Moving to Lawton, OK

I am soon to be moving to the Fort Sill, OK area on a Change of Station. I ride my dual sport all over the place here in WA but I have had very little luck researching riding in the Lawton and surrounding areas. I have a 96 DR350SE and ride it every chance I get, when its not icy here.

My questions are: are there any riders in the local area?; are there any dual sport friendly trails or riding area; does anyone know if there are rides nearby?

As a Soldier my schedule is rarely predictable, so usually when I go somewhere to ride it is spur of the moment. Any feedback on this subject would be awesome. Thank you!

Give me a yell when you get here and we'll see if we can find anything. I'm 30 miles east of Lawton.
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Will do. Thanks for the response.

I am about an hour East of Lawton. For the most part, I am working seven days a week right now, but there are occasions when I can get out. Nice DR by the way. I've had two DR 350s and loved 'em both.

-Joe

Was at ft sill back in the early '90 and there is nothing there. It is just a flat land and that is all I can said. Good luck and have fun out there.

thanks, I know it's not a "trail" bike, but I ride it like a DRZ. just wondering about places to ride and people to ride with. also interested in dual sport rides and the like. I will stay active on this forum. really like it here.

I've lived in SW Oklahoma for almost 40 years, so I know it pretty well, at least the area west of Lawton. East is different and I can't comment much on that.

First off, you won't mistake SW OK for Colorado.
Second, most of the offroad, single or doubletrack riding is private, so you'll pretty much be limited to public county roads.
So, basically, you won't be testing your riding skills much around here.

BUT, given those limitations, I think there's a lot of neat stuff around and a bike's a great way to see the area.

The Wichita Mountains are a must, whether by car, bike or foot. Your only option in the refuge is via highway, and it will be crowded during the weekend with cars and packs of other bikers, but it's worth it, particularly on a quiet weekday.
There are county roads outside the refuge that are worthwhile, particularly one that runs along the north boundary. I like the area between the Wichitas and Quartz Mountain to the west, north of Altus. The roads are all good dirt/gravel and you're riding through the "foothills" of the main mountain areas in the Wichitas and Quartz. It's pretty flat, but the contrast between the old rugged mountains and flat farmland is interesting.

North of Altus, up to and north of I40 the country changes. It's got more elevation changes and, while there's still plenty of flat farmland, is more rugged cattle country (and oil & gas). There's lots of good scenery and fast dirt roads (thanks to the o&g industry). Just watch for oilfield traffic.

It'd be hard to go wrong if you just pick a good day, study a map a little and head west and north and explore. It's pretty open country with phone coverage in most of it, and laid out in the rectangular grid system so that, in most places, there's an intersection every mile. It's hard to get too lost.

I'd also check out this thread about the Oklahoma Adventure Trail. It's still being fine-tuned but the route through SW Oklahoma is a pretty good one.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=836706&highlight=Oklahoma+adventure+trail

Also, the wind blows. A lot.

Have fun and good luck.

kilted

On everything Mr. Kilted says...with one exception. The wind does not blow...it sucks! But it sucks a lot!
Miles of great riding!!

Thank you for your replys. I will be doing alot of country road riding it seems, which I enjoy, but I guess everyone once in a while I like to get muddy! I am considering breaking down and buying a RMz 250 and learning to MX, but I think I might be a bit old for that

Lawton has some neat stuff within an hour or two for dual sporting, not nessicarily the prettiest rides, but neat destinations at least.

And if you want to buy a better handling bike and venture out around the 3 hour mark, central Oklahoma has tons of good MX and off-road riding.

I am actually in the market for a dedicated trail bike. I wouldn;t mind traveling 3 hours to do some off road trail riding. I think I am getting a 2005 DRZ-250. I have read alot about it, and I know its heavy, but it should perform better in the trails than my DR-350 and the suspension is adjustable.

Thanks for the info, where abouts are is the off road riding, and what are the difficulty levels?

Lake Stanley Draper in OKC has various riding trails, as does Lake Murray. I have never been to Draper, but there are other Inmates here who have. Murray is run by the State (fee required to use) and has about 1,000 acres of riding area. There are places at Murray with lots of sand, and the ATVs can get thick on the weekends, but it is good fun. Murray is between Ardmore and Madill off US-70.

Also there is the Red River to the South of you off the Turnpike, Burkburnett, TX.

FWIW, be sure to keep your bike securely locked while in Lawton, out of sight is even better. The crime rate there for the size of teh community is pretty high. A lot of the hard core gang members we encounter here in Purcell have imported from Lawton.

-Joe

Thank you for the advice. riding trails in Murray sounds awesome. I will keep my bikes secure definately. I have been spoiled living on post here, crime is virtually non existent.

Ok, New question. I have been unable to find any dual sport ride calendars, sanctioned by Ama or not. Does anyone here know of dual sport rides meant for the smaller types like DRs or hair scrambles for the older folk like me (34). Was wanting to get into some kind of competition eventually. All I do is work out and ride, so I am hoping to finally compete is some novice form.

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Good thing you have knobbies! Oklahoma is gravel road capitol of the USA.

Hallets raceway just built a on/road off road park inside the car track. Pretty fricken cool! All kinds of trails, just gotta explore. I found some fun shit up there one day just goofing around. Not as many fences and gate as Texas.

The panhandle sucks balls, but if you are there, you are heading to or from some epic shit. Good inmates within a Saturday ride.

There is huge (thousands of acres?) off road area off I-35 near the Texas border....Pauls Valley are, I think.

Other than that....Flat and dusty. Good hearted rednecks roam free...just ry and ditch the Hippy Wooshington accent as soon as possible, or they will think you a Commy, homosexual, pothead hippy. Tell them you are from some S.E. state too. One more thing, the Oklahomians are territorial creatures, so do NOT EVER say ".....that aint how we did it in Seattle.".

Look up the Oklahoma Cross Country Racing Association, OCCRA. Should give you some leads. I was stationed at Sill twice, thought we were retiring there until the Army moved me just short of being able to drop my retirement. Still have a house there and might make it back one day...

Dave

Thanks for the info. I will look into it all. And I am from Texas so I shouldn't stand out too bad.

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150 miles from you just accross the border in Texas is this place. Your bike could be fun there.

http://www.redrivermotorcycletrails.com/

That looks awesome. Sounds like the kind of place I need to ride. Thanks for this.

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I just thought of another place that somebody already mentioned. It is the Cross Timbers Riding Area at Draper Lake in Oklahoma City. Search for that or the Oklahoma Dirt Riders for more info.