Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail is a fun, relatively easy meander through quintessential Palo Duro. It shows off the magnificent rockery (I think sophisticated people call it geology?) of the cliffs area and, when combined with the Lighthouse & Paseo del Rio Trails, makes a pleasant 9 mile loop.
Essential Gear
- 2.5L water minimum – more if doing in hotter temperatures or creating a loop
- Sunhat
- Rain jacket
- Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!
- 600 calories of food/snacks (minimum)
- Park map
- GPS navigation app with gpx file downloaded – I recommend Gaia
- Sunglasses
Hiking Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail: 3.1 miles one way
For the historically minded, the trail’s unusual name comes from three runners who actually helped to build the trail system within the park. They were supposed to be mapping out a course for the Palo Duro 50, a trail run begun by Red Spicer that is still hosted today.
It’s a fucking mouthful, but what can you do?
Accessing Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail
I started my hike on the Lighthouse Trail and took the Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail on my way back from having seen the Lighthouse. From there, you can start on Givens, Spicer, & Lowry when it branches off to the left.
Don’t be a bitch. Looping this trail with the Lighthouse Trail & Paseo del Rio Trail is the way to go.
Should you choose to just do Givens, Spicer, & Lowry trail it is 3.1 miles one way. But if you’re not hauling kiddos or in some way physically limited from doing longer hikes, take my advice: don’t be a little bitch. It’s very easy to loop it together with other trails and you’ll get the most out of your hiking day by doing this.
To finish my loop, at the end of the Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail I took the Paseo del Rio Trail back to the Lighthouse parking lot.
This loop took me 3:37 to complete and in case you weren’t paying attention earlier, is 9 miles long. My normal hiking pace is approximately 30 minutes per mile, so you know this loop is hella easy if I was able to make such short work of it.
This Trail is Not Difficult
For some reason I cannot fucking fathom, Texas State parks rates Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail as “difficult”, and I just cannot comprehend why. I can’t even quite muster the gumption to name it moderate. Maybe it’s the sun exposure? Whatever. I completely disagree.
The words that best describe this fucking trail are “red” and “rocky”. The trail has mild, rolling elevation gains and descents but not enough to make even my wobbly legs burn or bitch. The trail itself is single track and orange-red dirt, surrounded by scrubby desert shrubs, and offers some mild cliff views with streaks of various colors running through the hillsides and a few hoodoos.
There are hardly any ankle breaking rocks on the trail (just walk around them) and it’s very easy to navigate (virtually impossible to take a wrong turn or lose the trail).
Truly I have no idea where TPWS got the wild idea to rate it as difficult. It’s not.
My favorite area on Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail
I saw a handful of other hikers but the trail was not what I would call heavily trafficked. It becomes much more visually interesting when the trail begins to turn south – see the area I have circled on the map.
This is where the scenery starts to get sexier
The trail is pleasing to the eyes and, while I enjoyed hiking it, could be a fun bike ride (I think I could handle this trail as a mountain biker, too!) or even a trail run. Along the way, I enjoyed quite a bit of solitude and quiet.
Unlike many of the park trails, Givens, Spicer and Lowry Trail is set away from the main park road, which adds to a sense of quiet that many other places in Palo Duro Canyon State Park lack. I saw a lone hoodoo and numerous gypsum streaked cliff faces. Toward the end of the trail, it rolled along with gentle, baby elevation gains, making the journey a little more stimulating, if you know what I mean.
Heat Warning
As with most places in Palo Duro, Givens, Spicer, & Lowry Trail is 100% exposed, and not in a fun, sexy way. Bring sunscreen.
The sun will beat your ass if you don’t take proper precautions. Do not attempt this hike midday during summer and be sure to always carry enough water, especially when doing this as a loop.
Look at that flowy mountain biking terrain!
Too Long: Didn’t Read;
At no point did the Spicer, Givens, Lowry trail awe me or steal my breath or make my heart sing but I did enjoy the scenery the whole way. It wasn’t a hike I regretted doing and that’s pretty high praise coming from me.
Would recommend.
- 3.1 miles one way
- Doesn’t take your breath away with any awe inspiring moments but is generally pleasant
- Good to connect with the Lighthouse Trail & others
References
http://www.texashiking.com/Locations/ShowLocation.aspx?LocationID=1878#:~:text=The%20Hike%3A%20The%20Givens%2C%20Spicer,held%20since%20the%20mid%2D1980’s.