On the northern edge of Lubbock, a quiet bend of Yellow House Draw hides one of the most important archaeological sites in North America. Excavations at Lubbock Lake Landmark, first noticed when a reservoir was dredged in the 1930s, have uncovered a nearly continuous record of people living on the Southern Plains for around 12,000 years — from Clovis hunters to Apache, Comanche and later ranchers.
The site is a National Historic Landmark and a unit of the Museum of Texas Tech University. An interpretive center explains the finds, and walking trails loop through restored shortgrass prairie past the excavation areas. In summer you can often watch archaeologists at work.
Top things to do: Lubbock Lake Landmark
The interpretive center
Exhibits explain what has been found here — tools, hearths and the bones of mammoth, ancient bison, horses and other Ice Age animals — and how the landscape changed from a spring-fed stream to today’s dry draw.
Walk the archaeology and nature trails
Trails of a few miles in total loop through the preserve, with signs at former excavation areas. Look for prairie wildflowers in spring, hawks, burrowing owls and prairie dogs.
Watch a summer dig
The landmark runs field excavations in summer. Visitors can often watch from viewing areas and ask questions — check the schedule before you go.
Family programmes
Hands-on events and special days for children are held through the year, from flint-knapping demonstrations to night-sky programmes.
How to get there
- Location: off Loop 289 and Indiana Avenue on the north side of Lubbock, about 10–15 minutes from downtown.
- By car only: there is free parking at the interpretive center.
Insider tips
- Admission has typically been free, with donations welcome; opening days are limited (usually Tuesday–Sunday) — check before visiting.
- Bring water, sunscreen and a hat for the trails, and stay on the paths — rattlesnakes live here too.
- Pair with the Museum of Texas Tech to see more of the finds.
Pair it with a tour
GetYourGuide has no bookable tours in Lubbock itself yet, so these are the best-rated experiences that fit naturally into a trip that includes Lubbock Lake Landmark:
Walking tour from $40 Santa Fe: Guided Historic Downtown Walking Tour
US-84 runs almost straight from Lubbock to Santa Fe, which makes the New Mexico capital (around five and a half hours away) the classic extension of a South Plains trip. This two-hour walk with a museum-trained docent unpacks four centuries of Pueblo, Spanish, Mexican and American history in the adobe streets around the Plaza.
- 400 years of history around the Santa Fe Plaza
- Pueblo-style adobe architecture explained
- Led by a museum-trained docent
Guided tour from $48 Roswell: Guided UFO Incident Tour
Roswell is roughly three hours west of Lubbock across the Llano Estacado — an easy, classic road trip. This two-hour guided tour walks you through what happened in the summer of 1947, the places tied to the story and the theories that followed, so you get far more out of the town than a quick photo with an alien statue.
- The timeline of the famous 1947 “flying saucer” story
- Sites connected to the incident around Roswell
- What ufologists and sceptics have argued since
