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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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
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
The trial is prefect for any nature freak or outdoorsy type. Animals are everywhere, trees are all over, and you eve get a few beautiful glimpses of the Caney River. The trail ranges from very easy to a bit challenging in some places. Bring the entire family and enjoy the day. I would suggest starting on the south end in the park.
This easy to access trail provides an easy walk with beautiful scenery. The park description doesn't mention it, but there is parking at the north end of the trail just south of 39th St (Route 66). There is access to the top of the dam about half way on the trail. It's fun to walk across the water on the dam's edge. One side of the trail offers a lake view, and the other side offers views of some lovely residences that were pretty fabulous in their day. An enjoyable city walk.
Rode this trail from Tulsa to Skiatook and back. Not that much to see but if you want miles and want not much traffic this is a trail for you. Better make sure you have at least one spare tube lots of glass on the trial
This is a nice little neighborhood trail with lots of beautiful color in the spring. The only slight downfall to it is the road noise from I-44
Overall, this trail is a great improvement for the city, like totally awesome, but definitely could use clean up and maintenance for pedestrians to feel safer. I'm a Muskogee native who moved away as a teenager and now I come back to visit from time to time. I have fond memories growing up close to this trail, in the Meadow Brook housing addition off of Border Ave very close to where this trail runs. If I remember correctly, a part of the trail is an old railway line where my brother and I use play and walk along as kids. I also explored the field (where Hatbox is and where the trail U's around off of Border ave) area a lot as a child. Walking along the trail in the sunshine a couple of days ago was an amazing experience for me that brought up old memories and I kept thinking it would have been perfect for us growing up, much better than the seedy railway it once was. It's very quiet and surrounded by trees, brush, and some housing additions. The sound of frogs and birds was beautiful. I walked the entire 3.5 miles from the Music Museum to Hatbox field and enjoyed the peace and quiet very much, as well as seeing Muskogee again through fresh eyes. I saw about seven cyclists and one other pedestrian during my two hour walk. I'm an experienced walker and have walked on a lot of trails and through a lot of cities since I've lived in Muskogee. However, I agree with some of the other comments above. It's seedy in some areas and I picked a heavy walking stick once I got close to the bridge because I was mostly worried about stray dogs or stray predators since I'm a woman. There were a lot of backyards I passed by with huge mean looking pitbulls, rotweilers, and other dogs that didn't have sturdy fencing. That said,luckily, I didn't run into any problems along the way and would definitely walk the trail again (with a stick stick in hand!). Also, the site of men in the fields from time to time startled me, but they seemed preoccupied working. There's a lot of old trees, trash, and shrubs that could be cleared of course, also maybe a water fountain or a small convenient store could be installed on such a long path because I was dying of thirst along the way. It should also be said that Muskogee is known for being backwoods and old fashioned not for being modern and with the times though I hope that it catches up with us soon! The city itself seems to need a lot of restructuring, jobs, diversity, and money to connect with tourism and it's citizens more. Not sure about installing a fence, but more pleasantries would be a bonus for walkers and also an extension back to main street would have been extremely practical, since my car was parked there! I'd love to see some more progress here to better the experience for visitors like me and tourists coming through regularly or for the first time. But also improvement should be done mostly for the Okees who are there everyday with their families and friends!
This was a nice trail, but somewhat confusing. I drove strait to the location of the trail, parked at the trail head, but the sign there read "Liberty Parkway Trail". I started the walk, and true enough, after about a half mile, I came to Haikey Creek, but I never saw any sign for "Haikey Creek Trail"....did see several for "Liberty Parkway Trail". I walked to Mile 3 on the trail before turning around to head back, as I wasn't sure how long it was in all, and didn't want to get stuck out after dark in an unfamiliar area. The trail was beautiful, with lots of wooded areas and streams. The only thing that was less than nice was the closeness to Liberty Parkway, and the traffic noise.
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