Adventure Guide to Oklahoma (Hunter Travel Guides)

288 Pages·1999·2.65 MB·English

dv enture Guide to
Oklahoma
Lynne M. Sullivan
HUNTER
HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.
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ISBN 1-55650-843-3
©1999 Lynne M. Sullivan
Maps by Kim André, © 1999 Hunter Publishing, Inc.
Cover photo: Steve Vidler (Leo de Wys)
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Contents
INTRODUCTION!
How to Use This Book 3
Getting There 6
Getting Around 7
Getting Started 8
Adventures 11
Climate 18
Get a Pass 20
Who Ya Gonna Call?? 20
OKLAHOMA CITY 25
History 26
Touring 27
Adventures 37
Where to Stay 39
Hotels 39
Chain Hotels 40
Bed & Breakfasts/Small Inns 40
Where to Eat 41
Where to Shop 44
Touring Nearby Towns 45
TULSA 59
Touring 59
Adventures 64
Where to Shop 66
Where to Stay 67
Hotels 67
Chain Hotels 67
Bed & Breakfasts 68
Where to Eat 69
Touring Nearby Areas 69
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA 73
Touring 73
Hunting the Uncommon 86
Adventures 89
On Foot 89
On Wheels 95
On Horseback 101
On Water 102
iv n Contents
Where to Stay 111
Hotels, Resorts & B&Bs 111
Camping 117
Where to Eat 117
Where to Shop 120
Powwows, Festivals, Arts & Crafts Fairs 123
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA 127
Touring 129
Adventures 141
On Foot 141
On Wheels 157
On Horseback 161
On Water 165
Where to Stay 177
B&Bs, Lodges & Cabins 177
Spas 182
Camping 182
Where to Eat 183
Where to Shop 186
Powwows, Festivals, Arts & Crafts Fairs 187
SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA 189
Touring 189
Adventures 203
On Foot 203
On Wheels 214
On Horseback 218
On Water 219
Where to Stay 223
Hotels & Inns 224
Campgrounds 226
Where to Eat 226
Where to Shop 229
Powwows, Festivals, Arts & Crafts Fairs 231
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA 233
Touring 233
Adventures 238
On Foot 238
On Wheels 249
On Horseback 253
On Water 254
Where to Stay 257
Hotels, Inns & Ranches 257
Guest Ranches & Cattle Drives 259
Camping 260
Contents n v
Where to Eat 260
Where to Shop 262
Powwows, Festivals, Arts & Crafts Fairs 263
n Maps
Oklahoma 1
Oklahoma City 25
Tulsa 59
Northeast Oklahoma 74
Northeast Oklahoma Adventures 90
Southeast Oklahoma 128
Ouachita National Forest 130
Southeast Oklahoma Adventures 142
Southwest Oklahoma 190
Southwest Oklahoma Adventures 204
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge 206
Northwest Oklahoma Adventures 234
Introduction
he opportunity for adventure in Oklahoma is enormous. The two
Tmajor urban areas, OklahomaCity andTulsa, offer explorers a vast
variety of museums, parks, gardens, and outdoor activities. When you
get out into the countryside, snoop around the small towns, and visit the
resorts, state parks, andwilderness areas, you truly experience the best
of the state.
Other than mammoth Texas, there isn’t a state in North America with
more natural and cultural diversity. OklahomaCity is the capital and
geographic center of the state. Northeast of this midpoint is “green
country,” a potpourri of mountains, rivers, state parks, and tallgrass
prairie. To the southeast is “Kiamichi country,” with dense pine for-
ests, tree-rimmed lakes, and misty mountain streams. “Southwest
territory” offers dramatic landscapes dominated by theWichitaMoun-
tains, which lure artists and writers as well as avid outdoorsmen. The
“high plains” stretch northwest into the Panhandle, sprinkled with
slow-paced towns and geologic mysteries that occur nowhere else in the
world.
Introduction
2 n Introduction
More Native Americans live in Oklahoma than in any other state. Some
of the 39 tribes headquartered here are truly native and lived in the area
before Columbus discovered America. Others arrived in the 1830s when
the US government established Indian Territory as a convenient dump-
ing ground for native tribes who were hindering white settlement in
other states.
The Five Civilized Tribes who established protected capitals here dur-
ing the 19th century are the Choctaw and Chickasaw fromMississippi,
the Seminole from Florida, the Creek from Alabama, and the Cherokee
fromCarolina, Tennessee, andGeorgia. TheCherokeemove in 1838was
a four-month struggle that became known as “The Trail of Tears.”
Many adventures in this book relate to the Native American people be-
cause they have given Oklahoma a distinct personality and authentic
character. Numerous place names are Indian words – “Oklahoma” is
Choctaw for “red men” – and every region holds events to celebrate In-
dian customs. If this part of history interests you, use this book to seek
out the best powwows, historical re-enactments, and native exhibits.
Expect to be surprised if your idea of Oklahoma comes from reading
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck never set foot onOkla-
homa soil, and the image he created of an entire state of “Okies” fleeing
froma “desolate, arid dust bowl”was simply fiction.Only a small portion
of western Oklahoma experienced the devastating wind-driven drought
and destruction that ravaged parts of middle America during the 1920s
and 1930s – and even those parts have healed quite nicely.
Youwon’t find singing cowboys dressed up in gaudy outfits like the char-
acters in Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical, Oklahoma!, either. The
true state is something between these two extremes – an extraordinary
mix of nature, history, and culture. Big cities and all-but-deserted small
towns. Breathtakingly beautiful mountains and miles of tedious flat-
land. World-class art collections and the World Championship Cow
Chip Throw. Some images will always define Oklahoma: Cowboys and
Indians; Will Rogers and Troy Aikman; oil tycoons and prohibition-era
gangsters; illegal “Sooners” and land-run “Boomers”; Garth Brooks and
Belle Starr; Woody Guthrie and Jim Thorpe; dirty-faced rescue workers
and the entire University of Oklahoma football team.
This book will help you discover the real Oklahoma. A wide range of ac-
tivities has been chosen to appeal to most every taste and skill level.
There are suggestions for the avid sportsperson seeking the ultimate
How to Use This Book n 3
challenge as well as information on ventures safe enough for families
with young children.
If you’re a curious armchair traveler, this book describes the state’s
best-known attractions so that you almost experience them yourself.
If you’re looking for solid details on where, when, and how to hike, bike,
float, fish, climb, ride, explore, and enjoy Oklahoma’s bounty, you’ll find
them on the following pages.
OK Facts & Stats
n Oklahoma covers 69,919 square miles on the American
Great Plains.
n It is bordered by Missouri and Arkansas to the east, Texas
to the south andwest, NewMexico across the narrowwest-
ern edge of the panhandle, and Colorado andKansas to the
north.
n Just over 3,000,000 people live in the state – about 70% of
them in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the largest cities.
n Approximately 250,000 Native Americans live in
Oklahoma.
n The state capital is Oklahoma City.
n It became the 46th state on November 16, 1907.
n The highest point is Black Mesa at 4,973 feet.
n Nicknamed the Sooner State, Oklahoma’s motto is Labor
Omnia Vincit (Labor Conquers All Things).
n The state bird is the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
n The official state flower is mistletoe, and the state tree is
the redbud.
How to Use This Book
Two interstate highways, I-35 and I-40, cut Oklahoma into almost
equal fourths and converge in the center of the state, which is also the
middle of Oklahoma City, the capital. This division corresponds almost
exactlywith the state’s fourmain geographical regions, and the four sec-
tions of this guide cover each area. Two additional sections cover the
metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Introduction
4 n How to Use This Book
Within each of these six sections, you will find chapters on all types of
adventures to be takenOnFoot, OnWheels, andOnWater. Other chap-
ters are geared toward the basics, includingWhere to Stay andWhere to
Eat. Each section also includes just enough history and geography to
make your explorations interesting, a few tips to smooth your journey,
some frank evaluations, and plenty of resources to consult for additional
information.
The six regional sections begin with a Quick Start Introduction of
relevant history, principal sites, andmajor activities. Touring actually
puts you on the road and leads you along scenic routes to the best sites in
that city or region. As the road trips progress, you are given valuable de-
tails such as addresses, directions, landmarks, phone numbers, prices
and hours of operation. Contact information for city, state, and national
agencies that provide useful maps and brochures is also given, either in
the text or at the end of the chapter. These resources are listed again by
category at the back of the book.
Chapters on specific adventures follow the driving-tour chapter in each
regional section. OnFoot suggests hiking/backpacking trails, interpre-
tive walking paths, rock climbing locations, and public golf courses. On
Wheels includes bike routes along back roads, information onmountain
bike trails, and directions to areas open to motorcycles and off-road
vehicles. On Water covers canoeing, rafting, kayaking, boating, and
fishing on both rivers and lakes. Oklahoma is horse country, and On
Horsebackwill guide you to camps and trails open to horse owners, sta-
bles that rent by the hour, and companies that run “city slicker” trips.
Sometimes, the same trail, river, mountain, or lake is mentioned in
more than one chapter because a terrific hiking path through a forest
may also be the best equestrian route, and a stretch of river that looks
like a canoe trail to one reader may look like a fishing hole to another. If
you’re interested in a certain activity, turn directly to that chapter. If
you want to investigate all an area has to offer, skim through the pages
and search for that location in boldface type.
After the adventure chapters, you’ll find Where to Stay, Where to
Eat, and Where to Shop.
Oklahoma urban areas are as modern and convenient as the rest of
North America, and you can find chain hotels, familiar restaurants, and
shoppingmalls scattered throughout the state. At times, you will be ad-
vised to use these well-known establishments simply because they are