Public Spaces

Centre Theatre
The Centre Theatre has a long and colorful history in the heart of El Reno. The theater opened in the 1940s and changed hands several times. In the past it has been known as Tiffany’s and the Cinema Theatre.

Painted Alley
Featuring many local artists, this alleyway showcases unique and interesting art works!

Lake El Reno
The RV park provides full hook-ups and a community restroom.
Lake El Reno has two large boat docks and a designated personal watercraft ski area.
The El Reno Lake Facility is a public building that provides casual dining and a pro shop for the adjacent Crimson Creek Golf Club.
Route 66 Multisport Festival
The Route 66 Multisport Festival held at Lake El Reno is a draw for athletes throughout the region and surrounding states. Compete against some of the best athletes around in multiple events. Thursday’s events include an Aquathlon with a 500-yard open water swim and a two mile run, while Saturday’s events feature the Triathlon, Diathlon and Aquabike for feats of endurance and speed. Swim, bike and run in the Route 66 Triathlon for a number of awards and prizes.
Smoke on the water drag boat races
SMOKE ON THE WATER Drag Boat Races is an annual event and is currently in its 21st year of operation. Started by Karon Grulkey in 1995 and annually operated by Karon, her sons Josh & AJ, their families and around 20 of their closest friends. SOTW is not only a family affair but also a family tradition. SOTW was held at Fort Cobb Lake for 13 years until moving to Lake El Reno in 2013. We currently have 13 different classes and hosted over 50 racers in 2020.
There is Beach El Reno with access to the lake public swimming area.
Lake El Reno has a walking trail and asphalt remote-controlled airplane landing strip.
Lake El Reno was created in 1966 in Canadian County, Oklahoma, near the city of El Reno, by constructing an earthen dam across Fourmile Creek, a tributary of the North Canadian River. The lake has a normal capacity of 709 acre feet, covers a surface area of 170 acres and is surrounded by 4 miles of shoreline.

Train Yards
The grain towers here serve to make up this town’s skyline. towering over the surrounding landscape, these industrial behemoths and the surrounding train yard and supporting building may make for some interesting atmosphere!

The Carnegie Library
The Carnegie Library in El Reno, Oklahoma is the oldest Carnegie library in Oklahoma that is still functioning as a library. Constructed in 1903, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and has been in continuous use as a library since its opening. The main feature of the Classical Revival structure is its two-story portico with four ionic columns. The only structural addition to the library since its construction was a fireproof archives room built in 1964

Downtown El Reno
El Reno Trolley Mural
In 2001, Fern Zajic invited Palmer Studios to visit downtown El Reno and capture the essence of the city’s three trolleys in a mural
spanning 30 feet tall and 100 feet wide. This historical downtown El Reno
mural includes an image of the first trolley established in the town.
On this mural on South Rock Island Ave, the artists also recreated the
Interurban line, which once traveled between Oklahoma City and El Reno, and the
Heritage Express Trolley that currently runs downtown. This historical downtown
El Reno mural also depicts some of the community’s historic sites.
Fried Onion Burger Day Festival
On the 1st Saturday in May. The world’s largest fried onion
hamburger is cooked (weighing over 850 lb. – 400 kg).
See it being cooked and help eat it!.
El Reno has been known for its “Fried Onion Hamburger”
since the early 1900s. And has celebrated the Burger day for over 20 years.
El Reno Heritage Mural
One of downtown El Reno’s walls is decorated with a 108-ft. wide mural showing the heritage of El Reno, Canadian County and western Oklahoma across nine panels. Artist Charlie Beecham originally painted this El Reno Heritage Mural in 1980 for OK Federal Savings and Loan Association, and over time, as the paint has worn away, Beecham has volunteered to restore his work with fresh coats of paint.
The first panel features the Cheyenne-Araphao reservation, while the second panel represents the Darlington Indian Agency. The third panel highlights Fort Reno, and the fourth panel depicts a Rock Island Railroad train. The fifth panel pays tribute to El Reno as a chartered town in 1889, while the sixth panel details the original Oklahoma Land Run of 1889.
In the seventh panel, Beecham painted Caddo Springs Station, while he chose to highlight Jesse Chisholm’s Trail in the eighth panel. In the ninth and final panel, Beecham painted Francisco Coronado traveling through on his 1541 journey through western Oklahoma.
Small Town Weekend
Bring the family to a weekend of festivities during El Reno’s Small Town Weekend celebration. Held rain or shine, the Small Town Weekend will cruise into town this June to celebrate everything nostalgic on the local strip of Route 66. Numerous events will be held throughout the weekend, from the only legal drag race and burnout on Route 66 to grass car races and an open car show. This event will also be filled with children’s activities, festival food, vendors, live entertainment and more.
The weekend kicks off on Friday with a movie night at Centre Theatre at 7pm, followed by an open city-wide car cruise. On Saturday, head out to the car show to admire classic and modified cars, among other sleek vehicles. A closed route cruise on Route 66 in the evening closes out the day’s events with more events lined up for Sunday. Bring the whole family out for this memorable Mother Road experience.
El Reno Postcard Mural
Artist Chris Small crafted a mural on the walls of Russell-Murray Hospice in 2006. This mural highlights historic aspects of the Route 66 town, from antique cars that would have driven through El Reno to businesses that once called the hospice building home. In this mural, Small also represented the various uses of the Russell-Murray Hospice building throughout its history.

El Reno Regional Airport
El Reno Regional Airport was built in 1943 as a United States Army Air Force WWII primary pilot training airfield. We still maintain original hangars from WWII, but we have since added two T-Hangar units and a unit that includes 40’x40’/60’x60′ executive hangars as well. We are a Regional Business Airport within the Oklahoma Airport System Plan. We are strategically located 3.5 miles south of I-40 and 20 miles from Oklahoma City. Our airport resides just outside of the controlled airspace in OKC, making your approach and departures easier. Our Jet A fuel comes premixed with Prist from ASAP Energy (Phillips 66 Fuel Provider). We have two parallel runways; a 5,600-foot concrete runway and a 4,017-foot turf runway. We have one of the newest fuel systems in the State of Oklahoma! We offer assisted self-serve AVGAS and JetA. Call for the most up-to-date prices. We have a 35-foot wide parallel taxiway that extends the length of the runway and a partial, parallel taxiway that allows easier access to our businesses/hangars.