A few years ago my family and I visited Enid, Oklahoma to visit our friends who had recently moved there. Enid, OK? Where is that you ask? It’s a great small town in the heart of Oklahoma with plenty to do with families and great surrounding cities and areas to visit as well. Enid is the 9th largest city in Oklahoma and is becoming a bustling place for residents and visitors alike.
When we were there, we explored a neat children’s museum called Leonardo’s. They are planning a 10,000 square feet renovation starting in September 2015 and will most likely close for several months to accommodate that. We were there over a 4th of July weekend and went to Meadowlake Park to see the small town fireworks. The fireworks show was fabulous and the whole atmosphere with the park surrounding and games and rides to do reminded me of my childhood July 4th memories with my own family growing up in suburban New Jersey. There is a great train ride at this park that we thoroughly enjoyed. There is also a newly renovated carousel and a brand new ferris wheel at this park. We heard beautiful music, played by the symphony orchestra (another neat thing about a town the size of Enid is that they have these types of arts experiences available as well). They do several concerts throughout the year. In Enid there is also an actor’s theater called Gaslight Theatre. There are great eateries located in their small downtown district. See this video about recent happenings and what Enid has to offer.
Enid is just about an hour and a half away from Oklahoma City, and in this great town the major attractions to go see with your family are the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, Oklahoma City Brick Town (a great eating/shopping place where you can take canal rides along the river) and many other museums too. There is also the Oklahoma City Zoo, which just did a major update to their children’s area and updated a new and improved elephant exhibit. There is the Science Museum Oklahoma right next to the zoo, and across from the zoo is Remington Park ( a horse racing track). Also near the zoo is the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. There are tons of opportunities for fun in OKC. Oklahoma City also has a professional basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is very popular and has a huge following in Oklahoma. There is also an American hockey team called the Oklahoma City Barons.
Oklahoma City Thunder, Facebook
Tulsa, Oklahoma is another great spot with the Oklahoma Aquarium located in nearby Jenks on the Arkansas River. It has lots of hands on experiences for kids and families. One of the major days of fun we had back in Enid was traveling to the Great Salt Plains State Park! It was fantastic. It is a salt plain where you can dig for unique hourglass selenite crystals. We packed a picnic and made an entire day of it. Other points of interest in this general area are Alabaster Caverns State Park, the Gloss Mountain State Park (about 30 minutes away from Enid), and Little Sahara. All are fun natural places and kind of unusual to see and explore.
See this link for tips on accommodations. Spend some family time in The Sooner State: Oklahoma and fill your summer vacation with a lot of memories!