Alibates Flint
13,000 years ago, this site was well-known by mammoth hunters as a source of flint for tools. Centuries passed, but the colorful flint never lost its value or usefulness in the Texas Panhandle. Learn how important this site was to the survival, commerce and culture of the people of the High Plains.
17 May 2023
A visit to this unit offered us a small glimpse of life of the Native American tribes that inhabited this area of the Texas panhandle. A must do for this Unit is a Ranger led trail hike as you cannot see the Quarries without being on a Ranger led hike. You need to reserve a spot for this hike that is done once a day. We started our visit at the Visitors center to take in the offered movie and exhibits. The unit makes it their focal point to teach about the people that inhabited the area as well as the Alibates Flint that is only found here. After taking in the Visitor Center, we meet up with our Ranger. We headed up to the trailhead and the start of our hike. The hike is a one-and-a-half-mile round trip hike. From the start to the top of the Mesa was broken up by three stops that our Ranger used to talked about the life and needs of the inhabitants of the area. At the top of the mesa, we got to explore a few of the Quarries. We had a great day to take in this site and with the Ranger hike we spent three hours here. We also got to take home a few pieces of Alibates Flint that came from outside the park boundaries.
Click here for photos of our visit
161st NPS Unit
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