After our third visit to this mountain state park I'm happy to say it is one of my happy places! I…read morefeel pretty lucky only having to drive about 45 minutes to get here, it's well worth the drive! I've seen many beautiful beaches from Florida to Puerto Rico but this hike and midway views are the best, this particular hike is the first left turn inside the park (if I can find the actually name I will edit it in) it has a distinctive orange barn roof and fencing that you can't really miss, we did try and go to info where a sweet young girl pointed out this trail and way to many other things for us to follow along with so we went with this trail and have stuck to it, it can take 15 to 3 hours of hiking and exploring delinks on the type of hiker you are lol are you there for the exercise and views or the fresh air and appreciation you know!

Gorgeous relaxed easy trip for Rest and hiking, biking and camp houses near the lake beachread more

An important place to honor indigenous peoples and learn history so many do not know…read more High quality museum.

Amazing history. Beautiful facility. Worth the trip to see this historic site. Trails and a film…read more Historical artifacts

We had a great stay in The Lodge! It was the perfect size for our family of 4. Everything was very…read moreclean with lots of activities. The pool was our personal favorite! We can't wait come back in the fall.

under new management it is going great lot of new stuff happening follow on fb the pool is open…read morecamping hiking horse back riding

Spent three nights here in late August. Simply wonderful. We walked pretty much the whole place…read more Climbed rocks, rode bike and even fished a bit. The fishing is amazing even for an amateur like me. Scott, Park Manager, is a pleasure to deal with. Super friendly and supportive. We stayed down near the water in spot 29. The only minor frustration is the flies. But that was probably our own problem. They loved the outside of our RV. but were almost unnoticeable when out and about. We highly recommend this park. A very beautiful part of Oklahoma we don't get to see enough of. We will be back.

This is a hidden gem! It's very quiet and the park is immaculate. It's extremely relaxing if you're…read morelooking for a peaceful getaway. We enjoyed swimming in the lake, there's a wonderful sandy beach that's very clean. There's some decent hiking trails and apparently some good fishing, we saw a lot of people fishing near the dam. We loved how empty it was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Only a few tents and campers around, it felt very private and secluded. We had the entire beach to ourselves. Unlike Lake Lawtonka, this park allows dogs or at least we didn't see any signs indicating otherwise! Our dogs thoroughly loved it! It's pretty secluded so pack your lunch and bring plenty of water to drink. There was a small general store near the boat ramp that sells burgers but not sure they're open all year.

Absolutely the cutest, interesting small city park I've ever seen. Honors veterans and has Route 66…read morememorabilia. Great place to stop for a picnic lunch if driving On I40.

Fantastic park! Nice and clean, you just know they really take care of it. There's a playground,…read moreskate park, splash pad, tennis courts, baseball and soccer field, storage rentals, West Prairie golf course, walking trail and fishing pond. The bathrooms were clean. We came at night so I didn't get too many pictures but I'd definitely will be back to check out more of the park.

This is an absolutely reworked park. I used to worry about bringing the kids here because it was…read moregorgeous and made all out of wood, but it was hard to keep an eye on them. It had gotten rundown after all wood only last so long. They voted to refurbished the park and this is what they ended up with. This is nice as well almost as nice lake Helen Park. I love all of the seating, has canopies over it for people to sit and they've got all kinds of equipment. The kids can play on climb on and explore. Young kids to old people are hanging out here. It's for everyone. There's just so much nice wide open room that you don't feel crowded here there's trash cans by everything where you could throw your trash away after you're done snacking or drinking or whatever you happen to be doing at the time but the nice thing about the Kidzone is it so wide open you can see everything now I cannot wait until summer to see how the little miniature splash pad is. They also have the tennis courts and a basketball goal for you to play basketball.

Glad that they made 3 new attractions after some time, with another playground, to a splash pad,…read morethen a waterpark, this would be a fun park to choose from which one.

What a stunning park! A must see for several reasons. 1st:…read morethere is a Vietnam memorial that contains a smaller replica of the granite black name wall in DC. There are beautiful benches for every branch of military service. 2nd: A huge full sized blade from a modern windmill. It has been painted! It contains a mural on both sides. One side faces City Hall with beautiful art about the city. The other side is in honor of the Fallen Military and POW/MIA. It brought me to tears. Lastly, the rest of the park has two old Gas Pumps, a gazebo with tables, and even a corn hole game.

Elmer Thomas Park in Lawton, OK is not the most fascinating park ever…read more It was good enough for us back on July 26, 2025. My dog certainly appreciated it. We didn't stay here super long as I started getting anxious about the long drive back home. It's a public park. Free parking. There was a playground. A decent sized lake. Walking/running path. I stopped here mainly because the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center is just a few hundred yards away. Go touch grass! Your brain and heart will thank you.

This is a public park, but the only attraction is the local prairie dogs. Cool to see the prairie…read moredogs in their environment.

Get ready to climb! Well worth a visit. Great spot to have a picnic lunch with loved ones.read more

I discovered Gloss Mountain State Park by driving Highway 412 through Oklahoma. It's a roadside…read morestop that can't be missed. And what stands out about the park are the red and green tones of the surrounding landscape. I had a few extra hours to spare and was intrigued by the colorful valley that I never expected to find traveling the flat plains of Oklahoma. The closest town to Gloss Mountain is Fairview, OK, about 13 miles from downtown. Arriving here, there is no entrance fee. There is no park ranger. It's come and go as you please. Hours are from dawn till dusk every day. There was actually a sign on the entrance gate saying they lock up at 9pm, so maybe keep that in mind because in this part of Oklahoma during summertime, the sun doesn't set till pretty late. Exploring Gloss Mountain is simple and can take 1 hour or up to a few hours to explore depending how detailed a hiker you are. After entering the park, leave your car in the lot and then there's a hiking trail for you to take. It's called Cathedral Mountain Trail leading you directly to the summit plateau of Gloss Mountain. It's 1.2 miles in total including a 150 step climb. The hike is not hard and along the way up there are a few benches to sit down on and take a rest, or look down on the sights below. The views from high above Gloss Mountain are the big highlight. I was really surprised by the scenery. To have this type of rugged setting with red and green colors took me by surprise. You'd never expect it out of anywhere in Oklahoma. Maybe further west if you were randomly guessing on a map, but overall, the overlooks were pleasant. And once at the mesa top, you can follow the pathway around at your own leisure. It's a circular walk covering most of Gloss Mountain. Because...there's a back section to the summit and you're afforded 360 degree panoramas of the terrain. Also, there was a particular plateau called Lone Peak Mountain, that had an impressive appearance in the distance. Eventually the trails ends at a chained fence but you have another opportunity to sit down on a bench and breathe in some fresh Oklahoma air. And if you're following the trail around, you finish things looking at the eastern part of Gloss Mountain. This area had more of a flat, farmland setting. Still, you can always cross back over to the west side which had the better images. Finally, heading down the mountain takes a few minutes. Before returning to your car and back out on Highway 412, there's a short paved path leading to a plaque honoring Gloss Mountain as an official Oklahoma State Park. It's a good last minute photo opp combining the shrine monument and Oklahoma's state flag waving in the background together. Some extra things to say... - There are vault toilets in the parking lot including a random soda machine. - For mid June at 4pm, it was 105 degrees outside and pretty unbearable temperatures. But you just have to mentally block out the heat from your mind, a task easier said than done. - It was windy at the top of Gloss Mountain. I struggled to use my camera stand and had to stop being so obsessed with picture taking and just enjoy nature. - You can pick up a park brochure next to the front entrance which gives an introduction into what you can expect from a visit. Overall, Gloss Mountain State Park was scenic for being such a random roadside pullover off Highway 412 in the middle of Oklahoma. The red and green vista point perspectives provide guests with that special sightseeing factor. In the end, it made the decision for me to stop here and explore for a little while, a rewarding one.