Stunning does not begin to describe camping in Red Rock Canyon Adventure Park. This used to be a State Park run by the great state of Oklahoma, but was dropped and picked up by a private organization.

Once again – I am nowhere near cool enough for compensation or kickbacks, so if I put any links in here they are just because it’s worth checking out!

Entering the Park

Careful on the entrance, there’s an odd curb that will bounce you around quite a bit if you are not prepared for it. After checking in with the guard shack, proceed down an extremely steep and winding road. Next you’ll maneuver 3 tight turns and viola’, stunning park vista is in your face!

First stunning open view in the park

After the last turn, there’s a cross walk and a short drive through some trees. Then you come to an open rock face on your left, a pool of water with a towering rock face on your right and manicured grass surrounded by canyon walls extending in front of you.

Stunning vistas along the hikes

There are several hikes. We arrived early enough on day one to take a short .6 mile hike that was describe as a “nature walk”. I should really listen to my gut more. Ok, it was glorious, there were really cool things to see along the way and a stunning Indiana Jones moment – but the path is not blazed and people really like to make side paths turning it into a choose your own adventure. Less than a mile and it took us almost two hours to complete!

We started the hike in high spirits. We learned what rough horsetail is (looks like reeds) and got some really good pictures of the spring water as it bubbled alongside the cliff.

We cross several bridges, detoured multiple times and only “knew” we were on the path was when there were man made items like rails and bridges. We were always full of doubt as we wandered in the box canyon.

We had almost given up hope and suddenly we came through a clump of reeds and there was this stunning pool at the base of a box canyon. It was almost spiritual in nature.

We managed to find our way back out and decided to plan better for tomorrow.

Next day’s Canyon Rim hike

We were armed with the knowledge that these hikes tended to turn into choose your own adventure novels. I decided to arm myself with a little coffee in the morning, better maps and outfit our pack mule (Sierra) with as much water as she could carry. We also left the dogs at camp in the AC. This hike was listed as 4 miles. (We hiked about 6.5)

First, let’s get the priorities right. We headed up and out of the canyon to a delightful coffee shop called Brew 92. They don’t have a website or it would be linked. They are great.

Fortified, we head back into the canyon and loaded Sierra down with water. We then headed up the path. There were stunning views of canyons, pastureland, various plants and a lot of lizards!

We continued our hike and took breaks at 20 minute intervals (or as close to it as we could and find shade). Everywhere we looked there was something new and interesting to see. I knew that there were old wagon ruts somewhere along the trail. Years of settlers coming the side of a cliff in wagons in search of the water below. I kept an eye on the trail, trying to be sure not to miss it.

Ash finally saw a sign about a halfway point. I had read something early that the wagon ruts were nearby. I scouted down the split and found the ruts! It was like looking back into history.

We finished the hike and then relaxed for the afternoon.

Dinner in town!

We found a cafe in town. It’s called Main Street Cafe. We really enjoyed the hometown cooking and not having to clean up after! Then we escaped back into the quietness of our secluded canyon.

Stunning Wildlife and flora everywhere!

We saw stunning examples of nature everywhere we looked. The amazing views aside, there were plenty of animals and plants to look at!

The pond had a lot of fish. Most seemed very small, but we’d occasionally see a large fish jump out in the center of the pond. We also saw a HUGE snapping turtle one early morning, in the pond.

Then we saw a colossal battle between the snapping turtle and one of the large fish. They were way over near the wall of the canyon so we could not get any pictures. They were thrashing and rolling over and over. Eventually the turtle won, and we saw him floating on the top of the water eating the fish!

We saw the largest raccoon I’ve ever seen. He ambled out at nightfall to see what he could get into. We tried taking several pictures but most were extremely low illumination.

There were a lot of squirrels, various jays and the normal assortment of bugs (including lightening bugs!). There were two huge bullfrogs in the pond that called and answered in the early morning and late evening hours.

Sierra ran across two owls late one afternoon – then something she describes as a skunk…I’ll let you decide, tell me in the comments what you think her picture looks like! (she also said there was no skunk smell…)

Plants everywhere!

There were black walnut and mulberry trees everywhere, and of course, our old friend the cottonwood and red trumpet vine. We saw yucca, several species of pine and flowers everywhere.

We did not want to leave this one. It was peaceful and the variety was amazing. Eventually all things must end and if we are to complete our trip plan we must continue to push west! Be sure to check out anything you may have missed and be sure to let me know what you think that animal is!