Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the 4,333-acre Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grasslands and wooded bottomland on the Coldwater Creek arm of the Army Corps of Engineers Optima Reservoir Project.

The panhandle area of Oklahoma is often referred to as "No Man's Land" because it was the last wild west frontier, making it a favorite location for outlaws. Homesteaders began settling in the panhandle in the mid 1880s and called the area Cimarron Territory. One of the earliest towns in the territory was Hardesty, founded in 1885. It was located about three and a half miles northeast of the present town of Hardesty. "Old" Hardesty was relocated in 1901. That same year, the railroad tracks were extended from Liberal, Kansas, to Texas and the town of Guymon was founded. Guymon grew steadily as did the other towns that sprang up in the area of the present-day refuge.

Habitat
Optima NWR is located in the central mixed-grass prairie. The bottomland habitat is dominated by mature cottonwood and tallgrass prairie species such as big bluestem, little bluestem and indiangrass. Shortgrass prairie species such as buffalo grass, blue gramma, sandsage, and yucca are found at the higher elevations. This area offers a home to many species of native wildlife, and provides for a variety of wildlife dependant recreational opportunities.

How to Get There
Optima NWR is located two miles north of Hardesty, and approximately nineteen miles east of Guymon, on State Highway 3/Highway 412 in Texas County, Oklahoma.