The Great Getaway Guide

You don’t have to travel far to find summer adventures. Just beyond Oklahoma’s borders, easy escapes are waiting. From mountain towns and desert sunsets to lake weekends and culture-filled cities, these neighboring states deliver big experiences without a massive price tag. Whether you’re planning a quick solo reset, a family adventure or a romantic road trip, consider this your guide to getting away.

You have until July 27 to take in America 250: Common Threads which is the kind of special exhibition visitors have come to expect from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. The exhibition commemorates the events of 1776 and reflects on 250 years of American art and civic participation. An early engraving of the Declaration of Independence anchors a group of historic documents displayed alongside textiles, paintings, toys and other works from 1776 to the present. It also explores the symbols artists turn to when celebrating or commenting on the United States: George Washington’s many faces, eagles appearing across books, baskets and coverlets, flags seen as quilts or as documentation of the moon landing, according to publicists for the museum that showcases art, architecture and nature. General admission to the museum is free, but tickets are required for this and other special exhibitions. 

Arkansas, which calls itself “The Natural State,” boasts that Mount Magazine is “at the peak of the state park experience.” It’s the state’s highest point at 2,753 feet, and people come for the sweeping views alone, but there is much to see and do. Mount Magazine State Park is within the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests, and a destination for mountain biking, horseback riding, backpacking, ATV riding, rock climbing and hang gliding.

The Lodge at Mount Magazine features
60 guest rooms and offers breathtaking views of Petit Jean River Valley and Blue Mountain Lake.  

For a more urban experience, check out Dickson Street, known as the Heartbeat of Fayetteville and home to dozens of restaurants, boutiques, galleries and bars, with live music nearly every night of the week. Tucked into the Ozark Mountains and known by the locals as “Favoriteville,” it’s the home of the University of Arkansas with its unsurpassed Razorback spirit and a haven for makers and artists.

Hot Springs National Park, with its nine architecturally significant bathhouses, is a park in the middle of the town of Hot Springs.  The ancient thermal springs, mountain views, geology, forested hikes and downtown streets filled with restaurants and shops make Hot Springs a unique and beautiful destination.

There’s no such thing as an off-season at Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, only closing when the weather is extreme. The warm-weather months are quite busy, but so are winter weekends, according to the National Park Service, and during the summer you might need a timed entry reservation. Campground reservations should also be made well in advance.

Options for enjoying the fresh air and stunning alpine scenery include hiking, wildlife viewing, ranger-led programs, horseback riding and scenic drives.

Visitors to the ever-popular town of Durango can hop on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and travel through the San Juan National Forest on a coal-fired, steam-powered 1880s locomotive. See wildlife, waterfalls and majestic peaks from the same tracks traveled more than a century ago by miners, cowboys and settlers of the Old West.

The tallest dunes in North America are
the centerpiece of Great Sand Dunes National Park, in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes and tundra. The dunes and much of the adjacent Sangre de Cristo Mountains are federally designated wilderness. 

At the Great Sand Dunes, visitors can hike, sled, splash in Medano Creek or just play in the sand. The park offers peace and quiet, and dark night skies allow visitors to see countless stars with very little light pollution. 

Among Denver’s many urban charms is Union Station, a beloved landmark in the heart of Lower Downtown. It’s a celebrated destination for gathering, dining, shopping, raising a glass, exploring the city or staying the night at The Crawford Hotel. 

There’s plenty to do in the mountain town of Aspen, and the Maroon Bells are the most popular summer destination, according to the Aspen Chamber of Commerce.

Standing at more than 14,000 feet, the Maroon Bells is a series of distinctively bell-shaped, wine-colored peaks of mudstone, carved out over 300 million years. They are the most-photographed mountains in
North America, according to the Chamber
of Commerce.

During peak season there may be crowds, so the Chamber suggests visiting mid-week, arriving with the first bus of the day.

Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis is about so much more than the tram ride to the top of the 630-feet-tall monument to Westward expansion. 

There’s a free museum about the role of St. Louis in Thomas Jefferson’s vision of building a unified continental nation. National Park Service rangers offer guided programs, and there’s a documentary about the building of the 63-story arch completed in 1965. The park is near the Mississippi River, so allow an hour for a riverboat cruise.

The Old Courthouse Museum, listed in the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, was the site of the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850. It was also where Virginia Minor’s case for a woman’s right to vote came to trial in the 1870s. 

And yes, you can ride the tram, with ticket prices ranging from $13 to $19, to the observation deck up top. The ride is 4 minutes up and 3 minutes down, the Park Service says. Rides sell out on busy days, so buy tickets in advance at gatewayarch.com.

Also in St. Louis is the 1,300-acre Forest Park, dedicated in 1876  and offering woodlands and waterways, prairies and awe-inspiring landscapes. It’s home to the free-admission St. Louis Zoo, which cares for 12,500 animals encompassing 450 species.

In central and southeast Missouri, Branson, the Silver Dollar City theme park and the Lake of the Ozarks are perennial favorites known for adding new attractions every year.

Kansas City offers an urban getaway with plenty of green space. Among the attractions with beautiful grounds is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Featuring 34,500 pieces from ceramic objects found in ancient Chinese tombs to whimsical sculptures of badminton birdies, the collection spans more than 5,000 years of humanity.

The Arabia Steamboat Museum, which has delighted visitors for more than 30 years, will be closing its Kansas City location in November. Founders hope to find a new home elsewhere. The museum features much of the 200-ton cargo of the steamship that sank in the Missouri River in 1856 and was recovered in 1988, including clothing, dishes, tools, guns, toys and the world’s oldest pickles.

Once you’re in Nebraska, according to the state’s tourism commission, “you’ll discover that the Great Plains aren’t so plain after all.”

Visit Nebraska divides the state into six regions, plus the metro area of Omaha and Lincoln. If you are all about scenery and the great outdoors, you can’t go wrong with the Sandhills region in the north-central part of the state. 

Writer Mary Harner says that in the Sandhills, the “star-filled skies, unobstructed views of the horizon, and places free of sounds made by people – notably traffic – offer a sense of wildness that is rare in so much of the world.”

Towering 800 feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff has served as a landmark for peoples from Native Americans to emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails, to modern travelers, according to the National Park Service.

“Rich with geological and paleontological history as well as human history, there is much to discover while exploring the 3,000 acres of Scotts Bluff National Monument,” the NPS says.

William Henry Jackson is best known as the first person to photograph the wonders of Yellowstone, and Scotts Bluff National Monument houses the world’s largest collection of his original sketches, paintings and photographs. Due to limited space, a small selection of his works is on display in the
Visitor Center.

Sanning Interstate 80 at Exit 275 in Kearney, the Archway Museum stands as a monument to the enduring spirit of America. Exhibits narrate the story of the people who played a role in shaping the nation, starting with the Oregon Trail and traveling through pioneers and prairie wagons to diners and drive-ins of the 1950s. After your tour, try your hand at panning for gold or browse the massive gift shop.

Designated as a National Historic Site in 1956, Chimney Rock and the Ethel S. and Christopher J. Abbott Visitor Center near Bayard are maintained and operated by the Nebraska State Historical Society.

The historical society invites you to “feel the awe and curiosity the pioneers experienced when they saw the most famous landmark on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails.”

Every corner of New Mexico lives up to its description as The Land of Enchantment, and especially beloved is the capital city of Santa Fe. Santa Fe calls itself The City Different, touting its historic sites and museums, hundreds of art galleries, cultural diversity, adobe-style architecture and perhaps the most colorful culinary scene in the nation. At the heart of the city is the Santa Fe Plaza, a gathering place for shopping, dining, lodging and cultural festivals. 

The nation’s oldest building, the Palace of the Governors, has stood on the Plaza since the early 1600s when it was erected as the seat of the Spanish colonial government. Native American tribal citizens hold a market every day beneath the building’s portal, where visitors can buy jewelry, pottery and textiles directly from the artisans.

Will Rogers dubbed Carlsbad Caverns the “Grand Canyon with a roof on it.” National Geographic calls the geologic wonder in the Chihuahuan Desert “one of the deepest, largest, and most ornate caverns ever found.” Some visitors think the park’s most spectacular sight is when the quarter-million Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bats that summer in the cave spiral up from the entrance to hunt for insects every night, according to National Geographic.

White Sands National Park in the Tularosa Basin preserves a major portion of the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. 

The powdery, white gypsum dunes not only look like snow, they behave like it as well, according to the National Park Service. Sledding down the slip face of dunes is a popular activity at the park.  Most sledders use waxed, plastic snow-saucers, which can be purchased at the park gift shop. 

Yet another natural wonder administered by the National Park Service is Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, which protects more than 33,000 acres of ruggedly beautiful canyon and mesa country. Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities. 

Guided tours are available throughout the day at the Taos Pueblo, where people have lived for more than 1,000 years. About 150 people from Pueblo communities continue to live within the Pueblo full time.

The National Park Service describes the Grand Canyon as “one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world – a mile-deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both the north and south rims.” If it’s not on your bucket list it should be, as no photo or video can truly capture the 3-D vistas at Grand Canyon National Park.

Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. And it’s located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present-day tribal communities, according to the NPS.

Aside from just taking in the view, activities include hiking, bicycling, stargazing, rail adventures, mule trips and guided learning.

The Colorado River also created the spectacular Horseshoe Bend, a much-photographed landmark near Page. After an accessible 1.5 mile walk from the parking lot, you will stand at an overlook that is 1,000 feet above the Colorado River as it winds its way in a horseshoe shape through a red-hued sandstone canyon.

Sedona’s world-wide reputation as a spiritual mecca and energy hot spot draws healers, artists and spiritual guides who offer holistic approaches that cater to the mind, body and spirit. Visit Sedona invites you to embrace both adventure and contemplation, in a charming small town surrounded by some of the best hiking trails around.

Shops and art galleries specialize in traditional Western, contemporary Southwestern and Native American art. From bronze statues to jewelry, Sedona’s gallery centers offer a variety of home décor, garden accents and kitchenware. For the outdoor enthusiast, several stores offer outdoor gear, maps and mountain bikes. Sedona’s New Age shops specialize in metaphysical and spiritual goods such as crystals, books and aromatherapy oils.

Tucson is home to the nation’s largest cacti. The giant saguaro, the universal symbol of the American west, is found only in a small portion of the United States, according to the National Park Service. It’s protected by Saguaro National Park, to the east and west of Tucson.

Like many cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, Lewisville offers urban amenities along with a taste of the Old West and the modern Southwest. Hugging the southern shore of Lewisville Lake, it’s within easy reach of family-friendly activities ranging from fine and cultural arts to go-carts and bowling. Authentic historic buildings anchoring Old Town Lewisville date back to the 1880s and provide the backdrop for dining, shopping, drinking and cultural entertainment. 

Lewisville Western Days takes place the last weekend of September with live music on six stages, a tamale- eating championship, food trucks and Western-themed activities. 

The ICompete is an immersive augmented reality experience featuring simulated golf, baseball, digitized darts, axe-throwing
and more. 

Space Center Houston is that city’s most popular tourist attraction, and your visit can
go more smoothly if you do some prep work.

Tram tours are recommended, especially for the visit to Historic Mission Control. Building 9, a stop on another tram tour, is where astronauts train for missions and where scientists are developing the next generation of space exploration vehicles. Visitors traverse a catwalk to view the training from above. Tickets for the tram tours should be booked well in advance. Space Center Houston is the nonprofit that operates the spacious visitor center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Mission Control, from which NASA led the Gemini and Apollo missions, has been recreated right down to the loaded ashtrays on the desks of the scientists who directed the lunar landing on July 20, 1969.

If you happen to be headed west on Route 66 during this centennial year of the famed highway, Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo is worth a detour. 

Also known as the Grand Canyon of Texas, it’s the second-largest canyon in the nation, and much of it lies within Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It’s a beautiful place to visit year-round but is busiest during the summer, when the TEXAS Outdoor Musical is presented on Tuesdays through Sundays in the Pioneer Amphitheater. Go early for a barbecue dinner. 

Lodging options include camper and tent sites, cabins and air-conditioned glamping.

Featured photo: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; photo courtesy Crystal Bridges