View of the newly reconstructed Wichita County Safety Rest Area
Location
US 287 - Northbound, west of Iowa Park
Latitude = 33.9659 Longitude = -98.7084
Features
Air-conditioned lobby and restrooms
Men's and Women's Restrooms
Diaper Changing stations
Picnic Tables
Drinking Water
Security Surveillance
Family/Assisted Restroom
Storm Shelter
Handicap Access
Vending Machines
Miscellaneous
Reconstructed facility anticipated to open in Spring 2022. The new building design is a modern version of a dogtrot, a historical wood house type consisting of two rooms of equal size separated by a breezeway, found in the transitional Crosstimbers and Rolling Plains ecoregions of Wichita Falls area. The new design also has a butterfly roof, intricated brickwork, and clerestory windows to bring natural light into interior spaces.
The county was named for the Wichita Indians, who migrated to the area from present Kansas and Nebraska in the middle 18th century. The county's recreational opportunities include Lake Arrowhead State Recreation Area and other area lakes including Lake Wichita located just south of City of Wichita Falls.
Sheppard Air Force Base, located just a few miles north of the City of Wichita Falls, is home to the Air Force's largest training wing: the 82nd Training Wing (82 TRW). The base also is home to the 80th Flying Training Wing (80 FTW) which conducts the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program, the only multinationally staffed and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for both USAF and NATO