Wichita Mountain Wildlife Reserve, Oklahoma

We arrived in the states with no plan in place so when I was told of a “one of a kind” wildlife reserve in Oklahoma, this caught my attention. The park is Wichita Mountains Wildlife Reserve and it is located in South central Oklahoma near Lawton which ended up being a great base for storm chasing!

We arrived at the park not sure what to expect. It was a small mountain range that seemed to rise out from nowhere, Oklahoma is mostly great plains and very flat so this was a pleasant surprise.

The park is known for its herd of around 750 American Bison and also the wild roaming Texas Long Horn Cattle which are part of North American history.

They have allowed them to stay in the park and be part of the fauna that makes it what it is today.

This was also the first place we got to see a Black-tailed Praire Dog city.. They are very entertaining and always obliging for a photo!

There is a great place to camp called Doris campground which is located in the centre of the park. It costs only $10.00 per night and has showers which is always a big tick for Lauren my wife.

If you were patient and observant there was lots of wildlife just around the camp such as Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, Thrashers, Herons, Turtles, Deer, Owls and even Turkeys. I even got lucky and snapped this Coyote wandering past our camp early one morning!

As per most camp sites here in the states you must make sure you lock up all your food at night! We had a very clever Racoon come and visit us late one night and quickly figure out how to open our latched food box.. Luckily he woke us up and we realised what he was up too before he could undo the second latch!

At the eastern end of the park you have the opportunity to drive your car up to the highest point which is Mount Scott, here you truly get a birds eye view of the entire park. The view was sensational and well worth the steep windy road to get up there!

There are plenty of hiking trails around the park, I snapped this little guy walking the trail between the Lost Lake and the Boulders picnic area.

This park is well worth the visit if you’re in the area, a great place to see a lot of wildlife in a small area. Also a very pleasant place to camp, relax and take in the beauty that is Oklahoma.