Exploring the Arbuckles and Beyond: Part I

This weekend I traveled south, and spent a couple of days exploring the Arbuckles and much more. In fact, there was so much packed into this weekend that I’m going to split this blog post into two parts, so that I can give proper attention to the details of everything that my friend Lauren and I were able to see on this epic Oklahoma road trip. If you’re looking for a fun weekend, here are some of the awesome things available less than three hours from Tulsa and just a little over an hour from OKC!

We ended up staying in a hotel in Ardmore over the weekend, but there are a lot of lodging options in the area, depending on where you’d like to be situated. There are cabins available right near Turner Falls, several Airbnbs in the area, and tons of hotels. So take your pick!

After driving down Friday evening, we decided to make an early start at Turner Falls. Turner Falls is the oldest park in the state, named after Mazeppa Thomas Turner, who first discovered the falls.

I had read online that the park can actually sell out in the summer months, so I purchased my tickets online in advance (You can purchase park as well as camping tickets HERE: https://www.turnerfallspark.com/tickets). The park opens at 6 am, and that seemed a bit early to me, but when we arrived at 7:30 there were already a lot of people in line for entrance, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to go! We didn’t wait that long-maybe 20 minutes or so in our cars, but I was surprised that so many people were already in line at that hour! We were able to find parking easily once inside the park.

Despite the crowds, Turner Falls Park is absolutely beautiful. As you make your way to the falls, you will see a beautiful flowing creek on your left, and castle ruins (Collings Castle) on the right. There are stairs leading up to the ruins, and you can spend a lot of time exploring. You’ll find graffiti, and plenty of visual interest to spark your imagination. The castle ruins date back to the 1930s. It’s named after Ellsworth Collings, a former dean of the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma. In its day, the castle was very large and ornately decorated, taking up nearly an acre of space.

A few shots of the Collings Castle and the stairs leading to it.

Perhaps the best part about exploring the ruins is watching children excitedly explore them. Lauren told one little girl that she had heard that an area up ahead was haunted, and the girl’s face lit up before she hurried off in search of the castle ghosts. It definitely sparks the imagination.

After thoroughly exploring the ruins, we continued toward the falls. Turner Falls are tied with Natural Falls for the tallest waterfall in the state, both at 77 feet tall (although, interestingly, Turner Falls claims to be the tallest in Oklahoma.) We walked around the falls, happily shooting away and taking in the beauty and the sounds of the falls and families laughing and making memories.

For a better view of the falls, you can hike/climb up the rocks, which we did. But be forewarned, this climb is not for the faint of heart! It can get serious and difficult, and you will be scrambling and using your hands and feet to hoist yourself up. Coming down is no easy feat either. But it’s worth it for these views.

If you’d like to see some higher views of the falls without the intense hike/climb, you can also head out of park in your car, turn right, and head up the road to the turn-off where the ziplining is! This was great fun, as we got to watch the zipliners whiz by, see a beautiful lock wall, and take in some breathtaking views of the park.

After leaving the park, we ventured to another area favorite, Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies! This place is everything it’s cracked up to be, with a wide variety of pies, from cherry to chocolate to bacon and eggs-filled pies. This place is definitely worth a stop!

His shirt says “If it ain’t fried, it ain’t pie.”

After we finished off our tasty treats, we decided to head to a spot that I had long planned to visit-the colorful and quirky Cloverleaf Boutique. Decorated almost entirely in hot pink and home to three darling poodles, you can find every kind of oddity inside that you can imagine, from brightly colored wigs to kitschy paintings and beyond. It is an EXPERIENCE with a capital E. I have heard rumors that it might be closing its doors, which would be a real shame, so if you plan to go, do it soon! Here’s some of what you might miss if you wait too long:

The next place we wanted to hit before calling it a day was the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur. This is Oklahahoma’s oldest national park area, purchased by the national government from the Chickasaw Nation in 1902. Here you can find beautiful hiking and camping areas, gorgeous streams, waterfalls, bison, and picnic areas.