10 Hidden Gems to Visit in Oklahoma This Summer

While I'm not from Oklahoma, I did spend a few summers growing up here. As a kid raised in an oil industry family, we did quite a bit of moving around. As an adult now, this is my third time living in Oklahoma, by my own choice.

I love this state, but with that being said, summers are hard here when you're young.

The average summer vacation was either a trip to OKC, Branson, or Dallas - depending on where the family called home. That's how it was in the 90s, but watching my nephews grow up, that's still how it is. It's like we're all so used to our everyday Sooner State lives, everyone has forgotten all of the stuff Oklahoma has to offer.

Now I'm not saying your yearly pilgrimage to Frontier City and Whitewater Bay (or whatever it's called now) isn't fun. It is. Those few single nights in my youth will live forever in my mind, like the time we were the last people at Frontier and the worker dude let us ride the Silver Bullet like six times in a row, but those places are great for the single day you'll spend there.

Oklahoma has a whole lot more to offer, but the best of the Sooner State is often overlooked and forgotten because we don't typically expect amazement to be nearby.

Here are 10 hidden gems across Oklahoma that are closer than you think, amazing, and won't have you waiting in line for only a few moments of fun.