Black Mesa Preserve & State Park
Oklahoma’s highest point sits in remote shortgrass country where darkness, distance, and weather are central to the trip.
Artwork inspired by Doel Reed
The Black Mesa summit rises to 4,973 feet near the New Mexico line, reached by a long exposed hike across private-access easements and preserve land. The separate state park provides camping and exceptional night sky but is not the summit trailhead.
Carry all water, download directions, check heat and storm forecasts, and start early. Cell service is unreliable, roads can be rough, and the summit hike has little shade; keep the two similarly named locations straight when navigating.
Shape the visit around summit preserve and state park are separate and water, offline directions, weather, and fuel, which reveal different scales of the same landscape. 5 hours–overnight is a useful starting allowance, but weather and seasonal access should decide the final route.
- Elevation
- 4,973 feet
- Setting
- Kenton, Oklahoma, United States
- Admission
- State parking or camping fees may apply
Quick guide
- Navigation
- Summit preserve and state park are separate
- Preparation
- Water, offline directions, weather, and fuel
Read Black Mesa Preserve & State Park with purpose
- Navigation
- Approach Black Mesa Preserve & State Park through summit preserve and state park are separate; it provides the scale needed to understand the landform before chasing the standard viewpoint.
- Preparation
- Use water, offline directions, weather, and fuel to read the process behind the scenery—erosion, water, wind, fire, or uplift should remain visible in the explanation.
- Elevation
- Compare 4, 973 feet from two distances.
- Setting
- Make kenton, Oklahoma, United States the practical limit for this visit to Black Mesa Preserve & State Park, especially when weather, exposure, or fading light reduces the margin for error.
Good to know
Black Mesa State Park and the preserve’s summit trail are separate destinations, and navigating to the campground will not place hikers at Oklahoma’s highest-point trailhead.
Notice these
- 4,973 feet
- Summit preserve and state park are separate
- Water, offline directions, weather, and fuel