Robbers Cave State Park

A few weeks ago I celebrated the beginning of Spring by marking Robbers Cave off my State Park list. I have heard about Robbers Cave my whole life, so I was looking forward to exploring it.

Robbers Cave is said to be the place where Jessie James, Bella Starr and other well known fugitives hid from the law and possibly where they buried any money they had. With 8,000 acres, three lakes, and miles of hiking trails, there’s easily something for everyone staying there.

Our group was able to arrive Friday evening, which gave us a chance to set up camp and relax. Saturday morning we visited the Nature Center to find out which trails the rangers would recommend for hiking. Our first stop was of course, the entrance of Robbers Cave. The hike up was steep, but not too difficult.

Robbers Cave was pretty crowded. There were tons of kids climbing on the rocks, which I’m sure they weren’t supposed to do. It was a little frustrating at times trying to navigate through what little room there was with people not giving you the right of way. Eventually we worked our way up to the top. The view up there was worth it.

We wandered around the top for awhile before making our way back down. While we were down at the bottom taking a snack/water break, a woman near us slipped and broke her leg. I called 911 and we, along with a few other people stayed with her until the ranger and medics arrived. I’m glad we were there because they originally wanted to move her closer to the parking lot (we weren’t even that far). Anyone who has had first aid training knows you never move an injured person unless you have to. Once all that was taken care of we headed back to the camp site for lunch.

We had originally planned to hike a trail near the entrance to the cave, but with it being so crowded, we didn’t want to go back. So we decided to hike the Coon Creek trail, which was up by the Cabin Office.

At times you couldn’t tell where the tail was, but the rangers had marked trees the whole way to tell you which way to go. The trail took just over an hour, with us stopping now and then for breaks or to pick up trash.

For anyone who visits, the “primitive” campsites (aka – no bathroom right by the sites) are much quieter. The walk to the bathroom isn’t far, though you will need to bring your own toilet paper. Besides waking up to a leaking tent that night, and having to put up a smaller tent inside the bigger tent, the trip was a lot of fun. I definitely wanna go back when it gets warmer and is a bit greener to explore some more trails.

Wichita Wildlife Refuge

When people think of hiking, many don’t think of Oklahoma. We might not have the mountains or landscape places like Colorado, Utah or California have, but if you like wide open spaces, you’ll enjoy it just the same.

The Wichita Wildlife Refuge is probably one of my favorite places to explore. The thing I love most about the refuge is Mount Scott. At 2,464 feet, it’s just high enough so you can see the refuge and the area around it. Depending on your comfort level, some people stay on the edge by the parking lot and some climb over the rocks around the top, hoping to get a good view.

Each time I’ve been to Mount Scott I’ve driven up to the top. When I went in January, I saw several people walking along the road instead of driving. It would defiantly take awhile, but I’ve put walking the road on my list of things to do.

I also explored a few trails that were around 2 miles each. If I was staying the night I would have gone on trails that were longer, but my drive home was about two hours, so I had to keep track of what time it was.

No matter your experience or endurance, there is something anyone can do at the refuge, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to explore the Southwestern part of the state.