Top 5 Things to Do in Oklahoma City

This past weekend I had my 10-year high school reunion and found out one of my dearest friends moved to Oklahoma City this summer. We got to talking about a great restaurant there and it made me want to write a post about my favorite things to do in Oklahoma City! So this one goes out to you, Julianne!

Where to Eat, Sleep & Drink Coffee

• 

• 

• 

Coffee & Breakfast: Aurora

So I originally planned to tell you about a great coffee and brunch place we had found in the Plaza District, but it has sadly closed… And this is why you shouldn’t wait four months to write a blog post! Their website and Google says it is “temporarily” closed, which doesn’t really match their Facebook, so we’re going to keep it on the list, just in case. I should also mention there are several other restaurants in this area and many share the “backyard” space pictured above.

Update December 2019: They’ve reopened! Go by and check them out for breakfast and a cup of coffee!

Location: 1704 NW 16th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73106

Alternative Coffee Place

If Aurora still hasn’t reopened or rebranded at the time you’re reading this, I still have a coffee recommendation for you: Clarity Coffee! Clarity is located downtown, and not being an OKC native or frequent visitor, I can only say parking isn’t great around it. Street parking is not free, but there are several garages around that may be validated or free. Don’t quote me, I didn’t try any out! There staff was super chipper the morning we visited, so proceed with caution. (HAHA)

Location: 431 W Main St, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Lunch & Dinner: OSO Paseo

An Oklahoma take on “Mexican” food in the Paseo Arts District. Quotes around Mexican because everyone know “the Mexican foods sucks north of here anyway.” I hope I just took you back to the early 2000s. Also, please excuse my poorly expose photo above, I just think it’s always helpful to know what building you should be looking for!

As a Texan, it is in my DNA to know what a good taco is. The fish taco was really good, and the fish was surprisingly big! Being an expert on both tacos and any type of BBQ, I would not recommend the brisket taco. I wasn’t big on the sauce and the brisket was pretty dry.

• 

• 

Two things. The blue wall actually has water coming down from the metal pipe. It would make for a really cute picture if you could get one of the two tables that backs up to it! Second, if you go to OSO Paseo, please let me know what you think of the pasta wheels… I wasn’t super into them. If you’re not into trying the tacos or pasta wheels, keep reading!

Location: 603 NW 28th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73103

Sleep: AC Hotel

I had one of the best nights sleeps I’ve ever had in a hotel, in the AC Hotel by Marriott Oklahoma City Bricktown. The pillows and sheets were great, so great I considered buying them. The staff we interacted with were also super nice. They were also really apologetic when I tried to book a second night stay for the next night, they were all booked! As the name mentions, its in Bricktown, which I will tell you more about below.

If you decide to give the AC Hotel a try, simply click here to have a look at it and book! If you do end up booking with Hotels.com, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you!

Location: 411 E Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Things to Do in Oklahoma City

• 

• 

1. The Jones Assembly

The Jones Assembly was probably the favorite place we stopped to eat at. But this is a list of things to do…and let me tell you, The Jones Assembly offers so much more than food! Before I do that, let me talk about my pizza real quick. Clearly like so many other food pictures I’ve shared, eating was more important than taking a picture. The pizza was really good, however I don’t recommend adding chicken. It looked and tasted like they forgot about it and just chopped some up they had for a salad and threw it on before they brought it out.

Not only was this restaurant playing a Harry Potter movie on a giant projector screen, but they have a pretty good drink list and private areas for renting/hosting small parties. But those aren’t the things that earn The Jones Assembly a place on this list. Their outdoor area easily opens to the main dining room, making it perfect for concerts! Because, that’s right. They are also a concert venue! So if you’re in town wanting to try The Jones, be sure and check out their website here to see if they’re open having a concert or open for dining!

Location: 901 W Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73106

2. Wheeler Ferris Wheel

What you’re looking at is actually the old ferris wheel from Santa Monica Pier in California! Besides the ferris wheel, Wheeler Park also has room for kids to run and play, bocce ball and other family-friendly activities. There isn’t an admission or parking fee and it’s only $6 to ride the ferris wheel. Something to note though, the park is closed on Mondays. For anyone wanting minimal people in the background of their photos, this may be the perfect day for you to go. The park butts up to the riverfront area where joggers and bikers can easily go, so the area is open. You’ll just have an issue with close parking.

Also something to note, the ferris wheel closes during the winter. This year (2019), it is closed December to April 2020. Check their website here for more information.

Location: 1701 S Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73109

3. Myriad Botanical Gardens

Located on the edge of Bricktown District and close to downtown is the beautiful Myriad Botanical Gardens! Not only is this a great place to explore on the inside, but it has a great (free) area outside. The large pond below the Crystal Bridge is filled with coy and ducks and they even have a dog park and carousel!

Admission to the Crystal Bridge is $8 for adults and is filled with all kinds of plant life, cute photo spots and waterfalls! Be sure and explore both levels inside the bridge to get an overhead look at all of the plant life. It can also get quite warm in this massive greenhouse, so keep that in mind. If you’re interested in visiting the gardens, check out their website here before you go.

Location: 301 W Reno Ave, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102

4. Bricktown District

Bricktown is home to a minor league baseball team, tons of shops, restaurants, breweries and bars. The even have a river/canal area that almost reminds me of the Riverwalk in San Antonio. You can even take a water taxi!

Side note: I once went to Chicago and our Uber driver, upon learning we were from Texas, mentioned that they also had a “riverwalk”. He was unsure how it compared to ours, as he had never been to Texas. Let me tell anyone and everyone that has only been to Chicago’s riverwalk and not San Antonio’s: THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AT ALL. Your mind will be blow if you decide to visit San Antonio.

Another fun way of getting around Bricktown and OKC in general, are electric scooters! We spent most of our time in Bricktown riding scooters, which is why I have so few pictures from this area. If you haven’t tried them yet and would like a $3 ride coupon for Lime scooters, use this link to download the app: https://limebike.app.link/referralcodes?promo_code=RPZQHMZ

5. The Gold Dome

This is an interesting addition to this list, I agree, but it has the possibility to be a great shooting location for your Instagram pictures! This is also a historical landmark that the people of Oklahoma have fought for multiple times. It was originally built in 1958 to house a bank and it’s special geodesic dome is what got everyone rallying behind it.

We visited around 7pm during June. Our pictures were very bright and I did my best to remove the shadows from my face. Just keep our time in mind if you decide to go take your own pictures!

Location: 1112 NW 23rd St, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

– Texan Travels

Hi friends! This is a stand alone post for Oklahoma City. If I visit again and write anything more, I’ll update this section. Also, I think you could easily turn a visit to OKC into a Girls Weekend! Let me know below if you’ve taken one of my recommendations and put it into your itinerary for OKC!

Remember to pin the image below, if you’d like a quick reference of all the addresses listed above!