Oklahoma's Overlooked Mountain Range Is One Of The Oldest In America And A Gorgeous Outdoor Playground

It's fair to say Oklahoma doesn't top many lists of America's best hiking states. Even AllTrails has it at No. 36, with only 637 trails in its database, compared to thousands for hiking-famous states like Colorado, Utah, and California. But one often-overlooked Oklahoma mountain range is worth considering if you've got travel plans in the Sooner State. Called the Arbuckle Mountains, they rise from the middle of southern Oklahoma and are one of the oldest ranges in the country.

Named after Matthew Arbuckle, a mid-19th-century brigadier general, the mountains contain granite and gneiss rocks in their core that are around 1.3 billion years old. For context, that makes them more than twice as old as the Cambrian explosion, the evolutionary period during which life began to acquire its diversity and complexity, and most of the major phyla — the taxonomic category between class and kingdom — first appeared. Changing climate conditions, sediment deposits, and weather erosion over an unfathomable period of time have left the mountains in their current state: split by the 350-feet-deep Washita River canyon, dotted with lakes, and home to tumbling falls and winding mountain trails. 

All of this has turned the mountains into a gorgeous outdoor playground. Explore Turner Falls Park, a "geological window" onto America's past, with its lovely nature trails and rock pools, atmospheric caves and exposed ancient rocks, and RV areas and campgrounds. Hit the trails and look out for bison herds, flying squirrels, and armadillos at Chickasaw National Recreation Area. While just south of Sulphur, a small but scenic Oklahoma city, sits the 2,300-acre Lake of the Arbuckles. Part of the recreation area, it has 36 miles of shoreline, is a prime spot for summer boating and swimming, and offers some of the best freshwater fishing opportunities in the state. 

Turner Falls Park is home to Oklahoma's tallest waterfall, which plunges 77 feet over a cliff face into the rock pool below. Geologists come here to inspect the park's three natural caves, as well as the granite and sedimentary stone formations that serve as records of the earth's history. No matter if rocks don't excite you: There are 1,500 acres of land within the park grounds, including scenic trails, picnic areas, natural pools for swimming, and, oddly enough, a partially ruined, graffiti-splattered, medieval-style castle that was home to the Dean of Oklahoma University, Ellsworth Collings, back in the 1930s.

Hiking trails weave through the park, connecting key landmarks, like Turner Falls, Honey Creek, Collings Castle, caves with period-style names like Robbers and Wagon Wheel, and pavilions and picnic areas. In the Level 3 area of the park (the only area with free parking), there are longer, more remote trails, taking you on loops through the forested Arbuckle Mountain hills. In summer and fall, one of the more unique ways to get a good view of the park is on the 777 Zip, a zip line that soars above Honey Creek. The number 7 is significant: You zip 727 feet in approximately 77 seconds, just off Highway 77, while taking in the view of the 77-foot Turner Falls.

You'll find numerous accommodation options in the park, too. You can bring your own tent, reserve a cozy, glamping-style teepee, or park up your RV for the night. There are screened shelters and bunkhouses for larger groups, log cabins for those who want to stay in style, and surprisingly well-appointed covered wagons — a good option if you want your vacation to be reminiscent of simpler times, without sacrificing home comforts. Be sure to make accommodation reservations in advance through the Turner Falls Park website.

Lake of the Arbuckles, the major lake in the Arbuckle Mountains, sits in Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Vacationers come to this broad expanse of clear water to boat, swim, fish, or just camp and picnic by the water's edge. Anglers send out their lines, tempting the lake's catfish, bass, and crappie, or one of the other fish species living here. 

Boaters will find four launch ramps dotted around the shoreline, while paddlers are also free to take their vessels onto the lake. Nearby Veterans Lake, a little upstream of Lake of the Arbuckles, might be better suited to canoeists and kayakers, as wake boat use is not allowed there. Swimming is permitted in most areas of the park, except around boat ramps and fishing docks, but one of the best areas for a dip is Little Niagara in Travertine Creek, where two small falls converge.

When not on the water, make use of the recreation area's 30 miles of trails, mixing deciduous forests, mixed-grass prairie, trickling streams, and lakefront views. The Travertine Creek Trail is a good starter trail, a gentle 1.5-mile route connecting the Travertine Nature Center, where you can learn about the region's ecology, and Pavilion Springs. The West Bison Pasture is a 2-mile loop where you can see Chickasaw's grazing bison — you can up the challenge with a couple of steeper side trails here. There are longer, multi-use trails in the Rock Creek area, running through prairies. Though beware these trails pass through hunting areas, so you'll need some high-visibility gear during hunting season, and they can become a little overgrown in spring. Though you can camp in the park, it's only a 90-minute drive from Oklahoma City, where you'll get big-city amenities at an affordable price.