Notes
Lee and I just got back from a short trip to Merus Adventure Park in the Palo Duro Canyon area of Texas, and it delivered exactly what we were hoping for, great trails, big scenery, and two full days of memorable wheeling.
We did a day’s drive from Fort Collins to Amarillo, spent two full days at Merus, then drove home on the fourth day. Merus sits on privately owned land with a huge amount of terrain to explore, and the setting alone is worth the visit. The landscape is dramatic and wide open, and it feels very different from what we’re used to in Colorado.
The trip came together thanks to Lee, who planned the whole thing and handled all the navigating. That made it easy for me to focus on driving and enjoying the trails. Our wheeling group was two vehicles, Lee and me in our 2-door JL, and Darren in his highly modified GMC Envoy. We were really glad Darren joined us. Having a second capable rig along gave us more flexibility and confidence to run harder trails, and it also meant we had extra help if anything went sideways.
Over two days, we ran a mix of trails, including about four and a half of the park’s “7-rated” trails, plus a bunch of easier ones. For us, the 7-rated trails were right at our comfort limit – in a good way. They were steep, technical, and required slow driving, careful line choice, and clear communication. At one point we were descending an obstacle at a 42-degree angle, and there were other sections with serious off-camber turns that demanded full attention.
We also ran Huckleberry, which is a Jeep Badge of Honor trail. That was a fun checkbox since we were in a Jeep, but it’s also just a good trail regardless of what you drive.
One thing that stood out happened on day two when another Jeep ahead of us had a mechanical issue on a tight trail section. It was one of those situations where you hear that unmistakable “snap” and immediately know something in the drivetrain let go. They ended up with a front axle problem and later had additional trouble moving under their own power. Darren helped pull an axle to get one of the wheels spinning freely. The Merus staff also arrived for recovery efforts and Darren provided some additional pulling power, along with the Merus recovery Jeep.
Between trail runs we took time for a short hike. The area is full of interesting geology. We found a lot of petrified wood, saw some wildlife, and at one point we could hear coyotes in the distance.
Weather-wise, we lucked out. We had temperatures in the 60s and 70s, which made for great February wheeling.
On the way back, Darren split off and took a faster route. Lee and I took a more scenic route and made a few detours. We found a geocache, drove to the top of Capulin Volcano, and ran Trinchera Pass, over 40 miles of unpaved road.
I’m still slowly working through the Insta360 footage and posting trail videos as I finish them (below). We’ve posted four videos so far from part of day one, and I’m guessing we’ll end up with around 15 by the time we’re done. The only 7-rated trail video up now is Starlight, with more to come.
