Disclosure: We are a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review. We test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own..
The Parallel Forest Trail in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge is a short 0.8 mile loop trail located near Meers, Oklahoma. The trail is heavily forested and is mostly used for hiking, walking, nature trips and exploring the creepiness of this forest.
Our Visit to the Parallel Forest Trail
Once again another trail that isn’t marked. Just another service gate with several foot paths heading into the forest and one following the line of trees (Might be the Mount Scott Fire Road Trail). We found a handful trails going in all directions as people made their own trails through the forest. You will need access to a map to find the correct trail.
There’s no cell reception in this area of the refuge so download the map and use offline AllTrails maps (it works great if your phone GPS is working), GPS Tracker, or use plastic trail blazing tape to tie off to branches so won’t get lost. (remember to remove your tape as you head back to the car).
We arrived about 30 minutes before dark and wonder around until just before dark. It’s very dark and gloomy inside the forest. We never found the stone circle and with the perfection of the trees a lot of it looks the same. It got confusing quick and felt like we were going in the wrong circles. We finally found our way back to the car.
Would I recommend the Parallel Forest Trail? Yes, but that’s if you want to experience that creepy feeling you get when go into the woods. We plan on trying this trail again, but only with working GPS and copy of the map on downloaded for offline use via AllTrails. Once we completed, we won’t do the Parallel Forest Trail again unless we have friends and family with us that want to check it out.
The Parallel Forest – History
I’ve found several stories behind the history of the Parallel Forest.
Theory 1 and most popular
The Parallel Forest was a government project to counteract the effects of the Dust Bowl back in the 1930s (maybe earlier). The idea was that the trees would act as a wind block. So the government planted 20,000+ Eastern Red Cedars were planted approximately six feet part in every direction. This designed caused the trees to grow straight up and not outward. The forest stretches for 16 acres. As with any government projects, rumors spread. One rumor is the place is haunted. At the middle of the forest there is what is rumored to be stone alter. Some believe it’s a Satanic Alter.
-Source: Atlas Obscura
Theory 2 Not So Popular and Not Well Known
In the spring of 1912 superintendent Frank Rush ordered that 20,000 Eastern Red Cedar Trees to be planted to provide wood for future park projects. The trees were young, maybe even saplings (I think). They were planted in a 600 feet by 1,200 feet rectangular plot. This caused the trees to grow up instead of out. This caused the timber to tall, straight, and only few lower branches. This type of tree was prefect for building materials.
The original planting was called the Cedar Planting. Today it’s called the Parallel Forest.
Source: 405 Magazine
.
As to the hauntings. It’s not haunted as far as I know. It’s just creepy with all the perfection. Most of the people that experience the forest didn’t find any evidence of hauntings.
As to the Satanic Alter, it’s not. According to several commenters, it’s the remains of an old Spanish arrastra. In the 1950s the Eagle Scouts of Lawton, led by Scoutmaster Robert Wheeler refurbished the site. Today it’s in bad shape.
Source: Only In Your State – Comments section.
About the Images
The images were shot about 30 minutes before. It was cloudy, gloomy, and in deep shadows under the trees. I had some issues getting some of the images to stay in focus. I was able to fix some of the issues in post. I used my Sony a6000 using my Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom CC and Topaz Labs Denoise AI and Topaz Labs Sharpen AI and DXO NIK Collection
About James
Leave a Reply