Located in southern Oklahoma, Lawton is 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. From seeing buffalo graze to hiking and more, find fun things to do in Lawton. This is a great stop if you are road-tripping along Interstate 44.
6 Best Things to Do in Lawton OK
Visit the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Tour the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center
Visit the Museum of the Great Plains
Walk through the Holy City of the Wichitas
Tour the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum
Visit Chiefs Knoll at Fort Sill Army Base
Learn about Quanah Parker
Visit the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge
Wildlife spotting is always a favorite in my car. So, my first stop is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, which has over 59,000 acres and is home to free-range buffalo, Texas Longhorn cattle, prairie dogs, deer and elk.
Stop at the Quanah Parker Nature and Visitor Center for an interpretive display and more information on the site. To see wildlife, I recommend the Mount Scott Road, which travels through the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.
Another top thing to do at the Wichita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge is hike. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge offers 30 miles of hiking trails. There are several short and easy hikes, like the Environmental Education Center Trail, a .1-mile trail, the Jed Johnson Tower Trail, a .5-mile trail and the Quanah Parker Lake Trail, a .4-mile trail.
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge offers camping at the Doris Campground, which has 47 tent sites, 23 RV sites and 20 walk-in sites. Camping fees start at $22 a night.
Located at 32 Refuge Headquarters Road, Indiahoma, OK, 20 miles northwest of Lawton. Open sunrise to sunset seven days a week with free admission. The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bring drinking water with you; there is no potable water in the refuge.
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Tour the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center
Our first stop to learn about Quanah Parker and the Comanche people is the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center. The museum focuses on the history of the Comanche people from their beginnings to the present.
During our visit, we learned about 17 men, the WWII Comanche Code Talkers, who helped to defeat Hitler during D-Day as code-talkers using their native language to communicate in an undeciphered code. During our visit, I also enjoyed the art display featuring Comanche artists.
Located at 701 NW Ferris Avenue. Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and closed Sunday. It’s free and took about an hour to explore.
Visit the Museum of the Great Plains
This museum is dedicated to the diverse cultures inhabiting the Great Plains region, beginning with the arrival of the Paleo-Indians, Known as the Clovis culture, which arrived in approximately 11,500 BCE.
Throughout the year, the Museum of the Great Plains offers living history events at the Red River Trading Post on its grounds. There is also a theater.
Located at 601 NW Ferris Ave., Lawton. Open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Adult admission (13+) is $10, kids (3 to 12) are $8 with Military and Senior discounts.
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Walk through the Holy City of the Wichitas
Close to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, the Holy City of the Wichitas is a shrine west of Lawton.
In 1926, the late Reverend Anthony Mark Wallock started an annual Easter Pageant. The 66-acre site got a federal grant in 1934 and the Federal Works Progress Administration built many of the buildings remaining.
The annual Easter Pageant, the Prince of Peace, remains the longest-running passion play in the U.S. Depicting the birth, life and death of Christ, the play drew a record crowd of 225,000 in 1939. With the Wichita Mountains as a backdrop, Jerusalem comes alive with the Temple Court, Calvary’s Mount and the walls of Jerusalem.
Located at 262 Holy City Road inside the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. and free to enter, though they take donations.
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Tour the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum
The Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum has 34 historic buildings, including an original frontier fort. It is dedicated to Post–Civil War and features exhibits on the historic regiments with many military artifacts.
We walked through the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum and Park, which is located nearby. Filled with Howitzers (wheeled artillery guns) from around the world, it is a must-do for those who love guns.
Located at 435 Quanah Rd, Fort Sill, OK. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to enter.
Visit Chiefs Knoll at Fort Sill Army Base
The Fort Sill Army Base is also home to the Fort Sill Post Cemetery (not to be confused with the Fort Sill National Cemetery). This is where you will find the final resting place of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker, the last Comanche Chief, his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker and his little sister, Prairie Flower, on the high point of the cemetery at Chiefs Knoll.
Quanah Parker and his band of Comanches clashed with settlers moving into Texas and Oklahoma, resulting in the Indian Wars and the Battle of Palo Duro in the Texas Panhandle. After the overhunting of the buffalo and starvation of his people, Quanah Parker surrendered at Fort Sill in 1875.
The federal government appointed Parker the Chief of the entire Comanche people. He went on to become a successful rancher near Cache, Oklahoma, before dying in 1911.
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Learn about Comanche Chief Quanah Parker
We wanted to explore Lawton in part because of my personal family history. My last name is Parker, and Lawton features many sites important to Parker family folklore and the Comanche Nation.
Since I’m part of the large Parker family that’s lived in Texas since the 1830s, I wanted to share the legendary tale of Quanah Parker and his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, with my kids.
The tale of the Parker family became a Texas legend when nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker was abducted from Fort Parker in east Texas in 1836. After an arduous bareback ride across Texas, she eventually assimilates into the Comanche Tribe. She melds into the culture and eventually marries the Comanche Chief Peter Nocona.
They had a son, Quanah Parker, who would become the last Comanche Chief. As Texas and Oklahoma settlers encroached on the traditional lands of the Comanche people, the Indian Wars broke out. After a bitter battle in Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, Chief Quanah Parker would eventually move his people onto a reservation in Oklahoma.
Know Before You Go:
- To gain access to Fort Sill, visitors are required to obtain a daily visitor pass at the Fort Sill Visitor Control Center at T6701 Sheridan Road.
- All adults are subject to a Department of Defense background check.
- It’s free and took 15 minutes to complete the process.
