Great Plains Country, Oklahoma
In southwestern Oklahoma the golden shortgrass prairie extends for mile after undulating mile, mirroring the sky in its vastness. Less than a century and a half ago, the Southern Plains were the domain of the Kiowa and Comanche, who hunted buffalo on horses bridled with Spanish silver and traded with the Wichitas, farmers who lived in grass houses. To the Kiowa, the earth was sacred, and the Wichitas believed their ancestors lived on in the 650-million-year-old granite boulders of the Wichita Mountains. Travelers exploring the region today may encounter moments of similar reverence -- watching the sun set from atop Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, for instance, or watching an eagle soar in winter. A rowdier spirit lives endures in the area, too: Teddy Roosevelt created the wildlife refuge after he traveled to Oklahoma Territory to hunt wolves. Bison now graze on the 60,000-acre preserve, along with longhorn cattle, antelope and elk -- rugged mountain biking, hiking, camping and backpacking are permitted in some areas.
Explore Great Plains Country
Quartz Mountain Trails
Two hiking trails are located near the park office. The New Horizon Trail, a rugged 1/2 mile path, explores the habitats of the mountain and takes the hiker 3/4
, OK Hiking TrailsFort Cobb State Park
Camping - There are 274 electric/water hookups, and over 750 unimproved and primitive campsites in Fort Cobb's 10 campgrounds. The park has six comfort stations with showers, two comfort stations without showers, and four sanitary dump stations, and 28
, OK State ParksStephens County Historical Museum
The Stephens County Museum, located at the old National Guard Armory, was accepted into the National Registry of Historic Places in the Spring of 1997.
Visiting the museum can transport you back into a simpler time; you can literally "step" into Grandma'
Duncan, OK MuseumsHotel Frederick
Built in 1929, the lobby and business areas of the Hotel Frederick were hubs of activity in town. The Blue Room was the site for elaborate dinners, as well as every formal function in town. Now, after restoration in the 1990
Frederick, OK Historic HotelsOld Plantation Restaurant
Medicine Park, unique with its eccentric cobble buildings, was originally founded on July 4th, 1908 by Oklahoma Senator Elmer Thomas. Medicine Park was Oklahoma's first planned tourism resort located in the Wichita Mountains that drew state legislators, journalists and gangsters. Listed on the <
Medicine Park, OK Historic BuildingsWichita Mountains NWR - Camping
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of camping opportunities.
- Doris Campground is a modern camping facility with individual and group sites.
- Fawn Creek Campground Lawton, OK Camping
Red Rock Canyon Camping
Red Rock Canyon is one of the most beautiful examples of nature's artwork in Oklahoma. Wind and water have shaped 260
, OK CampingOld Town Museum Complex
The Old Town Museum complex is the steward for the present generation in preserving those moments of life experienced in settings like the interior of the Rock Bluff School, the Pioneer Chapel and early day pioneer doctor'
Elk City, OK MuseumsFoss Lake State Park
Foss State Park sits on parts of the 60 miles of shoreline of western Oklahoma's largest lake, Lake Foss. The park has 8 campgrounds consisting of 110 Campsites, Swimming Beach, Boating, 6
, OK CampingAnardarko Basin Museum of Natural History
The Anadarko Basin Museum of Natural History is located in the old Casa Grande Hotel, which was headquarters for the US Highway 66 Association National Convention on April 27, 1931. Two hundred twenty-five delegates attended the convention and 30,000
Elk City, OK Museums