It was so easy for us to see ourselves living in Oklahoma City for the rest of our lives. From the trendy neighborhoods to the easy friendships and amiable attitude, we found ourselves feeling more and more at home while at the same time loving the things we found so easy to to do.
Hoping you fall in love just the same, here’s our guide to Oklahoma City:
PLANNING YOUR TRIP
When to Visit
Everything we loved most about Oklahoma City involved being outside, so I have to recommend traveling from Spring to Fall for that perfect sunny 70 degree weather. That said, the weather year round is moderate, never freezing cold but not desert hot either – so you can absolutely visit any time of the year and find super fun things to do.
Getting To
Oklahoma City is served by the Will Rogers World Airport (OKC), which is about twenty minutes from the city. We flew direct, non-stop from LAX to OKC, with a flight time of 2 hours and 50 minutes, and noticed many locations around the country have similar easy flight times, making almost any departure city an easy, awesome weekend getaway.
Getting Around
For the most part, Oklahoma City is fairly compact. While the layout of the neighborhoods can seem separate, most things are relatively close together and easy to access.
We rented a car on our trip to Oklahoma City. However, a couple or solo traveler (ie. Anyone without the need to have a carseat) would find the city equally as accessible by renting a bike, using car services like Lyft, and/or riding the newly opened Oklahoma City Streetcar.
How Expensive Is It
Oklahoma City is a moderately priced destination. Much of what makes the city a great vacation spot is its focus on new restaurants, breweries, hotels, and activities – each of which fall on the mid to higher end of the price scale.
That is not to say every trip needs to break the bank, but to fully enjoy the modern landscape of OKC, be prepared to pay similar city prices for food and drinks.
STAY
Modern and Cool
The reason to stay here is obvious – it’s very cool and there is a museum inside. As a modern styled hotel, the layout is very spacious and the rooms are a mix of travel/hip-functional. One of the big differences for me was the choice of a lounge area over a work area/desk.
In The Mix
Located on the water taxi route in Bricktown, staying here will put variety of nightlife activities including dining, baseball, and bar hopping the canal restaurants/bars at your doorstep. It’s also an easy walk downtown to catch the trolly and explore the Botanical Gardens.
EAT
Breakfast :: Biscuits
This brightly colored counter service restaurant is perfect for grab and go or sitting down for a coffee and biscuit. We loved the Southern Gentleman because pimento cheese is delicious, and the Velvet Elvis because who can say no to bacon, honey and peanut butter- not us! This place is also styled super cute.
Breakfast :: Dessert
From the second I opened the door, I knew I was going to eat too much. Behind the glass, row upon row of brightly colored donuts seemed in a competition to out-do each other on the appetizing scale. I’m being very literal when I say, these are the best donuts I’ve ever had, but also that these are far more of a dessert/cake than a donut to mix with coffee.
Brunch ::
The Drake
It was love at first sight when we arrived and the decor was flashes of mint and pink. The love is now lasting after we sampled the hushpuppies. These weren’t your average hushpuppy- this dish required assembly- and you had to wrap it in country ham, and then dip it into honey and hot sauce. It was divine. I could have easily eaten the entire plate all by myself.
Lunch/Dinner :: Pizza
You have to know that every pizza on the menu is delicious, but totally unique because the base tomato sauce is a bit sweet. What Hall’s Pizza does right though is add their unique touch to pizza without making the entire dining experience about ‘disrupting’ your expectations of pizza.
Dinner :: Unique
Trust us and make your reservations for Grey Sweater right now. This dining experience (it’s much more than just a dinner meal) is something you’ll never forget. Chef Andrew Black put his heart into every dish and beverage pairing, making for each tasting something completely unique. The tiered tasting menu allows for you to fully enjoy every single bit, giving you plenty of time to allow the flavors from around the world to soak in.
We loved the laid back patio and the location, connected to the 21c Hotel. But none of that would matter if the food didn’t stack up- and stack up it did, well beyond our expectations. Our favorite dishes were the roasted okra, with pimento cheese, pecans, and a bacon vinaigrette, and their spin on Nashville hot chicken with OKC hot chicken, spiced with green chile, buttermilk ranch, cilantro, and pickles. Other stand-outs were the mac and cheese and the lasagna, where they somehow took very traditional dishes and made me fall in love with them again.
Do
As Oklahoma City has grown there are so many ways to enjoy a visit to the city. Below are some of our favorite highlights. Check out these specific guides for more curated travel.
- Father Daughter Date Nights in OKC
- Family Adventures in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
As our guide mentioned, ‘most people’s first thought about OKC is the bombing, so it’s best to start here’. They were right, our first association with the city was the memorial. We visited twice – first at night by ourselves and then we toured the museum the following morning. The size of the memorial makes experiencing it immersive – seeing the memorial and doing the museum are both different experiences, complementing each other and are very well done. I left the museum feeling a huge sense of community about OKC, and how far they’ve come and grown since this tragic event.
As I mentioned, OKC is very accessible and biking is a great way to get around. Our ‘bikes and brews tour’ took us through Bricktown and around downtown. It was a very easy ride with plenty of stops along the way to try a wide variety of local brews. The curation of the different brewery experiences is one of the best aspects of the tour – opening our eyes to a broad view of the OKC’s scene.
The more I mention this to people, the more fantastic this place reveals itself to be. Essentially it’s a whitewater rapids roller coaster. Built alongside the Oklahoma River, Riversports has a circular whitewater rafting track where guests load into rafts, ride an escalator to the top of the rapids and shoot down – repeating the cycle again from the bottom – it’s like a mixtape of traditional whitewater rafting – all killer no filler.
This is much more than just a single activity. It’s easy to spend an afternoon or evening here as a solo traveler, couple, or adult. Some highlights include summer baseball games, putt-putt, a great bar scene, carriage rides, and the water taxi.
This spot is so much more than a Ferris Wheel. From the parking lot a green-grassy area spreads out towards the wheel which is perfect for laying out, letting the kids run around, or grabbing one of the free hanging hammocks for a leisurely day/evening outside.
Of course this is also the ferris wheel, which provides one of the best views of downtown OKC. The ticket is very affordable, and if visiting for the weekend – consider buying a season pass and returning throughout your trip.
*The ferris wheel was actually purchased off Ebay, and used to the be the old Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel, so we loved the LA connection.
National Cowboy and Western Museum
This museum was underplayed to us, and I don’t want the same mistake to happen to you. This is a great all-encompassing round up of the American West. Here you’ll find a detailed collection of art, a full array of Old West relics (including a room devoted to every type of barbed wire), and even an old town street to wander through.
Plaza Walls and all the public art in OKC
Starting with just one wall, this art experience has spread to take over most of the walls of the Plaza District and several additional showcases throughout OKC. Walking through the alleys here is a tour through the ever changing landscape of street-art and murals. Also, let’s be honest, it’s an awesome place to take pictures.
Stop in the Plaza Walls shop for limited edition prints of select walls.
Our trip was sponsored by Visit OKC.
