Join us for an Authentic
Chuck Wagon Meal
in beautiful
Palo Duro Canyon
Saturday, October 5, 2024
10:00am – 2:00pm

Mark your calendar for the Palo Duro Canyon Chuck Wagon Roundup on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

The Roundup is sponsored by the Partners in Palo Duro Canyon Foundation, the friends’ group of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, with cooperation from Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Numerous other Texas Panhandle organizations will participate, too.

All proceeds from the Chuck Wagon Roundup will go to Partners in Palo Duro Canyon Foundation. The foundation supports many important needs within the park, most recently buying gates for all trailheads to keep hikers and bikers off the trails and safe when temperature alerts are issued in the summer. 

“The Chuck Wagon Roundup, with its authentic chuck wagon meal, celebrates the living heritage of Palo Duro Canyon. We think there is no better place to spend time outdoors than in our favorite state park- Palo Duro Canyon State Park,” Eddie Tubbs, president of Partners in Palo Duro Canyon Foundation, says.

“Last year we called it Prairie Palooza, and it was a palooza of a birthday party to celebrate 100 years of Texas State Parks,” Tubbs says. We had 1,400 people in the state park attending the party.

“Now, we’re ready to kick off the next 100 years,” Tubbs says.

Eleven chuckwagons will camp next to the Pioneer Amphitheater. Each will prepare an authentic chicken fried steak lunch with all the trimmings for just $25 a ticket. Tickets are available through the Sad Monkey Mercantile website, sadmonkeymercantile.com, until they sell out. Tickets will not be sold on-site. 

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., more than 15 organizations from across the Panhandle will have booths and demonstrations in the Pioneer Amphitheater parking lot. Participants may include Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site, Texas Forest Service, Old West Riding Stables, Cross Bar Ranch, Amarillo Veterans Administration Suicide Prevention Program, TPWD Game Wardens, Inland Fisheries, Sustainability and Accessibility Programs, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area/Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Lake Mineral Wells State Park Tipi Program, TxDOT Safety Program, Palo Duro Canyon Heat Advisory Tent and Palo Duro Canyon Trail Team. More groups may confirm participation as the date approaches.

Want to continue the celebration? Stop by the Sad Monkey Mercantile for a laid-back afternoon and evening of music, beverages and company.

Admission to the state park is free all day for Roundup attendees. Dress comfortably, wear casual shoes and don’t forget your hat and sunscreen.