10 Darling Small Towns in Oklahoma

Oklahoma reads better off the interstate. Guthrie was the state's first capital and never got around to giving up the Victorian main street it built in the 1890s. Medicine Park was the state's first resort town, with a downtown of cobblestone cottages instead of lumber. Eufaula spreads out along the biggest lake in the state, and Arcadia fits two of the most photographed stops on Route 66, the 1898 Round Barn and the soda-bottle tower at POPS 66, into a single afternoon. These ten small towns are where the state's Western, Native, and lakeside traditions actually live.

Guthrie

Guthrie, home to around 11,000 residents, keeps the fun going all year with festivals almost every month. Each April, the town kicks off with a carnival and parade celebrating its birthday. When summer arrives, Red Brick Nights brings live music and downtown block parties. In the fall, the October Wine Festival and Guthrie Haunts Halloween Festival draw costume crowds. The Christmas celebration is a particular hometown favorite, with a festive parade, holiday shopping, and a Victorian House tour. Nearby Liberty Lake and Guthrie Lake give visitors a break from the festivities with fishing, boating, camping, and swimming.

Arcadia

Arcadia has a population of just under 200 but punches well above that on Route 66 itineraries thanks to a pair of improbable landmarks sitting a few minutes apart. The Round Barn, built in 1898, is the only barn of its shape still standing in the state, its curved roof held up by steam-bent green burr oak timbers. A short walk away, POPS 66 Gas Station pours more than 600 varieties of soda under a 66-foot illuminated bottle. Crestview Farms, just outside of town, runs a seasonal pick-your-own berry operation.

Medicine Park

Medicine Park, population 450, was founded in 1908 as Oklahoma's first resort town, and the original cobblestone cottages still line its streets, each one built from rounded stones pulled out of Medicine Creek. Bath Lake, at the center of downtown, has a waterfall and staged swimming areas going shallow-to-deep, the same layout the town's early 20th-century visitors would have used. The adjacent Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge covers 59,000 acres and holds one of the largest free-ranging bison herds in the country, along with prairie dog towns and Rocky Mountain elk.

Eufaula

Eufaula sits along Lake Eufaula, the biggest lake in the state, with a 20-block historic downtown and a population of around 2,800. Several marinas along the shoreline run boat rentals, and guided services like S&S Guide Service run crappie fishing trips out of the reservoir, a lake well known for its crappie population. The trails at Little Turtle RV Park & Horse Resort handle the horseback side of things. The town runs BARKtoberfest in October, the Lights on Eufaula holiday display in November, and the Cookie Crawl in December.

Stillwater

Stillwater, population 49,000, is the home of Oklahoma State University and the birthplace of Red Dirt music, the rougher-edged cousin of Texas country that came out of the bars and farmhouses of Payne County in the 1970s and 1980s. Tom Skinner and Bob Childers are the names most tied to the movement, and the Bob Childers Gypsy Cafe music festival runs here every spring as a continuation. Allie P. Reynolds Stadium and Heritage Hall Museum cover the football and athletics side of OSU.

Tahlequah

Tahlequah, population just under 17,000, is the capital of the Cherokee Nation and has served in that role since 1839, when the tribe arrived here at the end of the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum sits in the oldest public building in Oklahoma, and the nearby John Ross Museum covers the life of the principal chief who led the tribe through the relocation era.

On the water side, Tenkiller Ferry Lake and Fort Gibson Lake are both within easy reach, with more than 350 miles of shoreline between them. The Illinois River handles the float trip traffic in summer, with outfitters running canoes and rafts down some of the better stretches.

Ardmore

Ardmore is a southern Oklahoma town of about 25,000 with a long agricultural and ranching history and a cultural calendar built around both. Hardy Murphy Coliseum runs rodeos, horse shows, and barrel racing events through most months of the year. Swadley's Barbecue handles the post-rodeo appetite.

Ardmore Regional Park has a lake, soccer fields, and softball complexes for the outdoor crowd. The Ardmore Farmer's Market runs in season on Main Street and pulls in the surrounding Carter County growers.

Yukon

Yukon sits along Route 66 just west of Oklahoma City with a population of around 26,000 and a self-awarded title of "Festival Capital of Oklahoma" that the town's calendar more or less backs up. Christmas in the Park, Concerts in the Park, Freedom Fest for the Fourth of July, the Oklahoma Czech Festival, and the Pumpkin Harvest Craft Festival keep the public schedule full. Chisholm Trail Park covers the outdoor side, with Mulvey Pond and Freedom Trail Playground filling in for shorter family outings.

Muskogee

Muskogee, population around 37,000, sits at a long-standing crossroads of American and Native American history. The Five Civilized Tribes Museum, housed in a former US Indian Agency building, covers the Cherokee, Muscogee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations that were relocated to the region in the 19th century.

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, located here, celebrates Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Kristin Chenoweth, and a long list of other Oklahoma performers. The Muskogee Little Theatre runs a regular slate of productions. Honor Heights Park covers the outdoor angle with formal gardens, walking paths, and the Papilion, a walk-through butterfly enclosure open seasonally.

Woodward

Woodward, population just under 12,000, sits on the northwestern Oklahoma prairie and runs its calendar around the outdoor draws. Boiling Springs State Park, one of the state's original seven parks from the 1930s, centers on a natural spring that pushes sand up through the water in a way that makes it appear to boil. The adjacent Boiling Springs Golf Club handles the 18-hole side. The Woodward Arts Theatre, built in 1929, still runs live shows out of its original interior, and Sweet Surprises Bakery handles the post-show sweet stop.

Oklahoma City and Norman collect most of the headlines, but the state's real texture, the original capital in Guthrie, the cobblestone cottages in Medicine Park, the Cherokee courthouse in Tahlequah, is spread across these ten smaller towns. They reward the detour.