10 Amazing State Parks to Visit in Oklahoma (2024)
Oklahoma is the land of hills, valleys, lakes, and rivers. Also, a place where tornadoes happen a lot. Oklahoma unsurprisingly is home to some of the world’s fantastic parks. It might come as a surprise but there are certain gems in the state of Oklahoma, which are unknown to a lot of people around the globe. It is a land filled with mesmerizing and breathtaking salt flats, sand dunes, caves, and waterfalls. There are also several hidden parks that people might not have heard of before. The terrain is full of surprises and is something that should be explored.
10 Amazing State Parks to Visit in Oklahoma
Here is a list of some of the must-visit state parks in Oklahoma:
1. Salt Plains State Park
The Great Salt plains state park is 840 acres (about the area of Central Park in New York City) land, one of Oklahoma’s best-kept secrets is a state park which is in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. The park is located right miles north of Jet and twelve miles east of Cherokee. The park is unique for its salt flats to rolling hills and closely located wildlife refuge makes it an excellent place to explore the different outdoor activities.
The fact that this park has access to a nearby lake makes it one of the best places in Oklahoma for birdwatching. There are around three hundred distinct species of birds living under protection in the wildlife refuge. Visitors and tourists can look for selenite crystals on this land. A fun fact about the salt plains state park is that it is the only place on the planet earth where one can find hourglass selenite crystals. Boating, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, mountain biking and exploring are some of the few recreational activities that are available at the Great Salt Plains state park. The park is also known to have tent sites, picnic cabins, comfort stations having showers, swimming beaches, playgrounds, boat ramps and fishing docks. The best time to visit this park is when the weather in Oklahoma is cooler since it becomes too hot and humid during the months of July and august.
Date to visit the park: April 1- October 15 daily
2. Little Sahara State Park
Little Sahara State Park has incredible views of sand dunes towering as high as twenty-five to seventy-five feet into the air. Little Sahara State Park looks nothing less than a movie set. The state park has sand dunes covering 1,600 acres (about the area of Philadelphia Airport) of land; these dunes were formed when the Cimarron River flowed over the area during prehistoric times. The park is in the regions of northwest Oklahoma near Waynoka. Thís Incredible state park provides tourists with an excellent place to spend their day walking around, camping, and enjoying the breathtaking scenery. It is also known to be a popular dune buggy, off-road vehicle, and dirt biking destination giving an off-the-beaten-path experience. Here, Camping is available but there is no shade in the playgrounds.
Date to visit the park: November-march
3. Gloss Mountain State Park
Gloss Mountain State Park is an amazing place in Oklahoma for people to go for some fun outdoor activities like rock scrambling, hiking, and exploring. The state park comprises certain diverse landscapes, including cliff sides having a great red rocks view and various other types of terrain.
There is a designated trail composed of rocks, wood, and metal stairs with some handrails where visitors can go hiking the Cathedral Mountain Trail. The opening hours of the trail for the visitors are Monday to Sunday daily from sunrise to sunset. It is different from the other parks in Oklahoma since most of the parks focus on water-oriented activities and scenery. If a person is looking for an excellent adventure that gives exposure to nature and all its glory, one should consider visiting Gloss Mountain Park. The best time of the year to visit this park is the cooler months.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round
4. Robbers Cave State Park
Robbers Cave State Park is just another unique secret of Oklahoma, it is a park located in Oklahoma’s Sans Bois Mountains. It serves as a home to a gigantic cave that the visitors to the area can explore. Inside the cave is present a relic of the past that has also been the topic of debate among the visitors and the residents in the area. The cave has also served as a former hideout place for the wild west outlaws such as Jesse James and Belle Starr.
Robbers Cave State Park is made up of over 8,000 acres of land. Also includes the surrounding Wildlife Management Area. The area happens to be the home to a few wild animals and a beautiful forest. People come from all over the state of Oklahoma just to venture inside this amazing Robbers cave which is full of history and stunning hiking trails. There are plenty of outdoor activities available at this site such as hiking, camping, and rappelling serving as excellent places to go on a weekend getaway in Oklahoma. Fall is an incredible time to visit this park.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
5. Natural Falls State Park
The Natural Falls State Park of Oklahoma is well known for its amazing scenery of the incredible 77 feet tall waterfall known by the name of Dripping Springs. The park is situated close to the Oklahoma-Arkansas border in Colcord, in the Ozark Mountains.
The State Park is home to some of the beautiful scenery in Oklahoma, including the rolling hillsides with a few rocks strewn about them being an excellent place for hiking or just exploring the natural wonders of mother earth.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
6. GreenLeaf State Park
Greenleaf State Park is a good place to go hiking, camping, and swimming. It also has beautiful lake scenery. It has a unique Swinging bridge, which is nothing more than a wooden bridge suspended above the land. It is fun to walk across them and it is also one of the things that set Greenleaf State Park apart from all the other parks in Oklahoma. This park is also known to have one of the longest backpacking trails in Oklahoma, known by the name The Ankle Express. It has some amazing areas/grounds for camping as well. One of the famous campground areas is Cypress Row. Spring and summer are the preferable seasons to visit the GreenLeaf State Park.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
7. Quartz Mountain State Park
The Quartz Mountain built by the Civilian Conservation Corps is the best getaway to the beautiful Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. The state park is quite appealing for the outdoor lovers out there thus making it a great spot to enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and plenty of water recreational activities. Visitors can go to a nearby amusement park. The park also has five different camping areas with around a hundred primitive and many RV sites and cabins. The scenery at this park is just mind-blowing with all the hiking trails. The area is free from any pollution since it is remote. For hiking, summer, fall, and spring are recommended, however if one wants to spend time by the lake then summer is the best time to visit.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
8. Keystone State Park
Keystone State Park is in northeast Oklahoma and 1200 acres of park happens to be in an easy driving distance from Pittsburgh metropolitan area. This state park offers many different fun outdoor activities and accommodation choices for guests including swimming, hiking, fishing, boating, water skiing and watchable wildlife.
It has also got Pier 51 Marina, which offers boating equipment rentals as well as other things such as fuel, groceries, and other necessities for the visitors. It is considered to be a suitable place for day trips and family getaways in Oklahoma.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
9. Lake Murray State Park
Lake Murray State Park is one of Oklahoma’s first and largest state parks consisting of 12,500 acres (about twice the area of JFK Airport) of green forested and rolling hills around the beautiful Lake Murray. What makes Lake Murray State Park a favorite destination for the visitors is the park’s diverse terrain, exceptional trails, and historic sites as well as due to the outdoor water sports activities including fishing, boating, fishing, and swimming. It also has several golf courses as well.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
10. Beavers Bend State Park
Beavers Bend State Park is located on the foothills of the Kiamichi mountains. Green panthers around the globe can find several activities to immerse themselves in this park.
The park also hosts many entertaining events such as the Beavers Bend Folk festival and craft show. Hotels, RV spots, camping, and cabins can be found in abundance in this area. There is also a new casino with around 150 new gaming machines. Visitors can also find a variety of wildlife here including black bears, bald eagles, and woodpeckers. It has beautiful scenery, of the flora with certain hypnotizing colors.
Date to visit the park: Open all year round.
