Located a little over 45 minutes from Altus, OK (heading towards Lawton) is the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. It is home to plenty of wildlife, the Holy City, trails for hiking, and part of Ft. Sill’s Artillery Range.
It is totally free to go through as well as going through the museum at the Visitor’s Center
It’s a small museum, but kind of cool to look at the history of the area. Plus, there are fake animals and they make for good photo opportunities for the kids!
What to Do
There is a variety of things to do in the refuge! We drove through it to see as much as we could.
Some of these sights I’ll be talking about in later sections, but here’s the gist of it all:
- Variety of Animals
- Dam/Overlook
- Hiking
- Visitor’s Center (Museum and Gift Shop)
- The Holy City
- Meers
Animals to See
- Herds of Bison
- Longhorns
- Elk
- Prairie Dogs, etc.
There will be areas that you can pull over and just try and look or just pull over to the side of the road and see them. That’s really what I did to get the pictures that I did.
When we went and drove through, we mainly saw Bison, Longhorns, then saw the Prairie Dogs on the way to The Holy City.
You could get pretty close they are used to seeing people, but I wouldn’t try and disturb them.
Also, I know we didn’t see any Elk, but from talking to other people around the base, they had seen herds of them. So, it really is up in the air on when you would see a specific type of animal!
Hiking
The one time I went exploring (I know…I meant to go more, but I got lazy) with my friend Rachael, we went to a spot that they normally have open to just drive up (we were lazy then too I guess). But, the gates were closed for driving and we really didn’t come prepared to hike. We saw a lot of other people going up the trail though!
So, if you didn’t get the hint…go prepared to hike. JUST IN CASE.
But, really, there are around 16 different trails spread throughout the refuge that span over 30 miles! The hike we didn’t do leads up one of the mountains and is said to have really good views of yes, flat Oklahoma.
The Holy City
You might be wondering, what the heck is a “Holy City” doing in the middle of Oklahoma? (Because, honestly, that’s what I thought too.)
At first glance, it looks like just some really old structures that were taken maybe from the area of Israel, but they were constructed to be a place to retell the story of Jesus Christ. They have a play they put on every Easter Sunday (if you’ll be there around that time, I unfortunately wasn’t) based on His life.
It was really amazing though to walk through these structures, especially if you do know (most of) the story of Jesus Christ. It has a chapel, gift shop, walking paths, AND an 11 foot tall Jesus statue titled “Christ of the Wichitas.” It looks exactly like other Jesus statues in Brazil and Poland, just a tad bit shorter!
The area of the Holy City does overlook parts of the refuge and mountains, which can make for some fantastic photos. Also, the animals easily can walk around in the Holy City (just watch where you walk, the Bison really like to use the bathroom around the area), so get your camera ready!
Meers
As you get tired and hungry throughout the day, just head Northeast and out of the refuge and go to Meers. As soon as you enter the city, there will be a run-down looking restaurant (it used to be an old gold-mining city). YOU HAVE TO EAT THERE.
Their burgers are what makes them most famous (the Meersburger) and it was delicious! Its a huge burger, so make sure to bring your appetite, but DEFINITELY leave room for their homemade ice cream and cobbler.
SO GOOD. I’m definitely drooling thinking about it all right now!
This area is definitely a place that I will be back to (since I will be returning to Altus) and hope you get a chance, if you’re ever in the area, to go to as well!
If you have been though, I would love to hear your stories, comments, or any questions you might have! Just feel free to comment them below!
You can see the refuge’s website here if you are more interested!
