Dalhart sits in the empty north-west of the Panhandle, where the plains are at their highest and most open. In the 1880s Texas traded around three million acres here to a Chicago syndicate in exchange for building the State Capitol in Austin. The result was the XIT Ranch, once among the largest fenced ranches in the world.
The town still honours that history at the XIT Museum, the Empty Saddle Monument and a big annual XIT Rodeo & Reunion. The region is also at the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Rita Blanca National Grassland is partly a legacy of those ruinous years.
Highlights
- XIT Museum: ranch history, in Dalhart.
- XIT Rodeo & Reunion: a big summer gathering in August.
- Empty Saddle Monument: a tribute to the ranch’s cowboys.
- Rita Blanca National Grassland: pronghorn and enormous skies.
- Old Tascosa and Boys Ranch: the ghost of a cowboy capital to the south.
- Dust Bowl history: one of the hardest-hit places in America.
Quick facts
| Where | About 80 miles north-west of Amarillo |
|---|---|
| Roads | US-87, US-385, US-54 |
| Elevation | About 4,000 feet |
| Ideal stay | Half a day or 1 night |
| Best for | Ranch history, wide-open spaces |
| Getting around | Car only |
How long to stay & where to base yourself
A half-day from Amarillo is enough for the museum and monument. Plan a night if you are driving between Texas and Colorado or New Mexico, and book long in advance for the rodeo weekend in August.
