Tulsa's Riverfront Park

This place is actually named the Gathering Place. It is a privately maintained public park that is free for the most part. Everything is maintained in peak condition. It was built and is maintained by a private foundation. They've spend almost 500 million on it and counting. I would consider this park a must see for families with children. There are many unique playgrounds for the kids and interesting gardens, green areas, plantings and interesting architecture for others. They are expanding the park with a new pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River as well as a children's museum. It will be interesting to see if the park expands to the west bank in the coming years.

This is a wonderful use of park space, great play structures for all abilities. A few issues: the parking situation is unreal. We were there on a very busy Thursday afternoon. Parking lot is gravel (handicap lot is paved, but spaces aren’t marked for wheelchair loading, etc). The gravel lot fills up quick because cars don’t park close enough together. Get there early or go later in the evening. Another issue: bathroom situation. The park itself doesn’t have enough bathrooms to serve the number of people there. There are temporary (trailer) bathrooms in the parking lot but they were closed/locked.

Our family is looking forward to going back to this park when we’re in the area again. It is pretty new and I hope it is well-maintained as time goes on!