Chickasaw National Recreation Area
National Park Service Unit; Established 1902 As Sulphur Springs Reservation, Renamed Chickasaw National Recreation Area In 1976 · Sulphur, Oklahoma
A 9,900-acre national park unit in the Arbuckle Mountains of south-central Oklahoma, first protected in 1902 when the Chickasaw Nation sold the mineral springs around Sulphur to the federal government so they would stay public. Cold, clear Travertine and Rock creeks pour over limestone ledges into a string of swimming holes, the most famous being Little Niagara, where a low travertine dam makes a wide, waist-deep pool under the sycamores. Hand-built stone dams, bridges and pavilions from the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s line the creeks, and the old sulphur and bromide springs still run at Pavilion Springs, Black Sulphur Springs and Hillside Spring. A small bison herd grazes an east pasture seen from the Veterans Trail. South of Sulphur the park widens into the Lake of the Arbuckles, with boat ramps and six campgrounds of more than 400 sites, while Veterans Lake offers a quieter shoreline. There is no entrance fee and no parking fee; camping, pavilions and boat launching cost extra.
901 West 1st Street, Sulphur, Oklahoma, 73086, United States
Park grounds open 24 hours, year-round, free. Campground loops split between reservation and first-come sites by season. Travertine Nature Center hours vary by season (check nps.gov/chic or call 580-622-7234).
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