One of Oklahoma’s Most Overlooked Hikes Is Hiding Near Fairview

Every once in a while I’m reminded that most of Oklahoma’s best views don’t come with billboards.

They come with directions like, “Turn left at the grain elevator and just keep going.”

A few hours north of us, just outside of Fairview, sits Gloss Mountain State Park. And if you’ve never been, that’s kind of the point. It’s not on the way to anything. You have to decide you’re going there.

People hear “plains” and picture flat. Western Oklahoma especially gets labeled as empty, red dirt, nothing to see. And then you pull up to the Gloss Mountains and it looks like someone dropped a stack of rust-colored mesas right in the middle of farm country.

They’re not towering. They’re not dramatic in the way the Wichitas are dramatic. They’re just… sitting there. Wide. Layered. Quiet.

Stop Selling It, I'm Sold

If you’re looking for a hidden gem place to hike, this is it. Not because it’s extreme. Not because it’s technical. It's one of Oklahoma's prettiest places to visit because it's so quietly simple.

The Cathedral Mountain Trail is only about a mile and a half long, and chill enough you can walk it in sneakers. It’s more incline than distance, but really easygoing. You just walk up. And the higher you go, the more western Oklahoma opens up around you. Wheat fields, farmland, and because it's on the plains, this enormously big sky peeks out around you. It feels way bigger than it is.

A View That Will Humble You

The best part about Gloss is the lack of chaos around you. You’re not shoulder to shoulder with other hikers. You’re not waiting in line to take a picture. Some days you’ll pass a handful of people. Other days, it's like you've rented the place out just for yourself.

Stay until sunset if you can. The colors off that red gypsum rock change by the minute. And once it gets dark, without big cities polluting the sky with their light, the stars get ridiculously bright. It's something to see.

Fairview is close, but it's small. Like blink and you’ll miss it small, but if you make the drive, do yourself a favor and stop for some local eats. I still stand by my old rule. The worse the cafe looks from the outside, the better the food probably is on the inside.

As we get back out into nature this spring, if you’re looking for a hidden gem hike in Oklahoma that you've probably never explored, Gloss Mountain is quietly waiting.