Backwoods in Tulsa, Oklahoma 
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Our Backwoods store in Tulsa is like an outdoors club of enthusiasts who enjoy sharing their deep knowledge of everything from bouldering to mountaineering to angling and more. Whether your idea of nirvana is tent camping at the lake and fishing everyday, or loading up your backpack for an extended hiking trip through mountain trails, we’ve got a staffer who shares your enthusiasm and can help you choose from a full range of outstanding outdoor clothing and equipment.
The most fun event we’ve ever hosted didn’t even happen at the store! We took a big group of customers on a night hike at Oklahoma’s Sequoyah State Park using headlights to guide our way. Sharing such a unique experience outdoors together was a great way to get to know our customers beyond just helping them choose backpacks and hiking boots back at the store.
We are really fortunate to be located with easy access to southeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas; both are easy mini adventure travel destinations and we’ve found some excellent locations for testing outdoor gear and shorter getaways. Spending time in nature makes our jobs even better and we all love wildlife – we’ve had an Eastern Screech Owl and a blind squirrel visit our Backwoods store as well as a ten-foot Boa Constrictor. The Boa made kind of a mess, but the squirrel charmed everyone and pretty much had us eating out of his little hands!
Of course it wouldn’t be our Backwoods store without our stuffed animal dog mascot; he doesn’t bark much and kids especially love him! We have a stuffed bear wearing a backpack that the kids find fascinating and leads to all kinds of talk about everything from cooking on a camp stove to keeping camping food safe from bears. Kids naturally love the outdoors so we get a big kick out of talking with kids when families are selecting a tent for camping, a sleeping bag for each family member and all the other camping equipment that kids are excited to set-up and use.
Our staff has a great range of interests and loads of practical experience in everything from angling to rock climbing and hiking. Combined we offer more than 50 years of retail expertise in matching personal hobbies and pursuits to specialized gear like GPS hiking units, hydration systems and survival kits. The store opened in 1982 and today’s staff has extensive adventure travel experience to exotic and remote locations including Nepal, Hawaii, Africa, India, Canada, Ukraine, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, Patagonia, Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, and Morocco, so we are well-versed in what you need for your next trip across the globe or down to the local lake. And that’s exactly the kind of customers that come into our store; we have world travelers, hikers and backpackers; everyone who walks through our doors is a bit of an adventurer at heart.
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Phone:
918-664-7850 |
Store Hours:
Mon-Friday: 10am-8pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 12pm-5pm |
Address:
6508 E. 51st St.
Tulsa, OK 74145 |
GPS Coordinates:
+36° 5′ 41.59
-95° 54′ 2.48 |
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To see this stores events, please visit the
event section of this stores Facebook page.
Meet the Tulsa Staff
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Richard Mangold
Operations Manager
opsmgrtul@backwoods.com“Im Alaska born and a proud long-time Oklahoma resident. Im an evolving outdoor advocate who enjoys hiking, biking, and swimming. My travel bucket list is filled until 2089.”Favorite Outdoor Products I Use: Mountain Hardware G50 Jacket, Salomon XT Wings, Marmot Dryclime Jacket
Places I Have Traveled: California Redwood Forests, Florida Wetlands, Arbuckle Mountains
Find Me Near Tulsa at: Osage Hills State Park, Chandler Park, Table Rock Lake |
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Robert Preston
Sales Manager
slsmgrtul@backwoods.com“I’ve been with Backwoods for 20 years and have been active in the outdoors since I was a young boy. I enjoy camping, backpacking, hiking, traveling, visiting historical sites, and museums. “Favorite Outdoor Products I Use: Patagonia GI Pants
Marmot Precip, Marmot DriClime
Places I Have Traveled: Grand Teton, Mt. Rainier, Yellowstone”
Find Me Near Tulsa at: Butterfield Trail, White Rock Mountain/Shores Lake , Ozark Trail, Buffalo River |
Zen Pen in Manford, OK Submitted By: Daniel Bullock (Official Backwoods Tulsa Outsider)
Zen Pen in Manford, OK west of Tulsa about 20 minutes or so. From highway 51 and highway 48 head north about a mile or so. park near the train tracks (safely please) and walk west down the train tracks to the river. head south along the small cliff band until you reach your desired area! I have pictures of these areas if you need! For more information go
Entrance Fee:
Free |
Available Activities:
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Address:
Manford, OK nestled west of Tulsa about 20 minutes or so. From highway 51 and highway 48 head north about a mile or so. park near the train tracks (safely please) and walk west down the train tracks to the river. head south along the small cliff band until you reach your desired area! |
GPS Coordinates:
36.13881,-96.40404 |
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Horseshoe Canyon Ranch Submitted By: Daniel Bullock (Official Backwoods Tulsa Outsider)
From Tulsa you can drive to Jasper, Arkansas and climb at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch which is one of my favorite spots to climb. There is Bouldering, Sport climbing and great trad routes all in one area! You can camp onsite for 5 dollars a night but the limiting factor is no dogs are allowed. The buffalo River runs through the town of Jasper which has amazing whitewater canoeing or Kayaking, it ranges from class 5 to class 3 and goes right down to slow moving flat water. In the summer they do float trips down some sections and is a pretty big deal for most locals and traveler from Oklahoma and the surrounding areas. If people are not into the whole climbing or paddling thing there are still lots of places to swim they can head out of town towards the town of Harrison which also happens to be a beautiful drive. There are some great caves there to check out, it is guided and takes about 45mins but its fairly cheap to see and the story behind it is pretty neat also. Check out
Horseshoe Canyon Ranch for more information on hours and fees.
Entrance Fee:
$5 per day per person. |
Available Activities:
- Climbing
- Disc Golf
- Hiking
- Camping
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Address:
HC 70 BOX 261 Jasper, AR 72641 |
GPS Coordinates:
N36° 53.8107′, W102° 53.129′ |
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Wichitas Submitted By: Daniel Bullock (Official Backwoods Tulsa Outsider)
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is about 60,000 acres, one third of which is open to the public. The rest is restricted from visitors and reserved for the wildlife. This outcropping of granite in the prairie is actually some of the oldest mountains in the world. The park was established in 1901, six years before Oklahoma became a state. The land was used to reintroduce buffalo, long horn cattle and elk to the area. This was possible because chunks of granite in the soil prevented the land from being plowed and used for farming.Today this is one of the exceptional recreational areas around. This granite is superb rock for climbing with its many clefts, crags and excellent stability. There are numerous climbing areas throughout the park. The Narrows, Mount Scott, and Crab Eyes are some of the more established climbing locations. If climbing interests you, a very informative book is “Oklahoma SelectA Climber’s Guide” written by Tony Mayse. Even if scaling up the side of a cliff is not your thing, watching an accomplished climber is absorbing. Think you want to try to travel vertically? Talk to the guys at Backwoods or contact
guideforaday.com. They will have advice.Hiking is another magnificent pursuit in the park and has diverse trails for all levels. There are many trails along creeks, around boulders and through scrub oak forest. It does not matter what season you visit. In the spring there is blooming bright pink barrel cactus, the brilliant yellow prickly pear and fresh pale ivory yuccas. In early summer there are meadows full of the beautiful red and yellow indian blankets and fall has the spotted deep red sumac throughout hills and along the trails. As you hike keep you eyes alert for the incredibly diverse wildlife. Seeing buffalo cows with young calves, the radiant colored collared lizards, a lone longhorn bull resting in a low meadow area or a flock of wild turkeys walking through the sun are all possible.Whether climbing or hiking, staying in the park at Camp Dorris is a real joy. There are numerous tent and RV sites that are nicely integrated throughout the camp giving a sense of privacy and seclusion. The camp has had a very famous visitor in Teddy Roosevelt as he stayed there when he was in Oklahoma on a wolf hunt. If the camp is full and you have not made a reservation, don’t panic! The nearby Great Plains State Park almost always has openings and is about 20 miles west.
One of the best-kept secrets is the backcountry pass into Charon’s Garden. It is an easy day hike, but permits are at a premium as there are only ten a week and you can stay a maximum of three days. These passes must be reserved three months in advance. The planning and early call to the park services will be well rewarded. The Charon’s Garden area is full of wildlife and very little evidence of man. This is the best secluded, protected location to watch the sunrise, sunset and star gaze. To sit there in the fall hearing the elk bulls bugling, projecting their sounds through the canyons and valleys, is a special thrill. The romantic in me cannot help but imagine the lives of the indigenous people that walked and lived among these undisturbed sacred hills.
Restricted area is a little like the forbidden fruit. You just want a taste. You’re in luck. Tours into the restricted areas for eagle watching, elk bugling, wild flower hunting or stargazing are well worth the time. The volunteer guides are well informed and do a great job pointing out the special secrets. Once again, reservations are a must to get a seat.
On your trip home, stop by Meers for a longhorn cheeseburger or hamburger served in a pie plate. Be patient as a two-hour wait is not uncommon, but all drinks are cold and the peach cobbler with homemade ice cream solves all of the world problems………..for a while.
With the Wichita’s being only 1.5 hours away, it is hard for me not to go every time I have an free afternoon, especially this time of year. The reason is a story from a close friend. When he was a young adult he went to the Wichita’s on a cold winter day. Tired after climbing they sat down to eat as it started to snow and snow and snow. The park ranger pulled into an empty campground and found this group. He was there to inform them of the intensifying winter storm. They convinced him that they were experienced and well equipped. The ranger wished them luck and they retired to their tents. After several hours there was a full blanket of snow. The skies cleared revealing a full moon. Not to waste the perfect time they explored the hills and meadows with the aid of the moonlight and perfect virgin snow. He still recoun ts that moment with a tranquil, reverent smile of someone who received a special gift. His story got to me! Now every time it snows I think, “Can I get there?” Haven’t yet, but the gear is packed. Come on snow! Who wants to go?
Entrance Fee:
N/A |
Available Activities:
- Nature Observation and Photography
- Night Fishing
- Hiking
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Address:
20539 Oklahoma 115 Scenic, Cache, OK |
GPS Coordinates:
N34° 45.0576′, W098° 40.9238′ |
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