Turner Falls Park

Picture Courtesy of Kenneth Cole

Accommodations:

Spectacular Views	River Bend Lodge Fine lodging nestled in the 70 acres of pristine, secluded meadow land, bordered by the Arbuckle Mountains and the Washita River. Minutes away from Turner Falls Park and other area attractions. To explore, visit www.river-bend-lodge.com, info. 580-247-0147, reservations 580-247-0149"

 

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Cabins
 

	The Perfect Honeymoon, Anniversary or Weekend Getaway! Some have the following Amenities:  Hot Tubs • Fireplaces • Cable TV, Satelite TV • VCR’s • Charcoal Grills  Full Kitchens • Kitchenettes • Pet Facilities Each One Unique!	580-369-5453 reserve@arbucklelodging.com
Arbuckle Mountain Motel	SH-77S, Davis, Ok 73030	580-369-3347
Arbuckle Paradise Cabins	Turner Falls Park	580-369-2222
580-369-3546 - cabins@buffalogap.info South on Hwy 77 Davis, Oklahoma 73030		Western decor log cabins are fully furnished, including kitchenettes. Bring your own paper/plastic plates & flatware.  Linens provided for use in the cabins,  TV with DIRECTV, BBQ grills, No telephones, No maid service

 

Cedarvale Gardens	Hwy 77 South	580-369-3224
Cherokee	Hwy 77 South	580-369-5453
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Ealey Cabins	Turner Falls Park	580-369-2596
Echo Canyon Manor Bed and Breakfast	549 Lawton Avenue, Sulphur, OK 73086	580-421-5076
Kiser Cabins	South on Hwy 77, Davis Oklahoma 73030	580-369-3268
Sandy Creek Cabin	Hwy 77 South	580-369-2934
Sulphur Springs Inn	1102 W. Lindsay, Sulphur, Oklahoma  73086	1-877-622-5930
Turner Falls Antique Gallery Cabins	Hwy 77 South	580-369-3434
Turner Falls Inn	Hwy 77 South	580-369-2944
Turner Falls Cabins	Turner Falls Park	580-369-2917
Warren Cabin	South of Turner Falls Park	580-369-2125

Arbuckle Trading Post
Sulphur. 4 miles south of city on Highway 7 off Point Road.
RV Park open year round.
42 hookups, 2 restrooms, 10 pull-through, sanitary dump station, seasonal grocery, outdoor grills, picnic areas.
580/622-6101

Canyon Breeze
Davis. 3 1/2 miles south of city on Highway 77.
Open year round 24 hours a day.
20 full hookups, 1 electric/water hookup, pull-through, 8 primitive sites, restrooms/showers, sanitary dump station, restaurant, outdoor grills, picnic areas.
580/369-2022

Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Sulphur. 1 mile south of city on Highway 177.
Open year round 24 hours a day.
455 camping areas, pull-through, 2 sanitary dump stations, outdoor grills, picnic areas, boat ramps/docks.
580/622-3161

Hiking Trails

 SULPHUR: Chickasaw National Recreation Area (Easy Trails) Multi-Use Trails, Horseback Riding Trails
A network of hiking trails that pass through a variety of ecosystems. Open year-round, no use fees required.

Location: S of Sulphur on US-177, take R turn just after Bison Overlook.
Environment: More than 18 miles of trails ranging from variable open grassland to heavily wooded areas.

Travertine Creek Trail: Starting at the nature center, this 1.5-mile trail heads west to the Little Niagara Waterfall. Antelope and Buffalo Springs trail is one of the more commonly hiked trails in Chickasaw National Recreation Area. A leisurely walk on the main trail to the east will let you enjoy various shrubs, hardwood trees, vines, grasses, and flowers in season. Along the way, you will find benches to relax and enjoy nature's many sights and sounds. The path follows the meandering Travertine Creek, which is fed by Antelope and Buffalo Springs. Normally water flows from these two springs at a rate of approximately 5 million gallons of water daily. Due to occasional severe drought conditions, the Travertine Creek bed is sometimes dry.

Antelope and Buffalo Springs Trail:  The main trail to Antelope and Buffalo Springs is wheelchair accessible with assistance, but the side trails are not accessible.   Leisure trail beginning at the nature center and running 1.2 miles. The trail is flat and offers three different side trails that traverse through creeks, limestone hills, forests of sycamore and willows, and abundant wildlife.

The following are descriptions of the three side trails you will encounter along the main access trail:

Prairie Loop Trail: This pleasant trail is approximately 0.6 miles in length. Where the trail leads across Travertine Creek you will see green reed-like plants that are often mistaken for bamboo. This plant is commonly known as horsetail or scouring rush. After crossing the creek, the trail forks. The left trail will take you up a limestone slope covered with cedar and oaks. You will pass by small openings of what once was vast mixed grass prairies, but now the dominant vegetation is cedar and several hardwoods. As you come to the top of the slope, you will see in season cone flowers, prickly pear, yucca, and primroses. As you finish the loop, you will return to the starting point at the main trail.

Tall Oaks Loop Trail: This trail is a 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long and crosses Travertine Creek. The right hand fork in the trail leads you through the thick stand of cedars. The trail then will drop down and cross a normally dry stream bed. You will now find yourself in a stand of tall oaks, sycamore, elm, hackberry, and other hardwoods. The trail will lead you along the Travertine Creek and back to your starting point.

Dry Creek Loop Trail: This trail is the longest of the side trails at approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) in length. East of Buffalo Springs, where the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed a rock bridge across a creek, a side trail circles through the cedar, hardwoods, and crosses gentle slopes of limestone.

As you walk along, you will see patches of mixed grass prairie, which is being invaded by the hardy cedar. As you complete the loop, the trail will bring you back to the old rock bridge and to the main trail.


Bison Pasture Trail: Starts at Bison Viewpoint off of US-177 in the Travertine District. The 1.9-mile-long trail has several steep climbs. The trail offers views of a small herd of bison as well as the best view in the park, rising up 140 ft. over the surrounding terrain at Bromide Hill.  Distance: 1.9 miles (3 km)

Average Time: 1 1/2 hours

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous/some elevation changes/surface is hard packed soil

Starting Point: Bison Viewpoint

At the start of the trail, you may see the small herd of bison, that has been an attraction to the area since 1920. The original herd came from Yellowstone National Park and Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.

For your safety, please do not enter the fenced area.

The trail is a loop that leads you through prairie grasslands, lush stream bed growth along Rock Creek and mixed deciduous forest. This contrast is especially noticeable when you take the Bromide Hill branch and ascend to one of the highest points in the area. Bromide Hill, also called Robber's Roost because of its alleged use by outlaws in the early days, rises 140 feet above Rock Creek and gives a panoramic view of the Platt Historic Area. From this point the town of Sulphur lies to the north, the Rock Creek corridor winds south to the Arbuckle Lake, and the remnants of the Arbuckle Mountains rise in the west

Also accessible from this loop is the cutoff to Rock Creek Campground. The campground is open year round and provides many well shaded camp sites.

Veteran's Trail: 1.4-mile trail leads from the Oklahoma Veteran’s Center to Pavilion Springs.  Distance: 2.8 (4.5km) miles roundtrip

Average Time: 1 1/2 hours

Difficulty: Easy/half of the trail surface is concrete and half is dirt/gravel roadway

Starting Point: Two Trail Heads, Parking lot at the dam and at the Northeast corner of the lake.

Veterans Lake Trail offers excellent views of the lake as it winds along the shoreline. Here, you pass through a transition from oaks and red cedars of the Eastern hardwood forest to the tallgrasses and wildflowers of Western prairie.

Prairie plants along the trail include yucca, prickly pear cactus, eryngo, indian grass, big bluestem, little bluestem, and blue gamma grass. Dominant wildflowers around the lake in the spring include black-eyed susan, purple coneflower (snakeroot), and false indigo.

In the early morning, the lake is still and peaceful and in the evenings you can see beautiful sunsets. Perhaps a white-tailed deer or armadillo may venture out in the open. Watch for colorful rafts of Canada geese and ducks, which frequent the lake in the fall and spring.

Veterans Lake was built in 1933 and became part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area in 1983. The 67 acre lake was named in honor of American war veterans.

Rock Creek Multiuse Trail: Unpaved, multiple-loop trail with some elevation changes. Trail is 4.4 miles from north to south trailheads with several spurs between main trailheads. Total trail length is approximately 11 miles.

Trail Markings: Marked by the National Park Service.
More Information: 580-622-3165
(Campground, Picnic Area and Nature Viewing)

This network of hiking, biking, and horse riding trails is located along the Rock Creek corridor of the park. It is along this trail that users will pass through two diverse ecosystems where the eastern deciduous forests meet the western mixed-grass prairies. The future of fragile park resources depends on you.

For a safe and enjoyable experience, and for the protection of park resources, please observe these regulations.

All plants, animals, and other natural and historical resources are protected by federal law. Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing from it's natural state, any plants or parts thereof, is strictly prohibited.

Horses and bikes must stay on the designated marked trail. Creating shortcut trails causes soil erosion and damages fragile vegetation.

Horses are prohibited in Rock Creek.

Backcountry camping is prohibited.

Open fires are prohibited.

Pets must be on a leash; not to exceed six feet in length, at all times.

Disposing of refuse in other than refuse receptacles is prohibited on the trails.

Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the trails.

Riding bicycles side by side on the trail is prohibited.

 

Turner Falls Park
Davis. 5 miles south of city.
Open year round 24 hours a day.
45 electric/water hookups, 300 primitive sites, 4 restrooms/showers, sanitary dump station, grocery, restaurant, outdoor grills, picnic areas.
580/369-2917

Drive south on I-35 through the Arbuckle Mountains and east to Sulphur. The Sulphur and bromide springs here were once believed to have medicinal value. Women from across the state rejuvenate themselves at Sulphur's for- women-only spa, Akia. The spa fitness program is based on exercise in the serene wooded settings and pristine air of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Or take the waters at the Olde Bathhouse Inn, a restored 1905 bathhouse. Or visit the park and dive into one of several freshwater and mineral springs. Little Niagara, with its crystal waters and tumbling falls, is one of the state's most serene spots. You can also boat, camp, fish and picnic at the park's centerpiece: Lake of the Arbuckles (Arbuckle Boat Rentals). And to enhance your trip, study wildlife exhibits, hike nature trails or try a ranger-guided program at the Travertine Nature Center.

Back west toward the Arbuckle Mountains is Davis, home to Oklahoma's favorite swimming hole, the natural pool created by the 77-foot Turner Falls. Camp, picnic or explore the natural caves in the surrounding park, or head to nearby Cedarvale Botanical Gardens and Restaurant. Work up an appetite strolling in the acres of flowers, across a swinging bridge and among wildlife exhibits -- the restaurant serves fresh trout and other specialties on a deck overlooking the river. Then, feed exotic animals from around the world at Arbuckle Wilderness, where you'll discover a dinosaur park, camel rides, a water slide, amusement rides and more.

Arbuckle Dam

Lake of the Arbuckles is formed by Arbuckle Dam which is a feature of the Arbuckle Project. The lake is located at the confluence of the Buckhorn, Guy Sandy, and Rock Creeks. The area presents unusual opportunities, combining recreational use with scenic, scientific, and historic values. The Arbuckle Mountains are the highest part of a large area of Precambrian granites and overlying sedimentary strata that were uplifted and deformed some 300 million years ago. Subsequent erosion has exposed features which make the area an outstanding laboratory for students of geology. The Lake is one of the best fishing lakes in Oklahoma for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, white bass, and bluegill. There are 36 miles of shoreline and 2,300 acres of open water. Fishing is permitted year round. The wildlife area is a habitat for turkey, deer, and small game birds. There are several boat ramps and camping facilities. The Arbuckle Project regulates flows of Rock Creek, a tributary of the Washita River in south-central Oklahoma.

Float Trips
Davis Chamber of Commerce
Sulphur Chamber of Commerce
Map of the Area
http://www.turnerfallspark.com 

 

 

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