11 Amazing Oklahoma Day Trips That Are Worth The Drive
Whether you are looking for a fun day out filled with history or outdoor adventure, these 11 Oklahoma road trips reveal some of the state’s best destinations. At Natural Falls State Park, you can hike scenic trails that lead to a dramatic 77-foot waterfall. Beyond the outdoor escapes, a day trip can also have you reliving the Route 66 days in Arcadia or exploring the legacy of Will Rogers at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore. From swimming holes to cobblestone towns, these day trips prove Oklahoma is packed with worthwhile places to discover.
Natural Falls State Park
Only about an hour to the east of Tulsa, near the Arkansas border in the Ozark Highlands, is Natural Falls State Park. There you’ll find several miles of hiking and nature trails for outdoor adventures. However, the highlight is a 77-foot waterfall, cascading into a clear, spring-fed pool at the base of the bluff. Renowned for its beauty, the park was the setting for parts of the movie “Where the Red Fern Grows.” In addition to natural beauty and wildlife, the park offers a variety of facilities and amenities for visitors, including picnic areas, camping spots, volleyball, horseshoes, catch-and-release fishing, playgrounds, an 18-hole disc golf course, and more. If, as the day comes to an end, you realize you will want to come back for an extended stay, you can reserve one of the park’s yurts.
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Pawhuska
About an hour outside of Tulsa and two hours and 15 minutes from Oklahoma City, a day trip to Pawhuska could start about 17 miles north of the town at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Here, the beauty of the Tallgrass Prairie, which once covered 170 million acres in North America, is celebrated and preserved. Today, less than 4% remains intact. In addition to hiking the trails, visitors can tour the ranch, go fishing in one of the three ponds, learn about the prairie at the visitor’s center, and possibly see a herd of bison.
Returning to Pawhuska, stop by the Osage Nation Museum to learn about the Osage people's culture and history through exhibits and classes. But make sure you save time to explore downtown, where 86 of the 98 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Travel through Oklahoma's Western film history at the Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum or stop by the Cathedral of the Osage (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church). This 1910 French Gothic-style church features 22 rare stained-glass windows.
Before you end your day in Pawhuska, grab a bite at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile, a restaurant, bakery, and store owned by Ree Drummond, of the Food Network’s The Pioneer Woman.
Chickasaw National Recreation Area & Turner Falls
Explore crystal-clear natural springs, rivers, and scenic trails at Chickasaw National Recreation Area, which is about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City and 160 miles outside of Tulsa. If you go on a warm day, grab a towel on your way out the door because you’ll want to take advantage of one of the many opportunities to get in the water. Lake of the Arbuckles is the largest lake in the area, offering places to swim, fish, and boat.
About 15 miles from Chickasaw is the city of Davis, where you’ll find Turner Falls Park. Visit the park for its swimming holes, hikes, and picnic areas, and for a 77-ft waterfall, one of Oklahoma’s most beautiful natural attractions. The more than 20 miles of trails that meander through a mix of eastern deciduous forest and the mixed-grass prairie are great for photography and birdwatching.
Roman Nose State Park
About two hours and 40 minutes from Tulsa and one hour and 20 minutes from Oklahoma City, is the historic Roman Nose State Park in Watonga. Nestled within a scenic canyon framed by towering gypsum cliffs and fed by three natural springs, this state park offers a wide range of outdoor recreation. Visitors can play the 18-hole golf course or explore hiking trails that lead to some of the most breathtaking scenery that Oklahoma has to offer. The trails cater to novice and experienced hikers.
At the no-wake lake, you can fish for trout, go canoeing and paddle boating, and swimming is allowed at the two pools. Mountain biking is also popular, and horseback rides are available by reservation. A walking tour of the park features several historic sites built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.
Medicine Park
Known as America's cobblestone community for the round red rocks dotting this picturesque town, Medicine Park is a three-hour drive from Tulsa and about half that if you’re coming in from Oklahoma City.
Nestled in the foothills of the Wichita Mountains, the downtown is small, but it has a lot to explore. Discovery Outpost is a one-of-a-kind children's book and toy store housed in a cobblestone cabin from the early 1900s. The original general store is restored and now home to the 1908 Emporium, a gift and souvenir shop.
The Medicine Park Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center offers an interactive nature and science experience. In addition to the more than 90 species on exhibit, the center also features a seven-acre botanical garden. A day trip can be rounded out with a scenic drive through Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, where, if you’re lucky, you might spot bison or elk.
Lake Murray State Park, Ardmore
Just outside of Ardmore’s city limits is Lake Murray State Park, less than 1 hour and 40 minutes’ drive from Oklahoma City. This 12,500-acre park is home to Lake Murray, where, if you’re looking for an outdoorsy day, you can swim, rent kayaks, hike scenic trails, or visit Tucker Tower for panoramic views of the lake
In town, you can choose from several museums to visit, including the Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Museum, located in the Ardmore Public Library. The exhibit features more than 300 rare and antique dolls representing a range of historical periods from the United States and Europe. The Greater Southwest Historical Museum details the area’s history from the mid-1800s to the present, and the Military Memorial Museum preserves military history and honors all veterans. There’s also the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum around 20 minutes away, which houses the World’s Largest Collection of Vintage Cowboy Entertainment Memorabilia.
Great Salt Plains State Park & Wildlife Refuge
Great Salt Plains State Park offers the normal fare of activities that you’ll find at a state park: boating, swimming, hiking, and exploring. It’ll take between two and two and a half hours to get there from either Oklahoma City or Tulsa, but the destination is worth the drive. The park covers 8,690 acres and has 41 miles of shoreline along a shallow, salty lake teeming with catfish, saugeye, sand bass, and hybrid striper.
Adjacent to the park is the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, where, between April 1 and Oct. 15, people can dig for selenite crystals. Oklahoma is possibly the only place in the world where the hourglass-shaped selenite crystal can be found. In addition to the excitement of finding selenite crystals, the refuge offers great birdwatching. Other attractions in the area include the Original Sod House Museum, which gives visitors a glimpse into how prairie settlers really lived.
Perry
If you are interested in Oklahoma history, then a day trip to Perry has to be on your bucket list. About an hour north of Oklahoma City and 75 minutes west of Tulsa, this town literally sprang up overnight when, with the crack of a pistol, the great land run started. The history of Perry and the region is preserved at the Cherokee Strip Museum & Rose Hill School.
In downtown Perry, you’ll find the Heritage Center and Ditch Witch Museum, which takes the visitor through the history of Ditch Witch equipment. The museum is housed in a 1893 building constructed soon after the Land Run. At Perry’s town square, you’ll find a mix of old and new in modern businesses, antique shops, and restaurants, including the Kumback Café, the longest continuously operating restaurant in the state. Just two miles outside of Perry is Perry Lake, a great picnic and lake day destination.
Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve, Bartlesville
Less than an hour’s drive north of Tulsa and about 2.5 hours northeast of Oklahoma City, Bartlesville offers an eclectic mix of culture and history, family fun, and outdoor adventures. At the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve, the 50,000-square-foot museum features a world-class collection of art, artifacts, aviation history, and more, while the 3,700-acre preserve outside is home to bison, elk, Sika deer, Fallow deer, Himalayan tahr, and other non-native species. Although you may not be able to get up close to the bison at the preserve, throughout the town, you’ll find 36 beautifully designed and painted bison. For film and history buffs, journey into Oklahoma’s past and present with a tour of 11 sites where Killers of the Flower Moon was filmed.
Musical Claremore
Fans of Will Rogers and the musical Oklahoma will enjoy a day trip to Claremore, just 30 miles northeast of Tulsa. Will Rogers and Lynn Riggs, who wrote Green Grow the Lilacs, which inspired the musical Oklahoma!, were both associated with Claremore, where their memories live on. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum features 12 galleries of artifacts and pictures documenting his life. The Claremore Museum of History is home to the Lynn Riggs Memorial Exhibit. Also at the museum are exhibits celebrating the accomplishments of astronaut Stuart Roosa, the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 14. The Patti Page exhibit tells about the singer's fascinating life and features one of her beautiful gowns, a gold record, and more.
Route 66 In Arcadia
The carefree days of Route 66 are still alive and celebrated in the Central Oklahoma town of Arcadia. A 30-minute skip out of Oklahoma City and about an hour and a half from Tulsa, Arcadia is home to OK County 66. Packed with Route 66 memorabilia, visitors can experience a miniature version of Route 66 attractions across the country, all in one place. From the Volkswagen Beetle hanging out of the building to the vintage signs, or the Captain America motorcycle from the film Easy Rider, there are tons of treasures to discover.
The Old Round Barn is another Route 66 stop. Built in 1898, today it houses the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society. A trip down Route 66 has got to include a stop at POPS 66. You can’t miss it, the store, which carries more than 600 soda flavors, has a four-ton, 66-foot sculpture of a soda bottle covered in multi-colored LED lights in its parking lot.
The Sooner State holds amazing sites and sights that can all make for a memorable day trip. On one of these trips, you might discover that the fishing is pretty good at Great Salt Plains State Park, or you might find a new treasure at one of the many antique shops in Perry. Wherever you decide to go, you’ll come home with a fresh appreciation for Oklahoma’s wide-open landscapes, welcoming small towns, and the kind of unexpected moments that turn a simple drive into a story worth telling.
