5 Day Road Trips to Take and Explore Oklahoma
The team at Ada Smile Place loves taking their kids on fun, adventurous trips across the great state of Oklahoma. Today, we’ll look at some of the places beyond Ada where we’ve had the most fun road trips and what we did while we were there.
1. Enid
Drive time: 2 hours, 52 minutes
It’s no secret that Oklahoma’s biggest attractions lie in its small towns. Any direction you turn, you end up in a picturesque place with diverse topography and overflowing culture and history. Let’s head northwest of Ada, Oklahoma, to Enid and go back in time to the Old West. With several buildings over 100 years old and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, history buffs won’t know where not to look. So put on your best pair of cowboy boots and take a journey through history, learning all about the cowboys and oil barons who shaped the town’s future.
After that, head over to Leonardo’s Children’s Museum for some old-fashioned family fun. With their outdoor Adventure Quest science playground, you’ll earn another “Best Mom/Dad in the World” cup, for sure. You should also check out the tinkering area, where imagination and creation unite, or pet some friendly critters at the Critter area. If you’re feeling brave, you might also want to try sleeping on the Bed of Nails. Enid is full of amazing things for you to do and would make a wonderful addition to your family road trip.
2. Tulsa
Drive time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Nicknamed the green country, Tulsa is a bustling metro with plenty to offer the whole family. The Tulsa Air and Space Museum, for instance, houses every era of Oklahoma aviation gadgets, from the smoke-filled balloons used in the beginning of World War II to the Space Age to present day. It also has plenty of hands-on activities for the kids, and if you want to learn more about space, they have daily screenings on astronomy, earth science, constellations, and art history.
The Oklahoma Aquarium is another place you might not want to leave out of your family road trip must-visit destinations. For one, it’s the largest indoor ocean in the four-state region, with the most diverse range of aquatic creatures. It’s also the best place to get a behind-the-scenes look at marine life like never before. You can get an up-close look at your favorite aquatic animals. Help the staff train the otters, try your hand at feeding the zebra sharks, and even watch the juvenile bull sharks or the famous loggerhead sea turtle, Seamore, as they feed.
3. Oklahoma City
Drive time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Now would a list of fun road trips to explore beyond Ada really be complete without a stop at the great city of Oklahoma? We don’t think so. First on our list is the unforgettable train ride on the Heartland Flyer Route. It will take you all the way to Fort Worth, Texas, and back. You can choose to stay there overnight or squeeze in several adventures in the many stops you’ll make along the way. Next, you can check out the guided hikes at the Martin Park Nature Center. You’ll get a front row seat to the magnificent nature of the Sooner State. From the beautiful grasslands, rocky streams, and thick foliage, you’ll feel the healing powers of Mother Nature all around you. And if you have a little bit of time to spare, check out the Riversport Adventure Park. Your kids will have the time of their lives white water rafting and kayaking.
4. Medicine Park
Drive time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
From mountains and rivers to scenic trails and welcoming locals, the resort town of Medicine Park has it all. With its magnificent views and spectacular wildlife, a trip to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in the nearby town of Lawton will satisfy the whole family. You don’t even have to venture across the town borders for some excitement; Medicine Park itself has a veritable menu of fun. Go swimming at Bath Lake, a lagoon cordoned off by natural rocks. Or explore Medicine Park’s Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center, which has an enormous tank with a huge blue catfish that visitors swear loves to pose for photos. Turtle Town is also right outside the center, and your little ones can feed the turtles before you take a walk through the reptile exhibit.
5. Sand Springs
Drive time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
If your family enjoys hiking, then a fun road trip to Sand Springs may just be the one for you. Go on mini-hikes through the Keystone Ancient Forest, where you’ll walk through 300-year-old post oak trees and see deer, mountain lions, or bobcats in their natural habitats. Parents with young kids will fare better on the 15-minute Childers Trail, but if your children are a little older, go for the Frank Trail. It’s a 2.8-mile round trip trail, with a grand view of the Arkansas River.
There you have it folks — five of our favorite family-friendly road trips to explore Oklahoma. We hope you have as much in the places listed in this post as we did. Feel free to tell us all about it on our Facebook page or during your next dental checkup.
