Oklahoma Travel Guide

For frontier living laced with Native American culture, look no further than Oklahoma. Images of cowboys and Indians may fill your head, but the intricacies of this deep-rooted relationship run far deeper. The state’s name derives from Choctaw words meaning “red people,” and today, thirty-nine tribes and Native American nations are headquartered in Oklahoma, running excellent museums and monuments that make lovers of culture swoon. History buffs can retrace everything from the somber Trail of Tears to the battles of the Indian Wars at Fort Sill, to frontier living at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Nature lovers will relish in the wildlife-spotting opportunities of Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, where bison, elk and deer roam the open prairies. Art aficionados will be surprised by the offerings of small Tulsa’s galleries, while capital Oklahoma City woes urbanites with hip restaurants, slick nightclubs, monthly art walks and diverse neighborhoods. All of it is tinged with Western flavor and pioneer attitude that’s sure to get your spurs jangling and lassoes wrangling. Yee-haw!