of GSL, this section of the course is also paved. Just turn right as you come out, then make your way over river crossing #2 until you reach the Lighthouse Hiking Trail sign and course marker. Upper loop complete, 10 miles down, 2.5 miles to go!

The Bottom Loop (Second Half)

Rojo Grande Trailhead

Alt Road 5 - Rojo Grande

Once in the Lighthouse parking area, you'll see off to your left the place where you came in earlier from Juniper Cliffside. It's a fork, with the left branch serving as the trailhead of Rojo Grande. Go that way and cross over Alternate Park Road 5 to the trail that continues on the other side.

"El Viejo" - Rojo Grande Trail

If I had to pick a second favorite trail, Big Red would probably be it. Narrow with lots of hills, some decent shade, a river (that hasn't been running much because of the drought), and some pretty awesome scenery like this old cottonwood tree here.

 

Rojo-Sunflower junction

About a mile later you'll come out of the trees and see the main park road. Keep right and you'll go right back into the trees, only now you'll be on Sunflower trail which will seem like a mix of Rojo and Juniper Cliffside. After another mile or so, you'll come to another fork. In the picture below, taken the day before a bike race, you can see that some folks obviously have a hard time reading signs so the trail is taped off. Ha! Us runners need no such help! <grab crotch, spit> Just veer left onto Juniper Riverside and you'll be headed for home.

Juniper Riverside-Sunflower junction

There isn't a lot to say about JCR that hasn't already been said about the previous few miles. The section is flat, narrow, and provides brief moments of shade. Simply keep running knowing that the Juniper camp is just up ahead!

And that's it. That's the course. Easy peasy, bacon greasy. If you're a 20K runner, WOOHOO! Grats, you did it! But if you're running either of the 50s? Sorry, kiddo. You have a ways to go still.

Summary
Hopefully this has served as a fairly informative guide on what to expect while participating in a Palo Duro Trail Race. And more importantly, I hope I've shared some of my enthusiasm with you regarding how awesome of a place it is to visit. I've run through this course many, many times now, yet I'll be swept up by its beauty on race day as much as I was during my first time out.

In closing, I want to ask that you please, please, no matter who you are or how competitive you plan on being, slow down every so often and look around; especially at sunrise. You'll likely be upset with yourself later if you don't. Because being on the trail isn't just about physical fitness. It's an escape from the modern world, a nod to our ancestors, and it's sadly becoming a rare occasion that only the lucky ones get to truly experience. I feel it's our duty to appreciate not only the opportunity that we've been given, but also our physical ability that affords us that opportunity. The badge we put on every time we go out is that of a trail runner, but it's not pride that makes us wear it. It's humility and reverence. We take care of the trail and it takes care of us. So again, pause for a moment. Smile at yourself and at your fellow runners. And allow the smells and sights and sounds remind you of what running used to be before they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

And if I can't convince you of how vital it is that we allow running to help define who are, maybe Roger Bannister can.

"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom."



Jump strong. Fly swift. Land soft.