9 Of The Most Eccentric Towns In Oklahoma

Oklahoma does not appear to belong anywhere. Is it in the Midwest? Not quite. The Great Plains? Only partly. The South? According to the US Census Bureau, technically, yes. Given its geocultural uniqueness, the Sooner State abounds with towns that you would sooner call eccentric than ordinary. Confirm this for yourself at a roadside blue whale, catfish noodling tournament, "million dollar" tree stump, and other attractions that cement such towns as weird and wacky and definitely worth a visit.

Catoosa

Route 66 is such a major attraction in Oklahoma that the state offers a Route 66 Passport. Holders are encouraged to explore the hundreds of miles of roadways and check off dozens of roadside oddities. One of the biggest is the Blue Whale of Catoosa. Stretching 80 feet long (about the size of a real blue whale) and breaching a small pond, the sculpture has carried Catoosa for over 50 years. Yet it is not Catoosa's only sight to check off the passport. Head a couple of miles south to the DW Correll Museum, whose two buildings display everything from antique vehicles to a mummified cat.

Chickasha

Though not on Route 66 or the Route 66 Passport, Chickasha is quirky enough to be an honorary 66er. Among the Chicka-sights to check out are the Muscle Car Ranch, which is an open-air museum of old signs and vehicles, and the Chickasha Leg Lamp, which is a 40-foot replica of the salacious lamp from A Christmas Story.

If you visit in November or December, you can see already colorful Chickasha in its most ornate state. The Chickasha Festival of Light welcomes winter with literally millions of lights as "one of the top holiday light shows in the nation."

Pauls Valley

Pauls Valley promises action figures and catfish—and no, it is not catfishing you. It is a genuine hub of those vastly different things, thanks to the Toy & Action Figure Museum and the Okie Noodling Tournament and Festival. The former houses more than 13,000 action figures and other toys on South Chickasaw Street, while the latter involves catfish noodling (AKA extreme hand fishing) at Wacker Park in June. 2025's biggest catch weighed 63.82 pounds. If you do not want to noodle catfish but would still like to eat catfish, visit Punkins BBQ & Catfish on West Grant Ave.

Pawhuska

Part of the 1910s-1920s Osage oil boom, Pawhuska prospered like few other places on planet Earth. So many oil leases were sold under a single tree that it was dubbed the Million Dollar Elm. But, as Killers of the Flower Moon detailed, Pawhuska's prosperity was marred by mysterious murders. Even the Elm's successor was killed by an unknown assailant in 2024. A monument to the original Elm adorns the Osage Nation campus, as do many more unique structures. This is also true of the nearby Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, whose prodigious plants are, thankfully, still standing.

Heavener

There is Heaven, and then there is Heavener. Until Heavenest is discovered, you must accept that the next best thing is an Oklahoma city known not for angels or gemstones, but for runestones. Various rocks with runic inscriptions have been found across the state, with none more famous than the Heavener Runestone. Attributed to Vikings but likely carved by a more modern Scandinavian, the 12-foot-by-10-foot slab has its own park, Heavener Runestone Park, and its own festival, the Viking Festival. After assessing this geologic oddity, assess the neighboring topographic oddity of Cavanal Hill, which is called the "world's highest hill" despite rising mountainlike ~2,000 feet above its surroundings.

Kenton

As you may have noticed, geography is one of the quirkiest components of Oklahoma. Yet another example is found near Kenton, a tiny town in the already unique Oklahoma Panhandle. This High Plains salient boasts Oklahoma's highest point, Black Mesa, which is a short jaunt from Kenton and spans two other states: Colorado and New Mexico. However, at nearly 5,000 feet above sea level, Black Mesa's summit has no prominence (flat prairie), making its ascent anticlimactic compared to that of Cavanal Hill despite being over twice its height. A more climactic hike can be done in the literal footsteps of dinosaurs just outside Black Mesa State Park.

Arcadia

Review your Route 66 Passport while traveling through Arcadia. Located near Oklahoma City, this small Route 66 town has multiple attractions to check off the passport. First is the Arcadia Round Barn, a rounded red landmark dated to 1898 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Second is the Pops 66 Soda Ranch, which, true to its name, sells several hundred kinds of soda next to a 66-foot LED bottle. After completing Arcadia, check off a ton of Route 66 oddities in Oklahoma City and neighboring Edmond, especially the American Pigeon Museum & Library in the former and Blocworks in the latter.

Medicine Park

Medicine Park was founded as a resort town for its healing water and distinctive red cobblestones, which allegedly attracted everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to Will Rogers to Al Capone. Around a century later, you can experience what those legends experienced by exploring Medicine Creek, which falls and flows in spectacular ways before emptying into Lake Lawtonka, and by touring numerous cobblestone structures, especially The Old Plantation Restaurant. Built in 1910, it served as a hotel for decades before becoming a restaurant and enduring icon of old Medicine Park. Try its traditional Oklahoma fare, like fried catfish and skookie (a big chocolate cookie baked in a cast iron skillet and topped with vanilla ice cream).

Claremore

For even more Route 66 collecting, visit Claremore, which sits just northeast of Catoosa in the Ozark foothills. Check off the antique guns at the JM Davis Arms & Historical Museum; regional oddities at the Claremore Museum of History; Will Rogers artifacts at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum; and peanuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, and various other nuts at The Nut House. Moreover, if you come during the last weekend of April, you can cap off your Route 66 adventure at Woolly Weekend. This annual event celebrates sheep-shearing at Shepherd's Cross Farm in the Claremore outskirts.

Perhaps it is not fair to say Oklahoma does not belong anywhere. Forget the South, Midwest, and Great Plains; Oklahoma is south and west of normal but certainly not mid, and great but certainly not plain. Verify its elevated place in the ether of eccentricity at Catoosa, Chickasha, Pauls Valley, Pawhuska, Heavener, Kenton, Arcadia, Medicine Park, and Claremore. Make that offbeat trip through the Sooner State sooner rather than later.