1 Day in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma

Over the last 5 days of our road trip, we visited Magnolia Silos, toured Oak Alley Plantation in New Orleans, learned the history of Hot Springs National Park, drove the Talimena Scenic Byway and explored Oklahoma City. For our next leg of the journey we headed about 1 hour southwest of Oklahoma City.

Stop 1: Coffee

I know that Dutch Bros is a chain but I pretend it’s not when we’re traveling. Since we don’t have them on the east coast around where I am at, I pretend it’s a local coffee shop to enjoy when traveling out west. So, we made this our first stop of the day and enjoyed some holiday treats.

Stop 2: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Scenic Drive

After coffee, we headed to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. This was one of the destinations I was most looking forward to along the trip. It is supposed to be very pretty in the fall and has bison in the park!

We entered the park and started out by driving the 3 mile scenic road up Mount Scott. At the top was incredibly windy, but we had beautiful views of the refuge and could see some fall color at the top. After heading back down, we stopped into the Visitor Center and got a kick out of the labeling on their hand sanitizer (scroll through photos to take a look) and found a purse that has my name written all over it.

Stop 3: Quanah Parker Lake

You may not know who Quanah Parker is, but if you’ve heard or seen the book Empire of the Summer Moon, the book is focused on his story and tells the rise and fall of the Comanche Tribe and Quanah’s leadership during that time. I purchased the book on a trip to Big Bend National Park in December of 2019 in Alpine, Texas. I read it in February of 2020 and planned a trip shortly after to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas because I read about it in this book. Quanah is believed to have been born in these mountains which is why the lake is named after him.

We walked over to the lake and took a short trail toward the dam. The colors when overlooking the dam in the fall were beautiful. There were some yellows, greens, and browns and it contrasted well against the water and sky.

Stop 4: Hiking the Forty-Foot Hole Trail

In the park are a variety of hiking trails, but we decided on the Forty-Foot Hole Trail as it was only about 2 miles round trip and had great views. We weren’t sure what the terrain would be so we just hiked in sneakers and they worked out just fine. This was such a peaceful hike and a favorite memory from the trip.

Stop 5: Medicine Park

The town of Medicine Park is only about 15 minutes outside of the park. It’s an old resort town that was popular in the early 1900s and served as a gateway to the wildlife refuge. The buildings and streets here are unique as they are almost all made of cobblestone.

We grabbed lunch at the Old Plantation Restaurant in town. We split the best cheese fries I’ve ever had and then I got the country fried steak and Teddy got pork chops. The food was all so good that we even got dessert.

After lunch we walked around town and since we were visiting during the off season, it was pretty quiet. We could browse the shops without feeling overwhelmed and could get a sense for the town. I loved visiting the various buildings and exploring the area along Medicine Creek. I would love to come back during more peak season though and see all the people enjoying the creek.

Stop 7: Texican Court

We left Medicine Park and drove about 3 hours south toward Dallas / Fort Worth. We arrived right before dinner and checked into the hotel I was most excited about on the trip, Texican Court. My favorite type of hotel or accommodation is a boutique motel, ideally one that has been around for a while and has hosted many adventurers over the years. While this one was newer hotel, I still loved the way it was set up. There’s a pool, lawn area, fire pits, yard games, and more.

Stop 8: Dinner at Two Mules Cantina

After checking in, we went downstairs to grab dinner at Two Mules Cantina. We started off with chips and salsa and a margarita of course followed by a burger for Teddy and a salad and taco for myself. After dinner, we repacked our bags and got ready to check out in the morning do make one last stop before catching our flight later in the day.