Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge: Is One Day Enough?
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Definitely it’s not enough to explore Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in one day. There are so many things to do in Wichita Mountains.
But, sometimes one day is the only time we have. Like this our first visit to Wichita Mountains. We arrived one Friday morning at 10.30 and left the next morning before 8 a.m. because my son had a birthday party to attend at 1 p.m. in Fort Worth. (That’s a three and a half hour drive.)
Less than 24 hours visit, but we actually had fun. So, here’s what you can do at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge on your one day visit.
One Day in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Location: 32 Refuge Headquarters Road, Indiahoma, OK 73552.
Fee: Free of charge seven days a week.
Our Accommodation: Doris Campground (inside the refuge.)
Our Activities:
- Visited Holy City.
- Visited Mt. Scott.
- Observed Prairie Dog Town.
- Hiked Elk Mountain Trail.
Our Stories:
My watch showed 10.30 a.m. when we got to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge entrance. We were welcomed by prairie and mountains as we continued to the Visitor Center. But ahead, rain cloud was hovering in the sky.
So, we decided to drive straight to Doris Campground, our accommodation for the night. After we set up the tent, we saw that one of the tires was pretty low in air. Then we drove to the nearest town, Cache, to get it fixed. Great! We lost an hour of our exploring time to take care of the car business. But, we had to do it.
Done with the car, we went to the first place we visited in the refuge, which was Mount Scott.
Wichita Mountains: Mount Scott.
Located inside Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Mount Scott is probably the most well-known peak in Oklahoma. It towers 2,464 feet above sea level. You can hike a three-mile-long paved road to its summit, or choose to drive like we did.
Once you get to the summit, park your car in the spacious parking available there. Then enjoy the great outdoor the mountain has to offer: beautiful view all around and rock hopping or hiking. We enjoyed our time there and could spend more than an hour easily if we had more than one day to explore Wichita Mountains.
One more thing about Mount Scott: you don’t have to pay an entrance fee to get there!
Our family like hiking, and the refuge has 15 miles of hiking trails that offer the novice and seasoned hikers a rewarding experiences. So, hiking was the next activity we did after Mount Scott.
Wichita Mountains Hiking: Elk Mountain Trail.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge has 18 designated trails. We decided to hike one of the recommended trails by the staff: Elk Mountain Trail. It has the best view, 2.2 miles round trip, and the most popular trail in the refuge although it has a steep terrain and rated difficult.
Elk Mountain Trail started from Sunset Area. There are 2 other trails that started from here, too: Charon’s Garden (difficult) and Crab Eyes (easy to moderate).
Charon’s Garden is rock climbers’ heaven while at the end of Crab Eyes hikers can see a rock formation that looks like crab’s eyes. On our second visit to the refuge with our dog Snoopy, we did the Crab Eyes trail.
That afternoon part of the trail was covered with water because of the rain from the day before. Our first mistake was to follow the youth group in front of us. We left the trail because it covered with water, just like they did. When we approached them, we didn’t see any sign of the trail anymore. I asked the leader whether they’ve been here before, and of course the answer was NO.
Then we spotted a path at the bottom of the rock bed and went there. It didn’t look like a trail but we decided to follow it. After a while, we realized it was a game trail. We turned around and hiked the bedrock, following the direction on the map though we still didn’t see the trail.
Finally, we saw a guy coming down from the top. He told us the trail was a bit confusing in the beginning but we would see it clear all the way to the top. Phew!
The trail was rugged and wet after the rain. I agree it’s not easy. My son asked me to carry his sling pack all the way to the top. He said he needed to reduce his load to make it easier for him to hike. Yeah, you’re right! I told him to finish the water from one bottle to make it lighter.
Then the top part of my husband’s hiking boot stitches started to split. Duct tape came to the rescue. My husband likes to wrap it around the hiking pole or water bottle. One of his hiking hacks.
Finally, we made it to the top. The view of the refuge was breathtaking. We were surprised, never thought there’s something like this in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to explore the other side of the summit. We needed our energy for hiking down. Besides, it’s already 5.30 p.m.
As usual, hiking down was faster. And the trail was visible all the way to the bottom. It’s weird!
It took us around 2.5 hour to do the round trip hike.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Camping: Doris Campground.
Doris Campground is one of the three campgrounds in the refuge. It is a modern camping facility with individual and group sites. The individual campsites are on a first come, first served basis and are not available for reservations.
One day before we left for Wichita Mountains, I called the Visitor Center to find out if a site would be available at our arrival time. The lady said normally sites would be available until noon and if we come early, we can pick the site we want.
The campground is nice. It’s spacious and there are table, fire ring, and fire grill/grate at every site. There’s no water source at every site but they are located conveniently around the campground, as well as the chemical toilets and trash dumpsters. The site is between trees so we could hang our hammock. And the car pad can accommodate 2 cars.
We chose one of the 47 single-unit sites without electricity that was close to the restroom with shower. It cost us $14 nightly. For $22-24 nightly you can have a site with electricity (23 units), but no water on sites. It is $12 nightly for semi-primitive (20 sites), where you have to park your vehicle and walk on a trail to the site.
During our visit, the downside of the campground was the shower. The water was warm, but we had to press the button every 30 seconds. I hope they have fixed the issue.
Go visit Doris Campground website for the latest info on camping in Wichita Mountains.
Pets are welcome in the campground. They must be on a leash all the time (10 foot or less) with one end of the leash secured.
Visiting Prairie Dog Town.
We were fortunate to stop at this ‘town’ in the springtime. Juvenile prairie dogs were running around and tried to catch each other tails while others surrounded their mother by the hole. The adults were active, too, scamper in and out of their burrows. I have never seen a prairie dog town like this before. Everyone looked super happy. We stopped there twice: before and after the hike.
Those black-tailed prairie dogs were adorable!
The Holy City Wichita Mountains.
Located in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, this is the site of the nation’s longest running Easter Passion play, “The Prince of Peace.” Too bad we didn’t get to see the play. It was on Saturday night, the morning we left for home. They were also closed in preparation for the play. We only got to walk to the chapel and the Moses room.
Holy City built like an old Jerusalem. There were sites from the birth until the death of Jesus. After we looked around, my son decided that we need to visit the real Jerusalem in Israel in the future.
Admission to Holy City is free but donations are welcome.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was established to provide habitat for large native grazing animals such as American bison, Rocky Mountain elk, and white-tailed deer. You can also find Texas Longhorn, otter, owls, and many more wild animals thrive in this refuge.
If you plan a trip to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, try to make a plan for a 2 days visit. If you only have a day, you can follow our itinerary. You can always skip the Elk Mountain Trail if it sounded too hard for you. Change it to the family friendly (easy) trail like Elk Trail or Burford Lake Trail.
On our second trip to the refuge, we took along our dog Snoopy and we did more hikes. Wichita Mountains is pet-friendly and your furry baby will like it there.
Enjoy Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge!
It was good to understand that one day in the Witchita Mountains is not really enough. But also to see that you can do a lot with a full day of exploration. A longer stay would certainly let us explore more of the hiking trails. It looks like there would be one for our level of hiking experience and fitness level. I like the hack about taking duct tape with your hiking gear. Will have to start that practice.
The Prairie Dogs are so adorable! It is definitely a perfect location for a family camping. I love such getaways, such an amazing place midst the nature!
They are so cute! It’s hard to move from that location. And yes, this place is great for family camping.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge looks like somewhere I’d love to visit – I’m sure I could spend so long! I’m so excited about the prairie dogs, I’ve been fascinated by them for ages and you pictures capture them so perfectly! I’d love to go here – one to add to my ever growing list!
I’m so glad we found the place. And that prairie dogs were just adorable.
I am bowled over by the Prarie dogs. They are so cute. Love the trails too and reading your experience on the same was fun. I can relate to a few incidents that even I have faced when traversing these kind of trails. Cheers
The prairie dogs were cute, weren’t they? I still couldn’t believe it, we missed the trail on the first try. But that’s added the list of our experiences.
I love finding out about new wildlife refuges, and now I can’t wait to visit this one. It’s so great that there are so many trail options, but I can see why you recommend more than just a day-trip 🙂
This wildlife refuge is huge. If I live an hour away, I could come back whenever I want. But spending a night or the whole weekend would be better for
out of town people like me.
The Wichita Mountains look really nice. What an interesting place. The Prairie Dog Town would be a must visit for me! Great post
Thank you! The prairie dogs were so cute!
There seems to be a lot of diversity to see at the Witchita Mountains Wildlife refugee. I love the look of some of those trails! Great hikes I am sure. Praire dogs are one of my favorites to watch, they are so cute- but fast!
I just like this place. There are more trails that we need to explore. I hope to go there again in the spring.
This seems like a fun place. The view from the top is beautiful and so the hike would have been worth it. You are lucky that there weren’t many people to photo bomb your pictures 🙂 I have never camped and stayed in a open place like this and can’t wait to experience one soon!
It surprised us that there weren’t too many people that weekend. I think it’s good for taking pictures. 🙂 Hope you will enjoy camping and staying in a open place once you experience it.
The place looks utterly gorgeous. The camping place is also so beautiful and organised. So unlike in our country!! And the prairie dogs are so so cute. They somehow look like marmots found in Leh.
We were surprised when we got there. We never thought there’s a place like this in Oklahoma. It’s good to have choices to go at where we live.
Although wild, the sanctuary looks so peaceful to me . And as you said, one day is never enough to explore any place fully. But just like you, I try to chose the best as per my liking to do and see, when the time is limited. Thanks for suggesting the things that one can cover when going here for a day. Of all, I would love to camp here.
The sanctuary looks peaceful because it’s huge and the animals aren’t concentrated in one place. And most of them live in the woods. You either hiking to be able to see them, or listen to their sounds.
What a lovely family adventure you had albeit the time that you got a bit lost. Your husband is such a good sport too for continuing the trail despite his hiking boot’s condition. 🙂 I must say the view from the top is very rewarding indeed! Worth the hours spent on the trail! 🙂
Yes, it was an adventurer one for us. First time there and we enjoyed it much. We want to go back and do different trails.
This wildlife reserve looks like an excellent place to escape the worries of the fast-paced city life just to indulge in nature’s beauty. I would love to visit and do some hiking to admire the spectacular views of the mountains! The prairie dogs are adorable too 🙂
Exactly! I thanked the lady who told me about this place. And yes, those prairie dogs are adorable.
Wow, had no idea about this refuge and the Holy City. Really enjoyed learning something new.
Glad you enjoyed it! We were surprised, too. I hope we can go there again next month for their Fall Foliage Hiking.
The wichita mountains are on my list of places to visit when I finally get to do my USA trip. This post is very informative and will come in handy. I’ve bookmarked it for future reference
Thank you, Amit! I tell you what. There are so many places to visit here in the U.S. that I don’t even know whether I will be able to visit each one of them in my life.
What a beautiful place to camp! It would be fun to see the wildlife, especially the prairie dogs. The trails look great, too. The passion play would also be fun to see. It loooks like you had a great trip!
We did have a great trip! It’s just too bad we missed the play. Maybe we’re going back again next spring.
This is so wild! First of all I had no idea there are peaks in Wichita! Much less a holy city! I love your site because you have visited so many US places that are completely foreign to me! There are so many new places to see. I need to get to the SW and midwest!
I was lucky to meet a lady at a place I volunteer every Monday who likes going hiking with her husband. She’s the one who told me about this place. I had no idea at all, even my husband who is active in the Scouts. And I know there are more places to explore in Oklahoma.
Cuteness overload on the Prairie dogs!! What a great experience to see them in a “town” like that. Wichita looks beautiful!
Isn’t it? I could stay there forever just to look at those cute prairie dogs.