Dumas, TX

*Photos courtesy of Windows on the Plains Museum*

Dumas Chamber of Commerce

The Art Center - A rewarding stop.  Located next to the Window on the Plains museum this is your opportunity to tour the gallery or visit with artists as they are working.

Moore County Historical Museum "Window on the Plains" - A must see!  Located at 1820 S. Dumas Avenue across from the Visitor's Center  right on Hwy 287.  We have preserved our heritage here.  You will find displays and artifacts depicting life in Moore County, Texas throughout its history here.  Guided tours are available.  One of the best County Museums you will visit!

Cactus Playa Lake - A real treat for the nature tourism fan.  A playa lake northeast of Dumas, just off Hwy 287 is under development where you can observe hundreds of species of birds in migration.  The fertile grain fields and our playa lakes attract these birds to our area on their migration patterns.  An observatory and visitor center are under construction, and should be open in late fall or early next year.

Pheasant Trails Golf Course - A real treat for golfers.  Golf Digest has rated this a golf course and one of  the best values in northern Texas.   Located just off FM 119 to Sunray this 18 hole Championship Course is one of the few in the area with watered fairways.  Par is 71, but difficult to obtain on this great lay-out.  The course features bent-grass greens, with sand, water, and trees to add to the difficulty.  Tee times are available and at around $15, you'll find this a true value in recreation.

The Carriage Company - Take a romantic, horse drawn carriage ride for up to six, or how about a horse drawn wagon hay ride for up to 20 people.  This unique new attraction offers customized excursions in an elegant horse drawn carriage or a team drawn wagon that will accommodate up to 20 folks.

Other Area Attractions
Lake Meredith and Alibates Flint Quarries

If you are interested in doing some sightseeing and learning about the area's historical background, Lake Meredith and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is the place to head, located 35 miles outside of Dumas. The scenic views and rich history make for a great educational and recreational experience. Alibates was mined from 10,000 BC to possibly the 1800's by Native American tribes for multicolored flint used for tools and weapons. The area was populated by Apaches, Kiowa's, Southern Cheyenne's and Comanche's who dominated after the 1700's.

Guided tours of the Alibates Flint Quarries are conducted Monday through Friday at 10 am and 2 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Otherwise tours are by reservation only. To make a reservation contact the visitor's center at 875-3151.

Lake Meredith's blue water and canyon walls with white limestone cap rock offers many scenic views. The lake offers many different recreational activities: picnicking, camping, boating, swimming, fishing, all terrain vehicles, water skiing, sightseeing, and even scuba diving. Fishing from lakeside and out on the water is a well-loved activity. The lake contains many types of fish: large and small mouth white bass, catfish, white crappie, sunfish, carp and walleye. Along with the variety of fish, this area is home to around 80 species of birds including ducks, wild turkey, quail, doves and geese.

Boating is a popular lake sport. Boat permits are available at the visitor's center 24 hours a day by machine, and annual stickers can be obtained Monday through Friday 8 am - 4:40 pm. They will be available on weekends in May from 9 am to 5 pm. There are boat rentals available at the independently operated lake marina as well a fishing room, opportunities for the kids to feed the fish, marina spaces and a small store and fuel pumps.

ATV is another activity available in the recreation area. South of Dumas and just off of U.S. 287 near the Canadian River, off-road enthusiasts can take their toys out for a spin in what is fast becoming the most popular off-road park in the region. Just clean up after yourself and where helmets!

Moore County YMCA

The YMCA is committed to helping you and your family stay healthy. Memberships are available, or you can walk in and enjoy the many services available on your visit to Dumas. Your membership includes access to state of the art fitness centers, swimming pool, gyms for basketball, racquetball, and volleyball, studio for group exercises like aerobics, kickboxing, and hip hop. There is a "Kid Watch" program to keep your kids busy while you work out or play, and the The Zone is also available for older kids. It has two different gaming systems projected onto the walls. The PS2 features Guitar Hero and the Xbox, Kenetic Controllers. The Zone also has Air Hockey, electronic bean bag toss, and a Dodgeball area. We are continually updating the Zone, so come on by and see what is new!

Local Annual Events
Dumas Noon Lions Dogie Days

Dogie Days Facts

The first Dogie Days was held July 31-Aug 3, 1946. It evolved from what was formerly called the Dumas Annual Old Settler's Reunion and Rodeo. It was sponsored by the Noon Lions in an effort to meet commitments made to the Llano Estacado Boy Scout Council to aid the Don Harrington Ranch home in scouting.

Barbecue
7600 pounds of meat is cooked in a covered pit with 15 cords of wood for 24 hrs.
40 gallons of barbecue sauce
800 pounds of beans
200 pounds of onions
228 gallon cans of peaches
300 loaves of bread
Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people are fed at the barbecue every year.
Hamburger Stand
14,500 hamburger patties are ordered each Dogie Days.
Cokes
Approximately 8,000 cans of soft drinks are used each year.
Curley Q's
2500 pounds of potatoes are cooked into curly Q fries.
Rooster Eggs
5760 cans of biscuits are deep fried into rooster eggs or approximately 57,000 individual rooster eggs. And they normally sell out every night.
Hot Dog Wagon
600 hot dogs are sold.
Pickup Raffle
Approximately 32,400 tickets are sold for a chance on the vehicle each year.
A vehicle has been given away continuously since Wayne Smith became ticket chairman in 1972. It was a 1972 Plymouth Duster.
The first vehicle ever given away was approximately in 1957.

Old-Fashioned Fourth of July

Join Dumas residents on the 4th of July as we mark another year of freedom, of independence, and of tradition in the Texas Panhandle. In addition to a variety of wholesome family activities, McDade Park is the setting to bring your children to enjoy our petting zoo, an arts/crafts fair that showcases booth after booth of wonderful creations, more food than you can shake a stick at, live entertainment performed by musicians who'll keep your feet tapping, and a mud volleyball tournament that you'll want to have your camera primed and ready to record. Mud Volleyball has become a main attraction for the celebration. At the end of the day, enjoy the eye-catching fireworks display that can be seen for miles around sponsored by the City of Dumas.

Candy Cane Lane-Celebration of Lights

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we doll up our courthouse square in Christmas lights, decorate the grounds with food booths, arts and crafts booths, a Santa's House attended by the jolly old elf himself, seasonal singing, a wagon ride and more festivity than you can believe without actually coming to see for yourself!

McDade Park

McDade Park holds numerous events throughout the year, but the regular attractions are what keep people visiting year round. A great selection of playground equipment is available to the younger kids, while the skate park draws the older ones. A walking trail attracts those wishing to have a peaceful stroll or an energetic jog and the shelters are available for both small and large groups. With an authentic F4 Phantom on the park grounds and a veterans' memorial wall, this park is a peaceful place to come and relax, think about the peace and freedoms with which our nation is blessed--and even get the kids away from the video games for a day in the park!

Swimming Pool

Filled with splash pads, water slides and pools, the water park opened the summer of 2009 within McDade Park for all to enjoy.