Oklahoma City offers dozens of activities perfect for any visitor – from those who enjoy active lifestyles to history and the arts! It has museums, galleries, hiking trails, parks, tours, gardens, restaurants, and outdoor and water sports. Below are my top 15 things to do in Oklahoma City!
Memorials and Museums
1. Oklahoma City National Memorial
On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh set off a bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum honors those who were lost, those who survived, and those who came to help. There are 10 sequential chapters to walk through in the museum. The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial has several sections including The Field of Empty Chairs, Gates of Time, Reflecting Pool, Survivor Tree, and Rescuers’ Orchard.
For more information on visiting the Memorial, check out my Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum blog.
2. First Americans Museum
39 tribal nations reside in Oklahoma today. The First Americans Museum honors the ancestors who lived on the land before it became a state, including the Apache, Caddo, Tonkawa, and Wichita. Also honored are those tribes who have a historical relationship to this region, including the Comanche, Kiowa, Muscogee (Creek), Osage, Seminole, and Quapaw.
The state’s name comes from two Choctaw words “Okla” and “Homma” meaning Red People.
3. National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy Museum showcases western history, art, and culture. Interactive galleries display art and exhibits about the history of American cowboys, rodeos, and Native American culture.
Art
4. Plaza Walls Murals
Plaza Walls is a rotating mural project in the Plaza District of Oklahoma City. We visited in mid-October 2023, just after the new set of murals were completed.
There are murals on many of the buildings in the Plaza District, but the actual Plaza Walls starts in an alley between buildings and makes a square behind them.
Styles and subject matter vary across the 40 murals – realism, comic, mech, retro, surrealism, and more!
For more murals in the city, check out Automobile Alley, Bricktown, the West Village District.
5. Factory Obscura: Mix-Tape
Mix-Tape is an immersive and interactive art experience. It’s all about your senses – most specifically your eyes and ears.
There are multiple rooms all with their own themes. Lights are turned down to make the neon colors pop.
Many areas had little niches and hidden spots. One of my favorites was a cave-like opening filled with plastic flamingos that lit up in time with the music!
Others loved the giant slide, which I admit is definitely fun.
6. Oklahoma City Museum of Art
The OKC Museum of Art offers several permanent collections as well as rotating exhibitions. The museum features works from North America, Europe, and Asia, with particular strengths in American art and postwar abstraction. It boasts one of the world’s largest public collections of Dale Chihuly glass.
Nature and Outdoors
7. Bricktown Water Taxi
These water taxis act as narrated cruises on the canal through the heart of Bricktown. Attractions include historical monuments, colorful murals, and local landmarks.
Cruises are quick to fill up, so book in advance.
8. Crystal Bridge Conservatory
Crystal Bridge Conservatory is part of the Myriad Botanical Gardens.
We had to park on the street, so we found a space on the road between the gardens and Scissortail Park. Because it was October, there was a fall/Halloween festival going on in the gardens. There was a sugar skull mural made from pumpkins! We also walked around the pond outside before heading into the conservancy.
Crystal Bridge has three floors. For those who want to avoid all the stairs, there is an elevator at the north end.
The first floor has a reflecting pool, tropical plant groupings, and the base of the two-story waterfall.
The second floor is broken into two terraces. Its North Terrace has desert plants. Bromeliads species cover the South Terrace.
A skywalk, connecting the north and south ends, makes up the third level.
9. Scissortail Park
Scissortail Park is a free public park in the city. There are accessible pathways and parking. It has an upper and lower section, connected by the Skydance Bridge. This bridge was inspired by the scissor-tailed flycatcher, Oklahoma’s state bird.
There are gardens, kayaks, paddleboards, pedal boats, concerts, a children’s playground, and a dog park.
10. Lighthouse at Lake Hefner
Officially called the Lighthouse at East Wharf, the Lake Hefner lighthouse was built in 1999. The 36-foot tower was originally created as a “faux” lighthouse with no purpose except as a photo-op. It’s now an official lighthouse and member of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
At night, the lighthouse is lit by a revolving set of colors.
11. RIVERSPORT Rapids and Adventures
RIVERSPORT OKC is in the Boathouse District on the Oklahoma River. It offers whitewater rafting and tubing, surfing, flatwater kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, adventure courses, zip lines, climbing walls, a bike park with pump tracks and a skills trail, and indoor alpine skiing.
Food
12. The Collective
For our first dinner, we ate at The Collective OKC. It is a food hall with nine kitchens, a coffee shop, bar, and rooftop patio. We chose Kitchen 1907, and we both had chicken fried steak sandwiches. Delicious!
If you’re wondering about the name, 1907 was the year Oklahoma gained its statehood.
13. Cattlemen’s Steakhouse
As the state’s oldest continuously operating restaurant, Cattlemen’s opened in the Stockyards City area in 1910. It is known for its steaks and legendary breakfasts. Visitors can also check out the drawings of celebrities who have eaten there.
14. Charleston’s
Another excellent dinner was at Charleston’s. I got a combination of baked potato soup, Caesar salad, and mixed veggies while mom had shrimp scampi. It was fantastic soup and mom gushed about her scampi.
15. SPARK
SPARK is the perfect spot for lunch if you are visiting Scissortail Park. I had a crispy chicken sandwich, and mom had a Cali SPARK burger.
Those were 15 things to do in Oklahoma City. Check out other Oklahoma activities and spots to see. What is your favorite thing to do in OKC? Comment below!