Sights & Attractions in The Panhandle

Panhandle Sights

The Panhandle stretches from the state's border with Oklahoma south to U.S. 180, Amarillo and Lubbock being its main towns. Though not technically the Panhandle, also included for the purposes of this chapter is the section north (and just a bit south) of U.S. 180 going east to the west side of Fort Worth; Abilene and Wichita Falls are here. Though it's a big region, it's surprisingly simple to putter from town to town and city to city. Once visitors arrive here via Abilene, Lubbock, or Wichita Falls, they find a network of interlacing highways to follow. There are plenty of smaller, meandering roads, too, but it's best to stick with the larger ones in the interest of time—not to mention, the byways can be disorienting in a terrain spread with a constellation of small towns and interrupted by long patches of bald desert and oilfield equipment. Gas up in the larger towns.

The Panhandle region is often called the High Plains because it is composed of what's called the North Plains (anchored by Amarillo) and the South Plains (anchored by Lubbock). The North Plains' crops are wheat, corn, and sugar beets, and the planting and harvesting schedule is like that of most of the Plains states; while in the South Plains, cotton is king (half of the state's cotton comes from here), and it's harvested well into December.

View all sights