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
Percussive Arts Society Museum
The Percussive Arts Museum and Library are currently closed and have been moved to Indianapolis, IN with the administrative offices as of April 2007. The PAS Museum and Library will open in a new space downtown Indianapolis in 2008.
Lawton, OK Museums
Flying W Guest Ranch
The Flying W Ranch has RV hookups available for 10 vehicles near the lake. This area has a convenient shower house. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the variety of critters around the farm, including goats, lots of beautiful riding horses, cattle, buffalo. It'
Elk City, OK RV ParksQuartz Mountain Golf Course
Breathtaking natural beauty is probably the most distinguishable feature of Quartz Mountain Golf Course. Located at the base of rocky Quartz Mountain on the western edge of the Wichita mountains range, the course is surrounded by a sea of sage and prairie grass.
Altus, OK Golf CoursesNational Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians
The National Hall of Fame of Famous American Indians was established to recognize famous Indians. It was a chance to provide a portrait in bronze bust for people to touch and see the famous people in a three dimensional likeness that they read about in history books. Formed in 1952
Anadarko, OK Halls of FameWichita Mountains NWR - Hiking
The Refuge maintains four series of hiking trails as well as wayside exhibits throughout the Public Use Area. While visitors may hike anywhere in the Public Use Area of the Refuge, these trail systems are maintained for optimum viewing opportunities, ease of access, and diversity of scenery.
Lawton, OK Hiking Trails
The Meers Store
The Meers Store, serving up plate-sized longhorn beef burgers, is all that remains of a boom town born in the Wichita Mountains turn-of-the-century gold rush. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was once a drugstore, doctor'
Meers, OK One Of A KindsMuseum of the Great Plains
At the Museum of the Great Plains, the natural and cultural history of the Great Plains of north America is studied and shown in many exhibits and programs that will be enjoyed by all members of the family. Special events include a twice-yearly encampment of 1830
Lawton, OK MuseumsSayre City Park
The Sayre City Park offers an abundance of activities all within a half-mile radius, such as a well maintained nine-hole golf course with cart rentals available, an 18
Sayre, OK RecreationOld 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 Museums