Elk City has many recreational activities and tourist destinations – both indoors and out – to satisfy any taste. Outdoor fun includes hiking, biking and horseback riding along with fishing, boating and waterskiing; while indoor fun can be had at any number of museums in the area.
Lodging & attractions
When you are ready to hang your hat, Elk City offers everything from the amenities of a hotel or the laid-back atmosphere of an RV park. Elk City, on I-40, meet the needs of the weekend traveler, families and businessmen and women needing a place to call home for a night. All of Elk City’s accommodations are within a short drive to meeting facilities and tourist attractions and offer a variety of price ranges. Contact the Chamber of Commerce for a list of our Chamber Member Hotels at 580-225-0207.
Parks
The Elk City Parks Department work year-round maintaining and enhancing Elk City’s parks and Elk City Lake. Ackley Park is one of Elk City’s featured attractions. It is home to the Centennial Carousel with its 36 hand-carved wooden horses, Old Town Miniature Golf and the Choctaw Express Miniature Train.
The parks department also encourages residents to enjoy the outdoors by maintaining six smaller parks (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Jaycee, Peeler and Lincoln parks) throughout the community, five sports facilities (Red Rock Stadium, Burson Field, Trissell Field, Girls’ Five Plex and Boys’ Five Plex) and Elk City Lake.
The aquatic center, rodeo arena, Red Rock Stadium, skate park and the Centennial Lighthouse provide hours of amusement. Other amenities such as tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, a walking and jogging trail, Thunder basketball court, a new splash pad, playground and pavilion picnic areas are scattered around Ackley for visitors to enjoy.
For more information, call (580) 225-3990. Park activities are available to the public nightly from Memorial Day through the first weekend of August from 6-10 p.m., and on weekends through Labor Day from 6-10 p.m. The activities include Centennial Carousel, Choctaw Express Miniature Train and Old Town Miniature Golf. Private party bookings are available through city hall at (580) 225-3230.
Museums
Old Town Museum Complex
Nostalgia abounds in a visit to the Old Town Museum where Oklahoma pioneer life is recreated. The complex is the steward for the present generation in preserving those moments of life experienced in settings like the interior of the Rock Bluff School, the Pioneer Chapel and an early-day pioneer doctor’s office. The Beutler Rodeo Hall is a treat in itself featuring rodeo memorabilia from a long line of the nation’s top rodeo stock producers – the Beutlers. Visitors can also enjoy a relaxing stroll around Cowtown watering hole.
National Route 66 Museum
Route 66 is the most popular highway in the United States. Its path crosses eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles. The National Route 66 Museum focuses on the people who lived, worked and traveled the “Mother Road” and offers visitors a classic walk through all eight states, highlighted by realistic murals and vignettes depicting the eras of the road and the interesting places that made Route 66 so famous. As you’re traveling, you can listen to recorded histories and personal accounts of the road from overhead audio kiosks.
National Transportation Museum
Enjoy an interactive look at the history of transportation. Kids and adults will love taking in the short film on transportation history shown in the Rex Theatre. Enjoy a trip to the drive-in theater and take a seat in the back of a red 1959 Impala to watch clips from old movie greats such as The Blob – complete with drive-in speakers attached. It’s a history lesson filled with interactive, hands-on activities.
Farm and Ranch and Blacksmith Museum
The Farm and Ranch Museum, sponsored by the Western Oklahoma Historical Society, celebrates western Oklahoma’s agricultural heritage. The museum features a vast collection of tools that were used in early farm and ranch life. A blacksmith shop and windmill collection are among the exhibits depicting pioneer farmers and ranchers and their contributions to this nation.
Visitors can see amazing displays of anvils, a working table with leg vices, a wagon wheel soaker and three-belt forges. Also displayed are two permanent forges, swage blocks, a cone mandrel and a Little Giant trip hammer.
Lake
Elk City Lake is just south of town and includes a 750-acre park along with the 250-acre lake. The City of Elk City runs two fish hatcheries to keep Elk Lake & Ackley Park well-stocked with fish. Residents enjoy fishing (sauger, large mouth bass, channel catfish, hybrid striper), boating and lakeside picnic areas with barbecue grills. Elk Lake features five camper parking spaces with water and electrical hookups. There is no charge for camping at the lake, but there is a three-night maximum stay policy to allow other campers the opportunity to enjoy the facilities.
Golf
Golfers will enjoy Elk City Golf and Country Club’s 18 holes of challenging yet scenic golf. The country club also offers a snack bar/club, pro shop, driving range and panoramic views of Elk Lake. For more information, call (580) 225-3556.
Arts & Theater
Red Carpet Community Theatre
With over 50 years and more than 196 major productions to its credit, Red Carpet Theatre has truly become Western Oklahoma’s community theatre. The audience reaches out to the Texas Panhandle and surrounding small communities. It is quite typical for the cast to represent four to five communities. The theater actively promotes its projects and credits the past assistance of the Oklahoma Arts Council and Oklahoma Community Theatre Association. Local corporate support and patron memberships help make the theatre strive for excellence. For more information about Red Carpet Community Theatre, please call (580) 225-5461; P.O. Box 852, Elk City, OK 73648; or email rcct422@gmail.com.
Health Clubs
Superior Health & Fitness is the right place for swimming, aerobics, racquetball, indoor walking, nautilus equipment and tanning. Located at 1007 N. Main St. in Elk City, the facility can be contacted at (580) 243-6767. If it is CrossFit and personal training you are looking for, try Extreme Wellness at 2103 South Main Street, CrossFit 760, 1702 Enterprise Road, CrossFit Velox, 504 West 20th and Iron House Gym, 408 S. Jefferson.
Movie Theater
Flix on 6, at 2103 S. Main St. in Elk City, features four motion picture screens for family viewing. For more information, call (580) 243-3545.