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DISTANCE
One complete lap is almost 8 miles
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DIFFICULTY
Has some very technical sections and numerous (steep) climbs.
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RIDE TYPE
Good stuff! 99% single track, fast and slow with difficult climbs up the bluffs and technical
downhills; a real workout.
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WHEN TO RIDE
Only when the trail is really dry. The dirt at the Nose will clogg your bike in
seconds when it gets wet.
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SHOP TALK
Closest shop; OKC?.
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GETTING THERE
Drive to Watonga (2 CD's or 1.5 hours NW of OKC). Then head North on Highway 8 for about 3 miles. Turn North on Highway 8A to Roman Nose State Park.
In park keep going straight until you cross a creek. Turn right up the hill to the stables but keep on going and make a right turn
at the 'General Store'. Park car, unload bike and ride... Go
here
for a map with directions to the park and
here
for inside the park. Go here for a trail map.
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02/09/03 - Sports Source Roman Nose article (June 2002 edition) added.
12/26/02 - Roman Nose MTB trails map added.
2001/2002/2003: Several trail workdays by the OEF have added several benchcuts to replace
eroding fall line sections. Improvements will continue to be made through-out 2003.
June 2000: Team Body Bag & friends added almost 4 miles to the old trail (after the golf course took
part of the old OEF SlimeFest course away from us) to complete an 8 mile loop. Follow part of the old loop to
get to the new area. The 8 mile loop is a figure 8, you ride a short climb twice (center of the '8').
A complete trail description and new map will follow soon. The trail is currently not marked and you can get lost
because of a few side trails. This is a multi-use trail, be ware of hikers and especially equestrians.
Ride reports with pics:
May 2004 ride report.
June 2003 ride report.
Memorial Day 2003 ride report.
April 2003 workday & ride report.
March 2003 workday & ride report.
March 2003 ride report.
Nov 2002 ride report.
Sept 2002 ride report.
May 2001 ride report.
2001 IMBA weekend - NuDraper & Roman Nose.
Dec 2002 ride report.
Old stuff:
Roman Nose has gone under some changes (9 more holes to the Golf Course) and we lost some trail. But the guys who have
been up to ride recently say it's still one of the best around.
Watonga, OK. - Take 1-40 West from OKC and follow the signs.
Chief Henry Roman Nose
Roman Nose State Park near Watonga, Oklahoma, is named after the Southern Cheyenne Chief, Henry Roman Nose (often confused with the Northern Cheyenne Chief roman Nose, killed at the Battle of Arickaree in eastern Colorado, 1868).
Born June 30, 1856, near the headwaters of the Arkansas River, Henry Roman Nose was reared in the nomadic environment of buffalo hunting and tipi dwelling. In 1868, his tribe was forced to give up their nomadic ways and locate in what is now western Oklahoma.
Roman Nose's camp was located in the large canyon which later would become part of Roman Nose State Park. The canyon was an ideal camp site since its high walls protected the Indian lodges from the cold winter winds. The canyon also had plenty of good running water near the grass country of the buffalo.
Despite constant cavalry patrols of the area, conducted by the infamous George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Calvary Unit, the Cheyenne continued their raids on the white settlements. In 1875, as a result of these raids, several Cheyenne chiefs and warriors were imprisoned and shipped to St. Augustine, Florida. One of these Chiefs was Henry Roman Nose.
After three years of imprisonment, several captives were sent to Hampton Institute in Virginia. Roman Nose was one of these few fortunate captives. Later he went to Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, and in 1881, returned home, fully qualified as a tinsmith. The next years were full of change for Roman Nose. He married Red Paint Woman, who soon died. His tinsmithing abilities proved to be unproductive in a land where the Indian had little use for his skills and the white man would not do business with Indians. For the next four years he worked as a scout for the cavlary and as policeman for the Indian Agency. In June 1891, he received his allotment and began using his education by trying to preserve parts of the Indian way of life. In 1889, he became chief of the Cheyenne, serving until his death in 1917.
Roman Nose's life spanned the most turbulent times for Cheyenne people. He can be remembered as a great peacemaker who helped his people make the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to the settled existence of the whites.
More info:
Okeene's History - Cheyenne & Arapaho
All About Watonga
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