Childress is bordered on the west by Hall County, on the southeast by Hardeman County, on the northeast by Harmon County, Oklahoma, on the north by Collingsworth County, and on the south by Cottle County. Childress is situated 110 miles (180 km) from Amarillo on the west, 155 mi from Lubbock, Texas to the southwest, and also 110 miles (180 km) from Wichita Falls on the east. It is situated at the intersection of United States Highways 287, 62, and 83, which extends from Brownsville to Laredo in South Texas to North Dakota. Because of its location, Childress is known as the "Gateway to the Panhandle". Childress is only a few miles from the Oklahoma state boundary, but because of the routing of Highways 83 and 62, the one-way drive to Hollis is about thirty miles. The area surrounding Childress is popular with hunters for quail, deer, dove, and wild hogs. Baylor Lake, located nine miles (14 km) to the northwest, is known for bass fishing.