Most people don’t think of Oklahoma as a mountainous state, but the Wichita Mountains rise unexpectedly from the plains of southwestern Oklahoma. I spent my time here exploring the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, which turned out to be one of the most impressive outdoor areas I visited in the state. Between the wildlife, hiking, rocky scenery, and opportunities for climbing and bouldering, there was much more here than I had expected. Above are some of the colorful, boulder-covered mountains that characterize the refuge.
I got caught in a major rainstorm shortly after arriving. The forecast claimed the sky would clear once the storm passed, but that was difficult to believe when the rain came sweeping in and trapped me inside my car for about 30 minutes. At first the rain was blowing almost sideways, with sheets of water hitting the car. Eventually it weakened to heavy drops and then a drizzle, which was when I finally started hiking. Sure enough, about half an hour later the clouds began breaking apart and patches of blue appeared.
My hike began through scrubby terrain before following a small river with several dams along it. Right after starting, I looked at my phone to check the time so I could judge how long I had been hiking. As soon as I lowered it, I spotted an armadillo only about ten feet in front of me! Unfortunately, it disappeared into the creek bed before I could get a photo. Along the water I saw plenty of birds, amphibians, and reptiles as the landscape shifted between rocky scrub and open grassland.
The amount of wildlife I encountered in the Wichita Mountains was one of the biggest surprises of the trip. I saw all of these animals simply by driving through the refuge and doing a relatively short hike, so I can only imagine what I might have encountered if I had spent a few days camping and exploring. Parts of the refuge are managed primarily for wildlife and are closed to public access, while other areas have trails and recreational opportunities. Above are a vulture and a group of wild turkeys I encountered along the way.
Prairie dogs were especially common. Most of them kept their distance, poking their heads out of burrows as I passed, while a few were much closer to the trails. The prairie dog on the left seemed far more interested in eating than in how close I had gotten with my camera.
Some sections of trail were thick enough that I couldn’t always see where I was stepping, which had me watching carefully for snakes as I walked. Cacti were much easier to spot and grew throughout the drier areas of the refuge. The changing vegetation was another interesting part of the hike, with rocky slopes and cactus giving way to patches of grassland and wetter areas near the streams.
The landscape could change considerably over a relatively short distance. Some areas were open and grassy, while others were covered with exposed rock, boulders, moss, and low vegetation. Combined with the rapidly changing weather, it made the refuge feel much more varied than I had expected from southwestern Oklahoma.
The larger animals were even more impressive. Like the Tallgrass Prairie, the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is home to bison, and I also encountered longhorn cattle roaming through the refuge. Both are enormous animals that are best appreciated from a safe distance. Deer also live throughout the area, along with an elk herd, making the refuge one of the best places I found in Oklahoma for seeing large animals.
One of the most colorful smaller animals I encountered was this male collared lizard. He was surprisingly large and didn’t immediately disappear when I approached, giving me enough time to get a decent photo. The terrain around him was covered with colorful rocks, while elsewhere I passed through grassland dotted with dead trees and occasional large boulders. Despite some of the dry vegetation looking almost like winter, I actually visited in late August.
Some of my final photos were of the smaller wildlife and plants I encountered. At first I mistook the unusual-looking dragonfly on the left for two insects together because of the appearance of its wings. The purple plant on the right was also something I didn’t remember seeing before, with flowers that reminded me of miniature pineapples. I wish I had used a macro lens to get a better photograph of it.
The earlier rainstorm left the grasslands soaking wet, and before long I was soaked as well. Every few feet it seemed like another large frog would leap through the grass and disappear. The one above was the only one I managed to photograph, and it was actually smaller than several of the others I saw. In the drier areas I also came across this colony of ants.
The Wichita Mountains ended up being one of my favorite parts of Oklahoma. I originally came for the scenery and hiking, but the amount of wildlife was what really stood out. Between bison, longhorns, prairie dogs, turkeys, reptiles, amphibians, and the armadillo that escaped my camera, I saw far more wildlife here than I expected during a relatively short visit. It’s definitely an area I’d return to for a longer hiking and camping trip.
