I have been to Palo Duro Canyon four times. Only recently, my fourth visit, did I camp. From July 13-26, we camped almost exclusively in State Parks in Texas, averaging two nights per park. At Davis Mountains SP, our favorite, we stayed three nights. We are a family of four. I'll focus on Palo Duro from here on out...
We got very lucky our first week camping. On the way to Palo Duro, from Fort Worth, we stayed one night at Coyote Ranch in Wichita Falls. Then we stayed two nights at Caprock Canyons SP. I highly recommend you taking the small detour and spending a couple of nights at Caprock Canyons SP before visiting Palo Duro. It is very similar terrain. A lot of people try to compare Caprock and PD, but they each offer unique features. One big difference is in Caprock you camp on the rim of the canyon and at PD you camp down in the canyon. This means you will be towing your rig down a fairly steep grade and out of it when you leave.
We loved the musical TEXAS. It is very worth a trip. It was the highlight of our stay in Palo Duro. The downside is it rained nearly two inches over two days. It flooded all the water crossings, holding us hostage to the park. The bathroom facilities at the Mesquite loop were the worst of any state park we visited. Not because they were unkept; it was because of all the red mud. You couldn't use the park facilities at the loop because of all the mud. Of course, most of the time it is quite dry in the canyon. We just got "lucky" to have much-needed rain.
Palo Duro is a beautiful park. A real Texas gem. But if it rains, it's a stinker. You are in a big mud hole. We spent one day turing the Panhandle Plains Museum at West Texas A&M. Very good!
If I were to do it over again, I would have stayed out of the canyon. There is an Oasis RV park just west of Amarillo with much better amenities but it's not at State Park prices.
Our stay was definitely tarnished by the heavy rain and red, silty mud. Other people staying in the Mesquite loop shared our feelings - the bathroom facilities were poorly managed for erosion control.
Would I recommend this park? Absolutely. Just make sure that the water crossings are open and there is no MAJOR rain in the forecast.
