The Canadian River Breaks: Amarillo to Higgins
About 150 miles from Amarillo past Alibates and Lake Meredith to Borger, across the oil field to Pampa, and on US-60 through Miami and Canadian to Higgins.
The Route at a Glance
North of Amarillo the Canadian River runs in its breaks below the plain. This drive takes TX-136 down toward the river at Fritch and Borger, TX-152 east across the oil field to Pampa, and US-60 through the railroad towns to Canadian and the Oklahoma line past Higgins, about 150 miles, three and a quarter hours without stops. The High Plains & the Canadian River Breaks covers the country around it.
About thirty miles out on TX-136, Cas Johnson and Alibates roads lead some five miles to Alibates Flint Quarries, where the quarry pits can be seen only on a ranger tour booked ahead. Fritch, by Lake Meredith, is named for H. C. Fritch, the Rock Island vice president who bought the right-of-way in 1924. The coming of Sanford Dam led it to incorporate in 1959, and the recreation area keeps its headquarters there. The highway goes on to Borger and the Hutchinson County Museum.
TX-152 crosses the Panhandle field. Gas came in north of Amarillo in December 1918, Gulf's Burnett No. 2 found oil south of Borger in 1921, and in 1927 the field produced more than 40 million barrels. Its gas reservoir is centered on Pampa, where the White Deer Land Museum and the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center are both on South Cuyler Street.
From Pampa, US-60 runs northeast through towns laid out in 1887 along the Southern Kansas Railway, later the Santa Fe, as it built in from Kansas. Miami began as a workers' camp at the end of the track, and its 1888 depot holds the Roberts County Museum. Canadian, laid out that spring on the south bank of the river, has the River Valley Pioneer Museum, the Citadelle and the 1916 wagon bridge, now a footpath. FM 2266 leads east to Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area and Lake Marvin. Higgins, named for a Santa Fe stockholder, is the last town, two miles short of the state line.
The Drive, Stop by Stop
11 stops along the route, in driving order from Amarillo, Texas to Oklahoma line east of Higgins, Texas. 3 of them sit off the road itself — the distance is noted on each.
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That's the drive. Take your time, pull over often, and let The Canadian River Breaks: Amarillo to Higgins do what it does best.
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