Add Woolaroc Wildlife Preserve to Your Oklahoma Travel List

You didn't think the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was the only wild place in Oklahoma, right? There are a ton of places across this state worth the drive to see the type of stuff you won't find anywhere else.

Oklahoma features unique destinations like Boiling Springs, Great Salt Plains, Black Mesa, the incredible Chickasaw National Recreation Area/Platt National Park, and the wildlife refuge outside of Lawton, but there's even more.

They call it Woolaroc.

Woolaroc isn't a state or federal park, but it's spectacular enough to be. Initially, it was built as a vacation getaway for oil tycoon Frank Phillips (Phillips 66) but it grew to be such a collection of iconic Oklahoma history of pre-statehood life it opened to the public in 1944.

Within the 3700-acre ranch, the Woolaroc lodge and museum is the centerpiece of the preserve. It houses some of the most unique western and Native American fine art - paintings, sculptures, etc... - in the world.

Woolaroc also houses one of the finest and most complete collections of early and original Colt and Winchester firearms in the world.

Around the preserve, there's tons of wildlife just outside your vehicles windows. Much like the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, bison, elk, and longhorn cattle strut about in addition to 27 other native and non-native species that range from mild to wild. Ostrich, llamas, zebras, and more.

Woolaroc even hosts what they call Mountain Man Camp twice each year, themed after the fur-trapping camps that have been prevalent in the Sooner State since the 1700s. Two weeks of living in the 1840s, it's quite the experience for anyone.

If you're looking for a quick getaway to a unique place you've never been, Woolaroc is highly recommended. Even the kids will love it.

Since you'll be on the road already, try to plan your travels to include other iconic Oklahoma destinations like the Tallgrass Prairie in Pawhuska. You may have seen bison before, but never in such concentrated numbers. To feel the ground shake under your feet as thousands of bison move as one is something most humans will never experience.

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OKC is also a great destination to tack on. The kids might not enjoy this one as much as the adults, but it's a must-see kind of place for anyone living or traveling in Oklahoma.