El Reno West KOA

Bringing your rental motorhome to El Reno West KOA puts you within 15 minutes’ driving distance of the historic Fort Reno, established by the US Army in the late 1870s as an outpost to pacify the Native Americans. It later served as a POW camp during WW II and a research laboratory for the US Dept. of Agriculture in the late 1940s. Come here to browse the museum's artifacts, which include German POW letters, and stroll the parade grounds and the POW cemetery. In all, there are more than a dozen buildings to be discovered here. Don't miss the fort's gardens where migrating monarch butterflies feed and rest.

If you like to view wildlife in vast numbers and on a much bigger scale from the comfort of your El Reno camper rental, explore the Great Plains Trail of (Western) Oklahoma. One of the closest to town when you have an RV rental near El Reno West KOA is the Black Kettle Loop, which you can access via Foss a little more than an hour's drive from El Reno. From Foss, the Washita National Wildlife Refuge is less than an hour's drive away. You don't have to step out of your camper rental to view the wildlife here. Bring binoculars and cover more ground when you take the 22-mile auto tour route. But if you'd like to get closer, try Washita's Centennial (wheelchair accessible) and Riverside Hiking Trails.

An ancient sea once covered a part of Oklahoma that is now occupied by the Great Salt Plains State Park and the adjacent Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. A magnet for about 300 species of birds, the place also attracts a good crowd of selenite crystal diggers. You may not sell these crystals, but you're allowed to dig for fun during the season (April 1 to October 15). You can also swim in or kayak on the lake, hike or bike on the trails, or cast a line out for catfish, saugeye, and sand bass that are abundant in the salty, shallow waters. There's an RV park here for El Reno campers so you can spend the night in the shaded campground and continue to explore the 800-acre park.

For a fitting introduction to El Reno, step inside the museum complex of the Canadian County Historical Museum. Here you'll see several historical buildings scattered around the museum grounds, including the first Red Cross canteen in the country, General Philip Sheridan's headquarters, and the main museum housed in the fully restored Rock Island Depot. Hop aboard the Heritage Express Trolley (on rails) for a fun and informative ride from the museum grounds through downtown. You’ll find numerous restaurants here serving Mexican, Asian, and BBQ fare, close to two dozen gas stations, and a handful of grocery and convenience stores so you don’t have to go far to refuel or stock up on provisions.

Upon reaching downtown, take some time to admire the city's heritage homes and collection of buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Route 66 passes right through downtown El Reno, and some of the landmarks associated with the Mother Road remain standing. The Art Deco Avant Service Station and the vintage Jackson Conoco Service Station are just a couple of several survivors. Since the turn of the 20th century, hungry road-trippers stop in town for fried onion burgers, and today, the town celebrates the Fried Onion Burger Day Festival the first Saturday in May.

Everything cowboy and related to the story of the West can be found at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, less than an hour's drive away when you’re RV camping at El Reno West KOA. The museum archives the largest collection of rodeo photography in the world, houses the Rodeo Hall of fame, and displays paintings and sculptures by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and James Earle Fraser. Don’t forget to browse the museum's Native American galleries to see artwork, artifacts, and other historical objects that celebrate Native American art and heritage.

Come to El Reno for the natural and human history of the area, and you won’t be disappointed. Book an RV rental in El Reno, Oklahoma, and surprise yourself with the wonders it has to offer.