About Us
Doves Rest Cabins is honored to provide the world’s only private overnight Luxury Cabin Rentals to intrepid travelers, offering unique views and an iconic symbol of the American Southwest for our guests to enjoy. Wildlife diversity and abundance around Doves Rest is excellent, including populations of blue quail, bobwhite quail, Rio Grande turkey, bobcat, mule deer, white-tailed deer, Barbary sheep, coyote, roadrunners, rabbits and numerous songbirds.
We are located 3,500 feet above sea level, situated in the heart of the Texas Panhandle, also known as the Great Southern Plains near the cities of Canyon and Amarillo. Palo Duro Canyon, “The Grand Canyon of Texas,” is just below you from Doves Rest Cabins stretching 20-miles across. Your view is only limited by your eyesight! Enjoy staggering sunrises and sunsets – stars appear in numbers beyond belief in the crisp clear night air as this area has some of the darkest skies and cleanest air in the United States.
Here is also where the Buffalo roamed. It’s also Southern & Quahada Comanche (the most powerful & ruthless Indian tribes in American history), Kiowa, and Cheyenne and Arapaho territory. During their time, around 150-years ago, millions of Buffalo made this land their home and Palo Duro Canyon was a retreat for these nomad Indians – hunters of Buffalo.
Chief Quanah Parker, the last of the Quahada Comanche warriors, fought the battle of Palo Duro Canyon not more than 20-miles east from Doves Rest Cabins in September 1874. It brought an official end to the U.S./Indian wars and the eventual peace that finally allowed settlers to occupy this last remaining freedom-outpost of “uncivilized” land in North America. Now, fun memories and RELAXATION happen at Doves Rest Cabins!
Palo Duro Canyon State Park with its Technicolor walls makes for high-desert scenery more commonly seen in southern Utah. It offers more than 30-miles of hiking, mountain-biking and equestrian trails and an additional 1,500 acres set aside for horseback riding.
Mountain bikers can experience the best single track in Texas and will enjoy the well maintained five trail heads networking for some 26-miles throughout the canyon ranging from “mild” to “wild” in technical ability – dirt, rocks, river rock, sand, wash-outs, switchbacks, drop-offs and climbs with alternative trail accesses throughout.
During the summer, enjoy a performance of the outdoor musical drama TEXAS. The play, marking a half-century in its on-going production runs Tuesdays through Sundays, June through August, at the 1,700 seat Pioneer Amphitheater. Watch the stories, struggles and triumphs of early settlers. The family-friendly show has singing, dancing, fireworks and lots of Texas humor.
Why check hotels near Amarillo when you can rent the entire home at Doves Rest Cabins?
A Word From Our Founder
You’ll quickly escape to another world as Palo Duro Canyon embodies Texas’s sense of place and spirit like no other place on earth. Our team has a genuine focus on creating unforgettable memories for you while you’re surrounded by a treasured iconic symbol of the American Southwest. It’s a place of amazing beauty, quietness and nurturing of soul & spirit. Doves Rest Cabins is the only private cabin rentals at Palo Duro.
Off the beaten path, and outside of mainstream destinations, we’re far from every other place to stay. We deliver an amazing guest experience that is truly authentic Texan, personal, and character-rich. We are a one-of-a-kind Vacation Home Rental Resort dedicated not only to preserving the soul of the wilderness, but to restoring your soul as well. Here, within a setting of incomparable natural beauty, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
If private and quiet surrounded by nature with friendly wildlife nestled in your own little world only a few minutes away to the second largest canyon in America interests you, then you’re in the right place. Whether it’s a family vacation, romantic getaway, or special event that brings you to our doorstep, we promise you an experience that you’ll never forget. Come and let us show you true West Texas hospitality!
Welcome,
Jeff Means
Founder, Doves Rest Cabins
- Palo Duro Canyon State Park
- Texas Outdoor Musical
- Canyon, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
Doves Rest is approximately 3 ½ miles from the one & only entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro is the second largest canyon system in the U.S. stretching 120-miles long, 800-1,000 feet deep, and in some places, 25-miles wide. It’s the 6th busiest park in the Texas State Park System. High season is March through September, and then things quite down a bit. The hours are basically 8:00 am – 10:00 pm. They charge $5.00 per person for a day pass. You can bring in your own horses with no additional charge. If you’re going in after 5 pm to see the play during the summer, there is no entry charge.
Click here to visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park websiteThe TEXAS Outdoor Musical celebrated its 50th year anniversary in 2015. Staged at the 1,700 seat Pioneer Amphitheatre in the state parks canyon floor more than four million people have see the award winning play in the last 49-years which runs nightly (except Monday nights), June – mid-August. Note, you can see & hear the shows finale fireworks show from all Doves Rest Cabins patios between 10:30 – 10:45 pm during the summer.
The talented cast of more than 60 actors, singers, and dancers brings to life a story depicting the struggles and triumphs of the early settlers, cowboys, and Native Americans of the Texas Panhandle in the 1800s. Before the 2-hour show, guests may also choose to take a backstage tour and/or enjoy an old-fashioned chuck wagon dinner in the covered outdoor picnic area.
- The play is recognized as the “Official Play of the State of Texas”
- USA Today recommended it a “Top 10 Must See Theaters in the USA”
- American Bus Association (ABA) lists the play as a “Top 100 Attractions in North America”
The town of Canyon is home to West Texas A&M University. The school is over 100-years old and Georgia O’Keefe taught art there back in the 1940’s. It’s also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest of its type in Texas.
Click here to visit Canyon, Texas official websiteHistoric Route 66 runs through the heart of Amarillo, the cultural and commercial capital of the Texas Panhandle. From humble beginnings as a railroad staging area in the 1880’s, the city exploded with oil production, cattle ranching, wheat and cotton farming, to become a thriving metropolis of 196,000 today.
Amarillo proudly shares her Western heritage with the world in places like the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, but her culture has expanded to include the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, and the Amarillo Museum of Art.
As the gateway to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Amarillo has become an adventure hub for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, zip lining and wildlife viewing.
Click here to visit Amarillo, Texas official website