Comanche County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 121,125, making it the fifth-most populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Lawton. The county was created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory. It was named for the Comanche tribal nation.
Medicine Park is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, situated in the Wichita Mountains near the entrance to the 60,000-acre (240 km2) Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Park has a long history as a vintage cobblestone resort town. Medicine Park is located near the city of Lawton and Fort Sill. It is an exurb, part of the Lawton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Many of the original structures are constructed of naturally formed cobblestones—these red granite cobblestones are unique to the Wichita Mountains. The population was 382 at the 2010 census.
Snyder is a city in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,394 at the 2010 census. This figure represented a decline of 7.6 percent from 1,509 persons in 2000.
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-southeast trending series of rocky promontories, many capped by 500 million-year old granite. These were exposed and rounded by weathering during the Pennsylvanian and Permian Periods. The eastern end of the mountains offers 1,000 feet (305 m) of topographic relief in a region otherwise dominated by gently rolling grasslands.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. The refuge's location in the geologically unique Wichita Mountains and its areas of undisturbed mixed grass prairie make it an important conservation area. The Wichita Mountains are approximately 500 million years old. Measuring about 59,020 acres (238.8 km2), the refuge hosts a great diversity of species: 806 plant species, 240 species of birds, 36 fish, and 64 reptiles and amphibians are present.
Lake Jed Johnson, named for Jed Johnson (1888–1963), is third largest of thirteen small reservoirs in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma. Lawton, Oklahoma, southeast of the lake and the fourth largest city in the state, is the nearest major population center. Smaller communities of Cache, Medicine Park and Meers lie north of the lake.
Lake Ellsworth is a lake in Caddo and Comanche counties in the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was built by the City of Lawton, Oklahoma in 1962, primarily to serve as a water supply source for Lawton and the surrounding area. The nearest community is Elgin, Oklahoma.
The Charon's Garden Wilderness Area is part of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma and is managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. It is located to the west of Medicine Park, Oklahoma and north of Lawton, Oklahoma. The wilderness area, dominated by rugged granite mountains, oak forests, and mixed grass prairies, covers 5,723 acres (23.16 km2) in the western portion of the Refuge. It is not unusual to run into deer, buffalo, elk, longhorn, and prairie dogs. Day use and limited backcountry camping is allowed with a permit from the Refuge. The area is popular with rock climbers, with formations such as Echo Dome and Crab Eyes being popular destinations.
State Highway 49 (SH-49) is a 30-mile-long (48 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It runs from SH-54 in Kiowa County to Interstate 44 (I-44) near Lawton. Part of the highway runs through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; this portion of SH-49 carries no signage identifying it as such. It has no lettered spur routes.
Meers is an unincorporated community located on State Highway 115 in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, in the foothills of the Wichita Mountains. In 1901, Meers was founded as a gold prospecting town where it was named in honor of mine operator Andrew J. Meers from Cherokee County, Georgia.
Southwest Oklahoma is a geographical name for the southwest portion of the state of Oklahoma, typically considered to be south of the Canadian River, extending eastward from the Texas border to a line roughly from Weatherford, to Anadarko, to Duncan. Geologically, the region is defined by a failed continental rift known as the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen. The austere nature of the prairie landscape with intermittent island ranges has made it a favorable place for artists and photographers alike. For tourism purposes, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has designated Southwestern Oklahoma as Great Plains Country, and defined it to consist of 14 counties including Roger Mills, Custer, Beckham, Washita, Caddo, Kiowa, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Comanche, Tillman, Cotton, Stephens, and Jefferson counties.
Mount Scott is a prominent mountain just to the northwest of Lawton, Oklahoma rising to a height of 2,464 feet (751 m) and is located in the Wichita Mountains near Fort Sill Military Reservation and lies in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (WMWR). The US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the maintenance of the area. Visitors can reach the summit by car or bicycle via a three-mile paved road. Hiking is allowed, although there are no formal trails and the paved road is open to pedestrians and bicycles from 6am to 9:30 am only. Mount Scott is also popular for its numerous rock climbing areas. The peak was named in honor of General Winfield Scott.
The Geography of Oklahoma encompasses terrain and ecosystems ranging from arid plains to subtropical forests and mountains. Oklahoma contains 10 distinct ecological regions, more per square mile than in any other state by a wide margin. It is situated in the Great Plains and U.S. Interior Highlands region near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. Usually considered part of the South Central United States, Oklahoma is bounded on the east by Arkansas and Missouri, on the north by Kansas, on the northwest by Colorado, on the far west by New Mexico, and on the south and near-west by Texas.
Mount Pinchot is the highest peak in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge of Southwest Oklahoma at 2,476 feet above sea level. It is located toward the western edge of the WMWR. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the maintenance of the area. Mount Pinchot is located within the Wildlife Refuge's Special Use Area and is closed to the public. Special wildlife viewing tours are offered by the Refuge which take participants very near the base of the mountain.
Lake Lawtonka is a lake in Comanche County in the state of Oklahoma in the United States. The lake is 2 square miles (5 km2) in area. It is formed by a dam 60 feet (18 m) and 375 feet (114 m) long across Medicine Creek.
Cache Creek is a small creek in Cotton County, Oklahoma and a tributary of the Red River. Cache Creek has a distance of 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from the Red River to the East Cache Creek and West Cache Creek basin. The East Cache Creek and West Cache Creek confluence is located 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Temple, Oklahoma.
Elmer Thomas Lake is a lake in Comanche County in the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It is located on the boundary between the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge and Fort Sill military base. The lake is named for an Oklahoma lawyer and politician, Elmer Thomas (1876–1965), who lived in Lawton and represented Oklahoma's 6th Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1922 until 1926, then was elected as U.S. Senator, where he served until 1950.
Ketch Ranch House or Ketch Ranch was private property located in the Wichita Mountains of Southwestern Oklahoma. During the early 1920s, the forest reserve residence was established as a working ranch and vacation home for Ada May Ketch and Frank Levant Ketch who served as mayor of Ringling, Oklahoma.
Lawtonka Acres is a census-designated place (CDP) in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.
Blockhouse on Signal Mountain is within the Fort Sill Military Reservation, north of Lawton, Oklahoma. The rock architecture is located along Mackenzie Hill Road within the Fort Sill West Range being the Oklahoma administrative division of Comanche County.
Robinsons Landing managed by City of Lawton
Primitive camping at Robinsons Landing Park
General store and recreational permits information at Robinsons Landing Marina
Boathouses at Robinsons Landing Marina
Fishing regulations for Lake Lawtonka
Marina boathouse construction with pictorial of Mountain Scott
