One Day In Oklahoma City Itinerary
If you’ve got a trip planned to Oklahoma City and wondering how to spend your time there or want to know what to see and do, we have put together a one day in Oklahoma City itinerary to cover the top attractions and landmarks you must see.
Most people visiting Oklahoma City tend to typically only spend one or two days here or are just passing through on a road trip.
Oklahoma City surprisingly has a lot to see and do for such a small city that you could easily spend longer than a weekend here and not run out of things to do.
But if 24 hours is all you have or if you just want to cover the top sights before moving on with your road trip, this one day itinerary covers everything you must see in Oklahoma City.
If you’ve got more than one day to spend in Oklahoma City and wondering what else there is to do beyond this itinerary, see this Oklahoma City Bucket List.
This travel itinerary is geared towards the first time visitor and I have given recommendations on the best times to visit each location/attraction but obviously you can do whatever best suits you and your schedule.
The city is very compact and easy to get around so you should have no trouble fitting everything into your day. In fact, you could probably cover a lot more and visit one of the museums or art galleries here too if you enjoy history and culture. The two top places that I would recommend visiting if you have time is the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
One Day In Oklahoma City: What To See & Do In 24 Hours
Skydance Pedestrian Bridge
The Skydance Pedestrian Bridge would have to be Oklahoma City’s most iconic attraction and landmark.
The bridge design was inspired by the sky dance of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher bird and soars high over Interstate 40 with the sculptures wings reaching 185 feet into the air. It is such an easily recognizable feature of the city for motorists traveling through on their way south to Dallas or north to Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.
In fact, many visitors and especially motorist enthusiasts travel across the state or country just to see and photograph this beautiful structure. I know it was one of Oklahoma City’s features I most wanted to see during our trip.
The bridge is located downtown in Scissortail Park and connects the two sides of the 70 acre park which spans both the north and south sides of the freeway. Pedestrians are free to walk across the bridge whenever they feel like it.
There are good reasons to visit the bridge during the day and at night. During the day it is a good time to take travel photo’s and to inspect the structure more closely from directly underneath. However at night the city lights the bridge in bright neon colors which is spectacular to see especially with the lights of the skyscrapers seen in the backdrop.
We woke up and left our hotel room very early in the morning on our first full day in OKC to make sure we had enough time to see and do everything on our Oklahoma City bucket list.
The Skydance Pedestrian Bridge was our first destination which turned out to be a great decision as there were barely any locals out yet. This meant it was perfect for getting shots with no one in the background.
If you are hoping to get some pictures solo I suggest you get here early too!
It’s actually quite difficult trying to get the entire structure into frame while still having yourself close enough in the shot.
By the way, another bonus of getting here early in the morning is how easy it is to get parking.
Centennial Land Run Monument
The Centennial Land Run Monument commemorates the opening of the unassigned land in Oklahoma Territory with the Land Run of 1889. The Land Run took place on April 22nd, 1889 when a cannon was fired at noon and 50,000 people scrambled to lay claim to a piece of the two million acres available.
The spectacular monument which depicts the frenzied rush during the Land Run was created by artist Paul Moore.
It is one of the world’s largest bronze sculptures featuring 45 land run participants, horses, and covered wagons as they race to claim new homesteads once owned by Native Americans.
Head To Waffle Champion For breakfast Or brunch
When you’re done with seeing the Skydance Pedestrian Bridge and the Centennial Land Run Monument head over to Waffle Champion for breakfast or brunch.
Depending what time you finish playing tourist will obviously determine what time you eat, but by the time we got there it was basically brunch time as we spent a few hours taking photo’s and enjoying the fall colors a little too much.
If you’re somebody who can’t start your day without breakfast you could begin your day at Waffle Champion and then that way there will be no need to back track back to the Bricktown District.
Waffle Champion opens at 7am and even though we could also have begun the day there we are not typically breakfast people and we were feeling very motivated to begin sightseeing straight away. I get a little too excited when I’m in a city I’ve never been to.
Anyway, be sure you do not miss eating at Waffle Champion! Their food is amazing and the place just has a really cool relaxed atmosphere.
I stumbled across their shop somewhere on an OKC foodie instagram page and then saw it in this Foodie’s Guide To Oklahoma City article.
When I looked up their menu and saw that it was the kind of food that was right up our alley, I knew it would have to be on our Oklahoma travel itinerary!
They serve sweet and savory options so they can cater to whatever mood you’re feeling. They have classics like chicken and waffles but also have other varieties like BBQ pulled pork and chorizo waffles. For sweet options they have raspberries and cream, banana cream pie, s’mores, and a blueberry with thyme and goat cheese option.
The meals are large and served on cute trays with butcher paper. They also serve coffee, soda’s, milkshakes and even beer! Here is their menu if you want to check it out.
We tried the buffalo chicken and blueberry waffles. The were both so delicious! I do wish we could have tried the pulled pork though too. Oh and just in case you are wondering, they do have vegetarian options as well.
Visit The Myriad Botanical Gardens & Conservancy
Head back to downtown for more sightseeing starting at the Myriad Botanical Gardens & Conservancy.
The Myriad Botanical Gardens and Conservancy is a 17 acre botanical garden that sits in the middle of downtown Oklahoma City with skyscrapers that tower around the landscape.
It’s main attraction that visitors love the most is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservancy which is a 224-foot long glass bridge that allows you to walk through the lush tree canopy of the tropical plants it houses.
Be sure to spend twenty minutes or so wandering around the outside garden too as they have a small man-made lake filled with large koi and really cute ducks and geese.
The grounds were especially beautiful at this time of year with all the fall colors. They had also just finished setting up the Christmas ice skating rink beside the park too but it was not yet open to the public.
Explore The Bricktown District
Bricktown is Oklahoma City’s main entertainment district and is located only a few blocks from the Botanical Gardens. This is where you will find most of the cities restaurants and bars.
One of the highlight’s of Bricktown is the Bricktown canal which you can stroll along and stop in at the shops and restaurants located beside it. There is also a water taxi that will take you on a tour of the downtown Oklahoma City area while giving you a narrated tour about the history of the place.
Bricktown Ball Park & The Sports Hall of Fame
Across the road from the central Bricktown area is the Bricktown Ball Park. This is where Oklahoma City’s minor baseball league team play their home games. There were no events during our trip but if you are interested in watching one of their games you can see the Dodgers home game calendar here.
Even if you are not attending a game it’s interesting to spend a few minutes out the front of the building because of the huge Mickey Mantle statue out front.
Located right beside the Bricktown Ball Park is the Sports Hall of Fame if you are interested in that sort of stuff. We were more interested (or should I say I was more interested) in the beautiful Christmas tree they had set up out front.
Treat Yourself At Pinkitzel
If you love sweets and delicious treats head to Pinkitzel who sell yummy cupcakes, pretty macaroons, truffles, and all sorts of candy.
The decor of the shop is very colorful and over the top but in a really pretty and girly kind of way. Besides the sweets and candy the store also sells clothing and accessories however most of it seemed a little over-priced.
We came for the cupcakes so that is the only thing we left from here with. The cupcakes come in all sorts of tempting flavors like strawberry milkshake and rose lychee.
We tried the peppermint mocha and the strawberry milkshake. Both were really good. I would say the only bad thing about the cupcakes was the size. They are rather small for the price of $3.75 a piece but still worth it.
Bricktown Brewery
We stopped in at the Bricktown Brewery for a quick drink and dinner before heading out. The brewery had a really fun vibe and a young crowd. Their IPA’s were pretty tasty but we loved their menu the most!
Typical brewery style food here like burgers and fries but a few different types of items too which I always love and had to try.
We opted for getting three shared plates of appetizers consisting of the portabello fries, avocado fries, and the cheese curds. I would recommend all of them if you aren’t hungry enough to eat a whole burger.
And that’s it for your one day itinerary in Oklahoma’s capital! Of course if you don’t feel like heading back to your hotel room there are many other bars and clubs you could hop around to and also many other good restaurant to choose from if you don’t want to eat at the brewery.
We spent our first night attending a concert at the Chesapeake Arena which was the whole purpose of our trip out here. You could always see if there are any events or converts being held here too if you enjoy seeing live music.
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