Red Carpet Country
Red Carpet Country is a region in northwestern Oklahoma and includes the panhandle.
Cities
Understand
This is essentially land that became the Cherokee Strip after being relinquished by the Cherokee, and the Oklahoma panhandle (historically known as the Cimarron Territory or even more colorful, "No Man's Land") further to the west. It was more or less a free for all by homesteaders, known as Sooners and Boomers, when it opened up to land grabs by the 1890s, just prior to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. Cattle drives along such historic paths as the Chisholm Trail then gave way to fenced homesteads and oil booms. In the 1930s, these parts came to be known as the Dust Bowl because of severe drought that compounded the problems of the Great Depression, as depicted in The Grapes Of Wrath.
Get in
By car
Take the Oklahoma Highway 81 from Oklahoma City
Get around
By car
There are some major Oklahoma routes that traverse RCC like OK51.
See
Contrary to what it might seem like when Oklahoma comes to mind, Red Carpet Country is actually quite replete with historical and natural attractions. In particular, the topography and geography has a rather surprising amount of variation, so you can visit a prehistoric salt plain near Enid, sand dunes and caverns further west, artesian springs in Woodward, and the anticline of the Rocky Mountains at Black Mesa State Park in the very tip of the panhandle. This along with Chisholm Trail monuments and remnants of Army outposts meant to safeguard westward expansion against Native American reprisals make for an intriguing study of the American West.
- 🌍 Black Mesa State Park (County Road 325, 28 miles northwest of Boise City), ☏ +1 580 426-2222. The park got its name from the black lava rock that covered the area 30 million years ago. Hike the petrified forest trail and walk in fossil footprints of dinosaurs.
- 🌍 Great Salt Plains State Park, 23280 S Spillway Dr, Jet, ☏ +1 580-626-4731. A salt plain and saltwater lake known as the Great Salt Plains Lake lie here in the bed of what was once an ancient sea, where visitors sometimes look for selenite crystals.
- 🌍 Gloss Mountains State Park. Land characterized by buttes and hilltops with a lot of selenite content.
- 🌍 Little Sahara State Park. A pocket of sand dunes.
- 🌍 Alabaster Caverns State Park, 217036 SH 50A Freedom, ☏ +1 580-621-3381. Only gypsum cave supposedly open to the public in the United States, and one of the largest in the world.
- 🌍 Sodhouse Museum.
- Fort Supply Historic Site, near Woodward, is where the US Army had its base camp in the area during its expeditions against the tribes of the Cherokee Outlet
Do
- Black Mesa, the highest point in the state of Oklahoma at just short of 5000', is in Black Mesa State Park, and is accessible by an easy, scenic trail.
- The Cimarron Bypass of the Santa Fe Trail passes through this region. Trail ruts and artifacts are visible in a few places (e.g. near Boise City).
- Rent a dune buggy or explore the natural sand dunes at Little Sahara State Park or Beaver Dunes State Park.
- Tour the World's only Gypsum Cave that is open to the public at Alabaster Caverns State Park. See Osage native bison hunting grounds and more of a prehistoric ocean scene apart from Salt Plains State Park by visiting the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge.