Dalhart
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Dalhart is a city in the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle. It is known as the "Gateway to the Rockies" because it is an important stopover and resting place for many Texans on their way to the ski slopes of northeast New Mexico and Colorado.
Get in
- US 87 connects Dalhart to Clayton, New Mexico to the northwest and Dumas to the southeast.
- US 57 connects Dalhart to Guymon, Oklahoma to the northeast and Tucumcari, New Mexico to the southwest.
- From I-40 west of Amarillo, take Highway 385 north from the small town of Vega, about 80 minutes.
Get around
As with most other towns in the area, a car is a necessity.
See
XIT Ranch MuseumFocuses not only on the (no longer existent) three-million-acre ranch which blanketed the area, but also has exhibits on local wildlife, railroad history of the area, and the role of the County Sheriff in Old West life.
Do
XIT Rodeo and ReunionHeld the first weekend of August every year, features live music, professional and amateur rodeo events, the world's largest free barbecue, and other activities.
Lake Rita Blanca ParkOn the south edge of town offers hiking, biking, and horse trails and makes a good place for birdwatching. The 2,168 acre park was once Texas' most northernmost state park but is now administered by the city of Dalhart.
Eat
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Bar H Steakhouse
phone: +1 806 244-3813address: 1010 US Highway 54 E
Sleep
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Days Inn
phone: +1 806 244-5246address: 701 Liberal StClean rooms, indoor swimming pool.
Go next
- Rita Blanca National Grassland, contact office in Clayton, New Mexico, 505 374 9652. To the north and northwest of town, over 77,000 acres of what was once the XIT ranch are now preserved in this parcel of Cibola National Forest. The area provides excellent birdwatching and offers limited antelope hunting by special permit.
- Stratford, northeast on Texas 54, is a small historic depot town with many homes from 1900-1910.