Panama, OK

Panama is a small town of about 1,400 people tucked into the forested hills of southeastern Oklahoma, near the Arkansas border. You'll reach it via US-271, which connects north to Antlers and south to Fort Smith, Arkansas, or from Highway 9 running east-west through the region. The town sits in Le Flore County's rolling Ouachita foothills, offering a quieter alternative to Oklahoma's plains. Every April, Panama hosts its quirky Sucker Day Festival, complete with parade and fish-themed festivities celebrating the local creek's spring sucker run.