| Chickasaw National Recreation Area | |
|---|---|
 Travertine Creek, in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area | |
 Map of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area | |
| Location | Murray County, Oklahoma, USA |
| Nearest city | Sulphur, OK |
| Coordinates | 34°30′2″N 96°58′20″W / 34.50056°N 96.97222°W |
| Area | 9,899 acres (40.06 km2)[1] |
| Established | July 1, 1902 |
| Visitors | 1,455,530 (in 2022)[2] |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Chickasaw National Recreation Area |
Chickasaw National Recreation Area is a national recreation area in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains in south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur in Murray County. It includes the former Platt National Park and Arbuckle Recreation Area.[3]
Part of the area was established as Sulphur Springs Reservation on July 1, 1902, and renamed and redesignated Platt National Park on June 29, 1906. At the time of its founding, the reservation, later national park, was located in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.[4]
On March 17, 1976, Platt National Park was combined with the Arbuckle Recreation Area and additional lands and renamed. Of the park's 9,888.83 acres (4,002 ha), water covers 2,409 acres (975 ha). The park contains many fine examples of Civilian Conservation Corps rustic National Park Service-style architecture of the 1930s. CCC workers created pavilions, park buildings, and enclosures for the park's many natural springs.[5]
The Chickasaw National Recreation Area preserves partially forested hills of south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur. Named to honor the Chickasaw Indian Nation, who were relocated to the area from the Southeastern United States during the 1830s (and who later sold the original 640 acres (260 ha) of land for the park to the Federal government), the park's springs, streams, and lakes provide opportunities for swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, camping, and hiking, among other activities. As part of the Chickasaw tribe's arrangement with the U.S. government, the park does not charge an admission fee.
- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved December 16, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Constance A. Rudd, "Chickasaw National Recreation Area." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
- ^ Charles Goins, Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), plate 105.
- ^ Chickasaw National Recreation Area - History & Culture (U.S. National Park Service)