St Louis to Oklahoma City drive: Distance, time & best stops

The distance from St Louis to Oklahoma City by car is 498 miles, with a 7h14m driving time. The road trip stops on the St Louis to Oklahoma City drive are Springfield MO, Joplin MO and Tulsa OK.

Planning a St Louis to Oklahoma City road trip itinerary

The St Louis to Oklahoma City drive takes you through Missouri to the capital of Oklahoma.

St Louis is one of America’s great crossroads cities. The major landmark is the 630ft-tall Gateway Arch, which visitors can go to the top of. Other top attractions include the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden and Busch Stadium.

Good St Louis experiences include highlight-packed trolley tours, true crime walking tours and small group tours that include going to the top of the St Louis Arch and a Mississippi River cruise.

For St Louis accommodation with personality, try the Last Hotel or the Pennywell.

Oklahoma City provides a touch of big city life on the Great Plains. The big attraction is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, which delves into multiple aspects of cowboy culture. It’s a large, detailed, multi-pronged museum.

The sight that’ll probably stick in the memory, however, is the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. This commemorates the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 – the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack in US history.

Great Oklahoma City experiences include craft beer tours by bike, indoor skydiving and art and architecture tours.

St Louis to Oklahoma City distance and driving time

By car, the distance from St Louis to Oklahoma City is 498 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 14 minutes. The quickest route is down the I-44.

The best stops to add to a St Louis to Oklahoma City road trip itinerary are Springfield MO, Joplin MO and Tulsa OK.

St Louis to Oklahoma City drive: Springfield MO

Springfield is the third biggest city in Missouri, and packs an impressive amount in. Top of most visitor’s lists is the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. The aquarium is the best section, but the rest is a quirky celebration of model animals. It flits from penguins in the Antarctic to elephants on the African savanna.

Other options include the Route 66 Car Museum, the Dickerson Park Zoo, the Mizumoto Japanese Garden and craft beer tours.

For something totally bizarre, head to the Pythian Castle, built in 1913 by an order of knights. You can visit on a history tour or a nighttime ghost tour.

• For more attractions, check out the guide to the St Louis to Springfield MO drive.

St Louis to Oklahoma City road trip attractions: Joplin MO

Joplin MO is a long-standing stop on Route 66. Culturally, the top attraction is the Joplin History and Mineral Museum. This has a fairly cool collection of minerals, but the local history section is more engaging, covering mining, Route 66 and notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.

The main reason to stop in Joplin, however, is to admire Grand Falls – the biggest permanent waterfall in Missouri.

Best stops on a St Louis to Oklahoma City road trip: Tulsa OK

Tulsa’s big ticket attraction is the Philbrook Museum of Art, but you’ll get more of a local cultural education at the Woody Guthrie Center.

Alternatively, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum has a decent planetarium and Gathering Place is a great park with play areas on the Arkansas River. The classic photo stop, though, is at the enormous Golden Driller Statue.

• Find more things to do on the Tulsa to Oklahoma City drive.

More St Louis road trips

St Louis to Atlanta | Boston to St Louis | St Louis to Branson MO | St Louis to Chicago | St Louis to Cleveland | St Louis to Columbus | Dallas to St Louis | Denver to St Louis | Detroit to St Louis | Houston to St Louis | Indianapolis to St Louis | St Louis to Joplin MO | Kansas City to St Louis | St Louis to Knoxville | St Louis to Milwaukee | Nashville to St Louis | St Louis to New York City | Omaha to St Louis | St Louis to Philadelphia | St Louis to Pittsburgh | St Louis to Springfield MO | St Louis to Tampa | St Louis to Tulsa | St Louis to Washington DC | Wichita to St Louis.

More Oklahoma City road trips

Amarillo to Oklahoma City | Atlanta to Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City to Austin | Dallas to Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City to Denver | Houston to Oklahoma City | Memphis to Oklahoma City | Omaha to Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City to San Antonio | Tulsa to Oklahoma City | Wichita to Oklahoma City.