Using the broader colloquial definition of the Palo Pinto Mountains, they cover all of
Jack and
Palo Pinto Counties, most of
Stephens County, large parts of
Parker,
Montague, and
Wise Counties, and smaller portions of
Young,
Cooke, and
Clay Counties. This area includes the towns of
Bowie (on the northwestern fringe),
Graham,
Jacksboro,
Bridgeport,
Decatur (on the eastern edge),
Breckenridge,
Mineral Wells, and
Springtown. It also includes
Possum Kingdom Lake and its
state park as well as a new state park, not yet open to the public, acquired by the state in 2011. Using the strict definition of the Palo Pinto Mountains, the only road that crosses the range is
US 180, which enters from the east at a
pass known as
Metcalf Gap, although
State Highway 16 south of US 180 runs adjacent to the eastern
escarpment of the cuesta. Regarding the broader region, however,
US 380 and
State Highway 114 traverse the area's northern fringes, and
US 281 runs north-south through the region;
State Highway 59 also runs through the northeastern portion. Numerous
farm-to-market (FM) roads, most notably
FM 4, also cross the area. ==References==