Find the top rated birding trails in Oklahoma, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Great trail that runs north to Sperry and Skiatook. Well maintained thru these towns and there is some nice country to see. It goes thru the center of Skiatook Central Park which is a very nice park. It is currently being expanded farther to the north of Skiatook going into Barnsdall and hopefully into the City of Pawhuska. The additional trail to the north will bring even more great country to ride, jog or walk thru.
I get more flats riding this trail than anyplace else. Occasional glass slivers from broken bottles caused by kids and homeless that occupy the area. Dried pine needles are deadly if you leave the trail. The path is fairly clean except when the city cuts the grass. I have 25mm tires so occasional flats can happen, but some local riders refer to this area as "The Flats" and for good reason.
Have ridden all sections of this trail and it is always well maintained. It is paved the entire way and has very few busy street crossings. I do not recommend going on this trail alone for certain areas. There are great parking lots at the trail head at Hatbox Field and at the Music Hall of Fame. The section of the trail from Solara Hospital to Main street is the neatest due to it being mostly wooded and there is a tunnel under the highway. The City of Muskogee does a great job with upkeep.
Husband and I rode this trail in July on a cooler day. Started at Jo Allyn Lowe Park where there is a nice parking lot. We rode to Johnstone park and back which we guessed to be around 18 miles round trip. The trail is beautiful and clean. Encountered quite a few joggers and a few cyclists. Our favorite part was the suspension bridge, but the entire length of trail that we rode we loved. We were already planning our next ride there before we left.
On this 99 degree Saturday in mid-July, I walked this trail to check it off my list of local urban trails. This trail is a bit scary is some areas that go under bridges, but overall it was a nice trail. Each end of the trail has a park (though the south end park is simply a swing set). The north end is located about a half block away from Rotary Park. I don't recommend walking alone.
The highlight of this Trail is the abandoned trestle bridge over the Arkansas River on the north end. It spans high above the river with no barriers or rails Danger!! Beautiful Walk after a ride if you aren't afraid of heights. The Trail is asphalt but very rough, especially south and locals do NOT know how great the Trail is as dog droppings are everywhere.
It proved true for us that the trail is prone to flooding, even it was not rainy weather. [More later] We can also confirm that the reviews that spoke of the neglected state of the second half of the trail proved true. As to the surface: in the beginning it was finely crushed stone and gravel, alternating with hard-packed soil and grass, but later, in the second half, the crushed stone became rougher and rougher, sometimes with pieces as big as a fist: not at all good for even my 2.2" wide tires, let alone Mary's with just 35 Millimeters. The result for her were three broken spokes in her rear wheel and a flat. We also found the second half of the trail way more overgrown than the first, and all bicycling ended for us shortly after we had reached mile marker 5, when there were trail-wide and deep puddles which we dared not ride our bicycles through. The sides of the trail were too overgrown and looked too swampy there for us to try and walk our bikes around the puddles. So we just turned around. As to the bridges: they were well maintained, but I decided to stop before each of them and walk my bicycle onto them as they were not level with the bike path but had steps of 5 to 8 inches to get onto them.
Conclusion: the trail is well worth riding as it leads you through a beautiful landscape, mostly under a great canopy of trees, which makes it pleasant even in the heat of a summer day, but I'd recommend the first half only. After that the surface becomes way too rough even for wide and knobby tires like my Salsa Fargo. The second part definitely needs a lot more care, cutting weeds and shrubs that overgrow it, replacing the way-too-coarse ground-stone surface with finer gravel, and filling the depressions in the trail so that it'll be rideable even after some rain. The trailhead in Poteau [since we didn't get to the other end I can't say anything about the trailhead in Wister] could also be improved: there's nothing but parking on the grass or at the side of a dirt road: a bench under a roof, a water fountain and facilities would greatly help there. But in spite of this, we really enjoyed our ride.
More about our experiences, with pictures, here:
http://tinyurl.com/q4z52gk
This trail was not an easy one to ride on for recreational riders like ourselves. We started at the Price Rd. park, but didn't make it far since it was such a battle to negotiate the trail. We ended up just riding 5 miles around the park ( also quite hilly ).
I regularly train on all sections of the trail. It is deceptively hilly in parts which adds to my conditioning.
I use it everyday to get to and from work. It is very useful and convenient. It helps so that I can skip all the traffic and be on time to work. Love it!!!
Just a transition between trails, but the park is tired and worn, haven't seen anyone else on this trail and have used it many times
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