Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma

May 11, 2026

We've seen lots of mountains in our travels, and as it happens with mountains (and people, too), the prize for the most beautiful and dramatic tend to be awarded to the youngest contestants. While the ancient Wichitas are somewhat lacking in stature and grandeur, we found them to be quite worthy of a one-week stop nonetheless.

The weather had been quite capricious the last week or so, oscillating between fair and foul, warm and cool. Our travel day began warm and sunny, but became progressively cooler and drearier as the day went on. Even though the travel time was only about three hours, we made a stop at three grocery stores along the way, and that made for a fairly long day.

Not far from our destination, we entered the Fort Sill Army Reservation to the sounds of deep thundering booms. The reservation is a basic combat training facility, training over 20,000 personnel annually in field artillery, air defense artillery, and electronic warfare. Fortunately for us, the training quieted down after our second day.

We thought it best not to tarry on this road too long.

Entering Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

We encountered wildlife in short order. While the Texas longhorn cattle aren't particularly "wild", they have been established here to "preserve the cultural and historical legacy of the breed".

Our campground was conveniently located within the wildlife refuge. After getting settled into our campsite and having dinner, it was time for our weekly virtual cards game with family. Since our cell signal was fairly week, we drove down the road a bit to hang out with the buffalo because their cell reception was much better than ours. As an added bonus, we were treated to a fantastic sunset.

Our first day was quite chilly, so that day was set aside for bread making and a short stroll along the lake behind our campsite.

Due to the tight radius of the camp road, it was a little challenging to get into this spot, but Rick is a pro now!

We had a lot of squirrels at this campsite!

The path to Quanah Parker Lake behind our campsite

We didn't have many neighbors during our stay

After strolling around the muddy shore for a while, we decided the lake was best viewed from a distance.

It's wildflower season here!

After a couple of days, the weather improved, with gorgeous sunshine and temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Our hike on Thursday was our first "real hike" of 2026, on account of it featuring a triple-digit altitude change.

Lost Lake Random side note: We have found in our travels that "Lost" is a fairly popular name for a lake for some reason.

Soon after starting on the trail, we crossed over an old dam.

They don't make them like this anymore!

A juvenile collared lizard (the adults are much more colorful)

This canyon feature was named "Forty Foot Hole"

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Another old dam

When we first saw this guy, we thought it was a lost toy. Then it moved!

The collared lizard, a.k.a. the "mountain boomer"--the Oklahoma state reptile. It was very nice of him to stay still while Julie got a close-up of him.

The next day, we checked out some other sights: The Holy City and the town of Medicine Park, two destinations that seem unlikely to be situated so close to one another.

According to TravelOK.com:

Located in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge just 22 miles northwest of Lawton, the Holy City of the Wichitas stands on a 66-acre area that looks much like Israel during Biblical times. Inside the city, you'll find numerous full-sized buildings and structures, including the temple court, the Lord's Supper building, Herod's Court and Pilate's judgment hall, all built with locally-quarried granite in the 1930s. You can also explore areas designated as Calvary's Mount and the Garden of Gethsemane, in addition to watchtowers and perimeter walls. The site is also home to the nation's longest-running annual Easter passion play, "The Prince of Peace." American theaters showed newsreel footage, and in 1937 the U.S. government produced a full-length film of the pageant. Attendance reached an all-time high in 1939 when 225,000 visitors jammed Audience Hill for the sunrise performance.

While we appreciated the intention to replicate the Holy Land, we don't think the execution quite lived up to the above description. None of the structures in the "city" were labeled, so it was difficult to determine which was which. Few, if any, appeared to be "full-sized", and the architectural style missed the mark by quite a bit. However, if viewed through the lens of theater props, we can see (kind of) how the gist of ancient Jerusalem could be evoked, if you used your imagination.

We stopped briefly to watch the always-cute prairie dogs

We were surprised by this rat snake (a.k.a. bull snake) in the middle of the road

More mountain boomers!

The on-site chapel had some interesting paintings done by a local artist

From there, and for a completely different experience, we visited the hippy town of Medicine Park. The place got its start in the early 1900s as a spa resort because the original native Indians believed that Medicine Creek had special healing powers. After the Depression, the town declined for some time, only to be revived later as an artists' enclave. If you like funky, you'd love Medicine Park!

The giant bird houses are vacation rentals

The building with the green wall is a restaurant. We weren't sure if they were finished with the exterior or not.

The restaurant had an interesting tank named Julie

A better view of the restaurant The restaurant is on the bottom; a separate drinking establishment occupies the top floor.

The restaurant was mostly carry-out. Looks like they grow their own sprouts.

The restaurant was part of a mini-neighborhood of shipping container buildings that we think were vacation rentals (but maybe people lived there).

It wasn't evident if the pile of wood in the parking lot was part of an in-process wood sculpture or if the pile of wood itself was a sculptural feature.

This door in the middle of someone's yard was one of the most normal things we saw.

Very attractive Wichita Mountains scenery

The following day was a gorgeous sunny day, and we took a trail right off the campground to the top of Little Baldy. This little hike definitely ranks in our top 10 list of unexpectedly fun and scenic hikes right off of a campground.

Little Baldy up ahead

Must. Take. Picture. Of. Pretty. Lizard.

With Julie's bum knee, she finds it much easier to "crab walk" down steep rocky piles like this

A more modern dam than we've seen recently

On our final day, we rode our bikes through the wildlife refuge and up to the top of Mt. Scott.

Note the icon of the tank in the red crosshatched area at the bottom!

The first part of the ride was along a rough service road. (Fat tires to the rescue!)

Riding up Mt. Scott

We made it to the top! (It's a lot easier with an ebike!)

Letting the brakes cool on the way down

The historic Ferguson House

A couple of parting shots...

The lake behind our campsite

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