Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Stillwater (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Boone Pickens Stadium, National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, and Boomer Lake. Also, be sure to include Payne County Courthouse in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Stillwater (Oklahoma).
Table of Contents
Boone Pickens Stadium
Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Boone Pickens Stadium has been home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboys football team in rudimentary form since 1919, and as a complete stadium since 1920. Aligned in an east-west direction since 1920, the field is the oldest in the Big 12 Conference.
With the resurgence of Cowboy football, sparked by the 2001 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the annual Bedlam Series game and the subsequent 2002 Houston Bowl season, interest grew for a major overhaul of Lewis Field. An ambitious fund-raising project for the renovation dubbed "The Next Level" became the flagship effort of the Oklahoma State athletic department.
The stadium has a capacity of 55,509.[1]
Address: 700 W Hall of Fame Ave, 74075 Stillwater
National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.[2]
Address: 405 W Hall of Fame Ave, 74075 Stillwater
Boomer Lake
Lake in Oklahoma. Boomer Lake is located in the city of Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States, and was completed in 1925. The lake, as an artificial reservoir created by damming Stillwater Creek, serves several purposes such as cooling the local power plant and providing entertainment and recreation. Boomer Lake has a surface area of 251 acres, watershed area of 8,954 acres, shoreline length of 8.6 miles, shoreline development ratio of 4.17, and mean depth of 9.7 feet. The lake was designed to contain 3,600 acre-feet in 1932, but in 2010 the capacity was reportedly only 1,484 acre-feet.
In 2011 Boomer Lake underwent severe drying due to lack of water, with water levels dropping as much as 15 ft and the shoreline receding up to 40 ft in some areas.
The lake serves as a great source for fishing and contains many varieties of fish such as largemouth bass, hybrid bass, saugeye, channel catfish, flathead catfish, crappie and many species of sunfish.[3]
Payne County Courthouse
The Payne County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Built in 1917, it is constructed of red brick and stone. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Its design is similar to the Tillman County Courthouse and the Okmulgee County Courthouse, both of which are also listed in the National Register.[4]
Pleasant Valley School
School in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Pleasant Valley School building is an example of a one-room country school that was common throughout Oklahoma during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The building was built in 1899 and continued to function as a one-room school until 1941. It remains the only extant one-room, frame school building in Payne County. It is one of the very few in Oklahoma still located on its original site and still playing the role of an educational and social center.[5]
Old Central
Building in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Old Central, historically known as the College Building, is the oldest building on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Originally built in 1894, it was the first permanent building on the Oklahoma A&M campus. Old Central's bell clapper once served as a traveling trophy in the Bedlam Series athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. The new "Bedlam Bell" is a crystal trophy modeled after Old Central's bell and is awarded to the winner of each individual athletics contest in addition to the overall series winner for each year.[6]
Oklahoma State University
Land-grant university in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, it is the flagship institution of the Oklahoma State University System that holds more than 35,000 students across its five campuses with an annual budget of $1.5 billion. The main campus enrollment for the fall 2019 semester was 24,071, with 20,024 undergraduates and 4,017 graduate students. OSU is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, OSU spent $191 million on research and development in 2017.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls have won 52 national championships, which ranks fourth in most NCAA team national championships after Stanford University,University of California, Los Angeles,and University of Southern California. The Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling is the most successful NCAA Division I program of all time in any sport. As of 2021, Oklahoma State students and alumni have won 34 Olympic medals (21 gold, 5 silver, and 8 bronze). The university has produced 29 Goldwater Scholars, 18 Truman Scholars, 18 Udall Scholars, and 48 Fulbright Scholars, astronauts, and a billionaire.
Students spend part of the fall semester preparing for OSU's Homecoming celebration, begun in 1913, which draws more than 40,000 alumni and over 70,000 participants each year to campus and is billed by the university as "America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration." The Oklahoma State University alumni network exceeds 250,000 graduates.[7]
The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University
Botanical garden in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University is a botanical garden and arboretum located just west of the Oklahoma State University campus, Stillwater, Oklahoma. It is open during business hours but also allows for access during the weekends.
The garden features over 1,000 species of herbaceous and woody plants apportioned between the Oklahoma Gardening studio gardens (5 acres), and turf and nursery research. Display gardens include annuals and perennials, water garden, rock garden, butterfly garden, wildscape garden, Japanese tea garden, and yearly theme gardens.[8]
Address: 3300 W 6th St (Physical Address Only Not Mailing) - Directions to north entrance is found under "General Information.", Stillwater
Lost Creek Safari
Zoo, Park, Outdoor activities
Address: 1200 W 80th St, 74074-8284 Stillwater
Selph Building
Historical place in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Selph Building is one of the first commercial buildings to be built in the downtown area of Stillwater, Oklahoma.[9]
Edmon Low Library
University library in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Edmon Low Library is the main library of the Oklahoma State University System. It is located on the main campus of the university in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The library holds more than 3 million volumes, and offers Internet access to online users through its expanded website and web-based catalog.
Established in 1953, the Edmon Low Library is named after Edmon Low, a former university librarian who served until his retirement in 1967. Low worked with OSU President Henry G. Bennett to build a new library building, one that would become the center of the Oklahoma State University - Stillwater campus following the completion of Bennett's Twenty-Five Year Plan.[10]