iCapitol.net
Oklahoma Tourism
Oklahoma Tourism
Oklahoma visitors find no shortage of cultural intrigue, events, and places to explore. Whether tastes run to the athletic, educational, or exploratory, all can be met by what Oklahoma has to offer.
Oklahoma's diverse terrain has plenty of beauty for scenic buffs and challenging exploration for the athletically inclined. For those who love to learn while on vacation, Oklahoma offers over two hundred museums and more than twenty major architectural attractions. If checking out local cuisine is the ideal vacation, Oklahoma touts over 50 food events and festivals along with superb restaurants scattered from the tiniest of towns to the busiest urban settings. Just check out Oklahoma's official state meal.
Oklahoma's Official State Meal became one of the State Emblems by virtue of House Concurrent Resolution 1083, approved in 1988 by the Forty-first Legislature. The meal includes an extensive menu reflecting Oklahoma's cultural backgrounds and the state's historical and contemporary agriculture. Meats include barbecued pork, chicken-fried steak, and sausage with biscuits and gravy. Vegetables include fried okra and squash, grits, corn, and blackeyed peas. Breads include cornbread (and biscuits, as above). "Dessert" consists of strawberries and pecan pie. The types, variety, and sheer quantity of foods in the state meal (which can be divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner) generally typify traditional southern foodways.
With state parks, mountains, plains and forests, Oklahoma's landscape is almost as varied as it's culture.
- Oklahoma offers recreational enthusiasts a wide variety of different terrains to climb, scale, canoe, hike and photograph.
In fact, the US EPA recognizes Oklahoma has having 11 different ecoregions
making it one of only four U.S. states to have more than 10 ecoregions.
Oklahoma's ecoregions are: Western high plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Central Great
Plains, Tall Grass Prairie, Cross Timbers, Caves & Prairie, Ozark
Highlands, Ozark Forest, Hardwood Forest, Ouachita Mountains, and Cypress Swamps &
Forests
- This diversity in terrain offers vacationers the opportunity to tour many different landscapes all located within a few hours of each other.
- The Oklahoma Tourism Department divides the state into six "countries" for
recreational promotion purposes:
Red Carpet Country (Northwestern Oklahoma and The Panhandle)
Great Plains Country (Southwestern Oklahoma)
Frontier Country (Central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area)
Green Country (Northeastern Oklahoma, including the Tulsa Metropolitan area)
Kiamichi Country (Southeastern Oklahoma), and
Lake & Trail Country (South Central Oklahoma).
Popular but "unofficial" regional designations include Green Country (most often used to refer to Northeastern Oklahoma but used by some to refer to all of Eastern Oklahoma), Little Dixie (Southeastern Oklahoma), Western Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Each "country" offers vacationers unique travel opportunities and experiences.
- In addition to state-operated regions, the National Park Service has
jurisdiction over several diverse and interesting attractions.
- The Chickasaw National Recreational Area in Sulpher offers significant geological and hydrological features including many mineral springs, cool water, flora, fauna, and abundant wildlife.
- The Washita Battlefield National Site protects and reflects upon the site of the Southern Cheyenne village of Peace attacked by Lt. Col. George Custer on November 27, 1868. Chief Black Kettle is honored as a leader who never ceased striving for peace, even though it cost him his life.
- The third is the Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City. Tourist can pay tribute and reflect on the tragic events of April 19, 1995, when the Murrow Federal building was bombed. The National Memorial Museum and the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism are also on the premises.
- Another national site popular with campers and hikers is the Ouachita National Forest, located in southeastern Oklahoma.
- Oklahoma has a rich and culturally diverse history. Detailed documentation of its cultural
history is carefully maintained in over 250 state museums.
- Oklahoma's Native American heritage can be explored in 37 different Native American museums alone.
- The National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, showcases Western, and Native American art, and artifacts. It features art from Prix de West Award winners, the finest contemporary artists in the nation, as well as significant works by master artists Charles Russell, Frederic Remington, and Albert Bierstadt.
- Tulsa's Gilcrease Museum is a nationally celebrated museum and includes extensive exhibits on America's prehistory, settlement and expansion, and the world's most comprehensive collections of American Indian and Western art.
- Also of interest is the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, featuring exhibits on the cattle and fur trade.
- The Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Birthplace is dedicated to the memory of Oklahoma's most famous citizen and is located in his native Claremore.
- Oklahoma is also home to the longest drivable stretch of Route 66, arguably America's largest outdoor "museum."
- Oklahomans also celebrate their state's diversity with festivals and events every year that draw tourists from around the country.
- Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival is the largest and most respected Native American visual and performing arts event of its type in the world. It is held each spring and is an event filled with music, art, dance, and education.
- The Oklahoma State Fair is held every fall and is one of the largest in the country.
- Norman's Medieval Fair, held every spring, is a living history event featuring arts, craft, food, games and a vast array of entertainment dealing with medieval times. And if jousting and roasted turkey legs aren't your favorites, Norman also offers chocolate!
- Voted one of the top five food festivals in America by the Food Network, the Chocolate Food Festival and Gala, tempts those with a sweet tooth to Norman just in time for Valentine's Day.
- Guthrie holds the Oklahoma International Bluegrass festival, and
- The Oklahoma Prison rodeo is held every year in McAlester.
- Hundreds of unique rural festivals like the Okra Festival, the Rattlesnake Roundup, the Kolache Festival, Strawberry Festival, Peach Festival, and the Watonga Cheese Festival held each year throughout the state guarantee Oklahoma natives and out-of-state visitors alike a great time, an adventure and a full stomach.
Oklahoma football carries its own national reputation. Add to that baseball, hockey, horseracing and a new NBA basketball team - and you've got your favorite sports enthusiast covered while others in the family pursue world class shopping opportunities.
Is this a great state or what?!
