Welcome to Day 20 of 31 Days of Awesome Fall Activities! I originally planned to have a more current post of our visit to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, but my daughter got sick, so we had to cancel those plans. Visiting a State or National Park is a fantastic activity to do with your children in the fall. The weather has cooled off, the trees are changing colors, wildlife is preparing for winter. There is so much to do and see in the fall at a park. Plus, most State and National Parks are free to enter. You can also do a fun scavenger hunt while you are there. You can click here to get a free scavenger hunt printable, perfect for any age child.
The article below is about our visit to the park in the Summer, but you can do all of the same things at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
The Wichita Mountains is a pretty spectacular sight to see. We drove along the prairies of Oklahoma, coming from Oklahoma City on the turnpike, then suddenly there are mountains in view. Huge stacks of boulders seem to be piled on top of one another to form mountains. It’s a beautiful sight, with flat prairies between the mountains. I have visited, hiked and camped at the Wichita Mountains many times before I moved to NW Oklahoma. There are so many places to hike, explore and rock climb. You could go 50 times and discover something new each time. They have camping sites, a visitors center, hiking, rock climbing, prairie dog town, lakes, lake recreation, animal sightings and more. This visit was the first time I took my girls, and it was not long enough.
About the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
A little about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was established to protect wildlife species that were in grave danger of extinction, and to restore species that had been eliminated from the area. Bison were reintroduced, along with elk and wild turkey. More recent reintroductions include the prairie dog, the river otter, and burrowing owls. The refuge provides habitat for large native grazing animals such as American bison, Rocky Mountain elk, and white-tailed deer. Texas longhorn cattle also share the refuge rangelands as a cultural and historical legacy species. More than 50 mammals, 240 bird, 64 reptile and amphibian, 36 fish, and 806 plant species thrive on this important refuge. You can learn more on their website.
Hiking and Exploring
After breakfast in Medicine Park, we headed to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. We stopped by The Holy City first, it is pretty close to the entrance. The hiking there is relatively easy, not a lot of hills or rock climbing. There are several structures including a small chapel. Pasion Plays have performed there annually. You can see video and photos of past Pasion Plays. I just find it to be a fun and easy hike, with lots of structures and small hills for the girls to explore. They have a little gift shop, and there were hummingbird feeders hanging outside. We witnessed quite a few of the tiny birds fluttering around and my girls really enjoyed seeing them, as did I.
Visitors Center
We drove to the Visitor’s Center next and walked around in their nice cool air-conditioned building. The Center is pretty informative and is interactive also. It is a neat place to visit, and a great way to cool down, refill water bottles, learn, and purchase some souvenirs.
Prairie Dog Town
Our next stop was Prairie Dog Town. We got a kick watching these sweet little dogs run, play and communicate with each other. It was fascinating! My youngest giggled and giggled watching them.
I would have loved to hike a lot more and stay longer, but our next stop was The Tiger Safari in Tuttle. I know we will visit again in the near future. There is just too much to see not to visit this place many times.
Conclusion
Have you visited the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge? What’s your favorite part of the park?
Don’t Forget to check out the rest of our series. Click the image below.
Pin It
