Elk City on Historic Route 66

Elk City combines the history of historic Route 66 with museums, distinctive buildings, an expansive park, and the food offerings at 66 ToGo. The city is located at the intersection of Interstate 40 and State Highway 6. For planning your trip, it therefore makes sense to first consider which side of Elk City you would most like to discover: the cultural history of Route 66, the history of western Oklahoma, or days by the lake and outdoors.

Route 66 and museums as a cultural focus

The National Route 66 & Transportation Museum covers all eight states through which Route 66 runs. The National Route 66 Museum also offers a virtual tour along the Mother Road. This allows you to experience the famous highway not only as a local point of interest, but also as an overarching theme of your trip. Elk City’s annual events also include the Route 66 Festival. If you would like to choose your vacation rental or vacation home primarily as a base for historical discoveries, these attractions will shape the focus of your stay.

Several independent museums provide further insights into local history. The Old Town Museum is housed in a two-story Victorian home and displays artifacts from the early pioneer era. The Farm & Ranch Museum focuses on early rural life in western Oklahoma and features, among other things, tractors, barbed-wire collections, and windmills. The Blacksmith Museum explains how blacksmiths transformed iron and steel into useful objects by heating, hammering, bending, and cutting them.

Individual buildings also add to the historical picture. The Casa Grande Hotel and the Whited Grist Mill are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The historic Ackley Baseball Stadium is a distinctive landmark made of red rock and was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). These varied stops make Elk City appealing to travelers who want to experience history not only through exhibitions, but also through buildings and places.

Park and lake, disc golf, and 66 ToGo

For a stay with more variety outdoors, there is a 750-acre park that includes a 250-acre lake. The lake is regularly stocked with fish. Elk City Lake also has an 18-hole disc golf course with DGA Korban baskets that winds through the natural terrain around the lake. This allows you to consider different daily itineraries when choosing your accommodation: part of the trip can focus on the museums and Route 66, while another part can be devoted to the park, the lake, or disc golf.

66 ToGo is also part of the local experience. The restaurant is located on historic Route 66, two miles west of the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, and serves hamburgers, barbecue pulled pork, fish and chips, and frozen custard. For families and other travel groups, this creates a combination of history, outdoor activities, and casual dining culture, without requiring every day to have the same focus.

Which accommodation suits your trip

When searching for a vacation rental in Elk City, you can use your preferred travel theme as a guide. Travelers who place Route 66, museums, and historic buildings at the center of their trip will plan differently from those who place greater emphasis on the park, lake, and disc golf course. Accommodation in Elk City is therefore best viewed as a personal base for your preferred combination of culture, nature, and the food offerings at 66 ToGo. For more ideas in the area, you can also visit Erick.

For the broader travel overview: Beckham County.