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Oklahoma

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Abandoned barn in west Oklahoma

Getty Images/WIN-Initiative RM

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Overview

Oklahoma gets its name from the Choctaw name for 'Red People.' One look at the state's vividly red earth and you'll wonder if the name is more of a literal than an ethnic comment. Still, with 39 tribes located here, it is a place with deep Native American significance. Museums, cultural displays and more abound.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Sunset at the exterior garden of Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

    Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum

    Oklahoma

    Image by Walter Bibikow / Getty RF

  • A wild longhorn cow on the prairie in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

    Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

    Oklahoma

    The 59,020-acre Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge protects bison, elk, longhorn cattle and a frenetic prairie dog town. Wildlife is abundant; observant…

  • The historic Tulsa Union Depot, an art deco landmark and former railway station, now houses the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

    Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

    Oklahoma

    Tulsa's beautiful Union Station is filled with sound again, but now it's melodious as opposed to cacophonous. During the first half of the 20th century,…

  • The Cherokee National Museum lies on the grounds of the Cherokee Heritage Center, where the tribe's history, culture and arts are preserved and celebrated.

    Cherokee Heritage Center

    Oklahoma

    The excellent Cherokee Heritage Center features Native American–led tours through a re-creation of a pre-European-contact woodland village and 1890s…

  • Gilcrease Museum

    Gilcrease Museum

    Oklahoma

    Northwest of downtown, off Hwy 64, this superb museum sits on the manicured estate of Thomas Gilcrease of the Muscogee Creek Nation, who discovered oil on…

  • Price Tower

    Price Tower

    Oklahoma

    You can tour the only Frank Lloyd Wright–designed skyscraper ever built, the 221ft Price Tower (1956). Inside and out it is like Architectural Digest…

  • Decopolis

    Decopolis

    Oklahoma

    Part museum, part souvenir store, part bookstore, part candyland, this multifaceted place should be your first stop in downtown Tulsa. All things art deco…

  • Woody Guthrie Center

    Woody Guthrie Center

    Oklahoma

    Woody Guthrie gained fame for his 1930s folk ballads that told stories of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. His life and music are recalled in this…

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