Red Rock Canyon Park

Perfect days to go hiking around a geological wonder like Red Rock Canyon don't come along everyday. I had just finished exploring the Hinton Historical Museum and I was ready to get out into nature. And in less that two miles, we were there. It had been years since I had been to this park when my parents and I came here to snoop around. They were adventurers too so I come by it naturally! I remembered a little bit about it so I wanted to relive the experience. We pulled into the park and were met with a booth where you could pay for entry to the park and campgrounds and get a latte if you needed one. Just a day pass today. It was only $10 which isn't bad. These parks need a lot of upkeep and my little Hamilton happily went to the cause. One little problem, I wasn't told that a church group had blocked off half of the park for a special event. The really good scenic half. So, we drove around a little, got out and strolled around the horseshoe shaped canyon, looked at some cliffs and chimney rock. It was all very cool. I just wish I could have seen more. That just means I'll have to come back over here another day. I have a lot more exploring to do in Oklahoma so I'll pass by it a few times. Hopefully there won't be another church event blocking my way.

There are places to picnic, camp in tents, camp in cabins, trails to hike, a pool open certain times of the year, and a road where you don't even have to get out to see some wonderful Oklahoma red stone cliffs. You can see where people have carved their names into the cliff face. Some of the carvings were pretty high so I couldn't image how someone got up there. Then it occured to me that some of them might be really old and the ground had eroded so much that it only looked high up now. One of the oldest carvings found at the park is from 1855. Wow! So my assumption is probably at least partially correct.

This used to be a state park, but Oklahoma couldn't or didn't want to keep it up so they were going to close it. The city of Hinton stepped up and took it over, so thanks to them we have another beautiful place to hang out in the Oklahoma wilderness.

116 Red Rock Canyon Road, Hinton

405-542-6344

Jonathan Elmore ©2025