Oklahoma’s Great Salt Plains Are Open For The Season

One of the funnest field trips many Northern Oklahoma students get to experience is the Great Salt Plains near Jet, OK.

It's a massive dry saltwater lake basin in the middle of nowhere, but the really cool part is the salt crystals. It's the only place they're found, and it's free to go have a good time bringing home free crystal keepsakes.

What makes them so cool is that while they're all technically the same, they all tend to look a little different. Some are huge while others are clustered together, and the bigger they are, the more they're worth to the right buyer... but most people like to keep a handful of them for their own.

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It is worth noting that this is the messiest fun a family can have on the plains of Northern Oklahoma.

First off, the fine layer of salt across the surface gets everywhere. You can smell it all around you, and odds are the combination of work and fun will leave you as thirsty as you've ever been.

The mud isn't quite brown nor red. It's a mix between the two colors and it'll stain everything you're wearing. They literally make Oklahoma t-shirts dyed with this mud.

Also, you'll want to get there early in the season, or early in the day. The salt flats get very hot, even on what we would consider to be a cool day. My best guess is that the sun reflecting off the salt heats you from below, so there's no getting around the heat in this state park.

You don't have to dig deep to find crystals, but most people get crystal fever in the excitement of the experience. As you dig, the hole will start to swell with groundwater so cleaning off your crystals is relatively easy.

What you'll need.

Digging tools are super helpful. Garden spades and shovels come in handy, but you don't have to go overboard. The ground is super soft and sandy so it's really easy to dig.

Take a change of clothes and shoes. The sand will be caked on everything, and you don't want that in your car after you're done. Take a storage tub or some garbage bags to put everything in when you're ready to head home. Makes cleanup super easy.

The Great Salt Plains are open now through mid-October. If you want to have a fun and free family adventure, this checks all the boxes.

@midwesttravelmama Digging season is now OPEN! 📍Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Jet, Oklahoma #oklahoma #crystaldigging ♬ original sound - Kristen