Life, Travel

Hiking Oklahoma: Kite Trail

While the rest of the Internet has fully embraced fall, southwest Oklahoma can’t seem to make up its mind. Some days don’t get above 50°F and others we’re still seeing high 80’s. So when we found ourselves with a warm day, we headed straight for the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and checked out Kite trail!

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

I’ve shared about the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge a few times before – here and here, for starters – and it’s our favorite place to hike in the area. We’re trying to get to all the trails while we live here, so picked a short one for the afternoon!

The Kite trail is a quick one, only 1.3 miles each way. Perfect for an afternoon where you’ve only got a few hours. It also crisscrosses several other trails, making it easy to make a day of it.

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose


Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

The trail starts in a wooded picnic area next to a lake, picturesque and sun-dappled. Pretty quickly it reaches a dam, where we saw a couple guys and their dogs attempting to cross it.

The best part of the Kite trail is the way it winds along the top of a gorge. It’s so unlike anything else I’ve seen in Oklahoma, steep and unexpected. Something about it reminded me of the canyons in New Zealand, transplanted across the globe.

Beauty aside, its official name is the Forty Foot Hole. Sounds about right.

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Parts of the trail is well marked with a symbol of a kite, but short sections over broad rocks require a little guesswork. Also, keep an eye out for snakes – we always heard them before we saw them, but be aware.

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

Secret Oklahoma hiking spots are the best! Check out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for Oklahoma's biggest gorge and beautiful scenery. | Teaspoon of Nose

We love the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, and the views off Kite trail are some of my favorites! Where is your favorite place to hike?

All images copyright Teaspoon of Nose.

10 thoughts on “Hiking Oklahoma: Kite Trail

  1. Looks like a wonderful hike, parts of it do remind me of nz! I’d love to do this one day. Love the way you describe the walk. It makes the reader feel like they’re with you

    1. Thanks Jem! It was crazy how the canyon reminded me of NZ (but of course, then I’d turn around and see cacti. So… only parts).

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