Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Springs, streams, lakes - whatever its form, water is the attraction at Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
About 1.5 hours from Oklahoma City by car.
Alerts
- ClosureVendome Well Parking Lot Closure October 5 - October 19, 2026.
The Vendome parking lot and entrance road will be closed starting October 5th. Work includes removal of the asphalt, reestablishing the drainage slopes, widening the entrance road, protecting the historic stonework, paving the parking lot and restriping the parking lot. Visitor parking is available at Lincoln Bridge.
Fire nearby
- WildfireFox Field
28 mi from the park's reference point · 10 acres
Within 50 miles, as of 2026-10-14. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Check the park's alerts and the managing office before you drive.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
There is no entry fee to Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Camping fees and boat launch fees are charged.
Hours
| Outdoor Areas | Daily · All Day |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and December the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Rock Creek Campground | 50 sites | |
| $14 a night · Rock Creek Campground is open year round, however the higher numbered sites close seasonally. | ||
| Central Campground | 10 sites | |
| $30 a night · Central Campground is open seasonally. It is open no later than Memorial Day weekend and closes no sooner than Labor Day weekend. · 10 reservable | ||
| Buckhorn Campground Loop A | 19 sites | |
| $16 a night · Loops A and B are first come, first served payable at the fee machine located at the entrance to each loop. · 19 first-come | ||
| Cold Springs Campground | 64 sites | |
| $14 a night · Cold Springs Campground is open year-round. | ||
| The Point Campground | 16 sites | |
| $16 a night · The Point Campground is open year round. The Upper Loop is available by reservation only. The Lower Loop is first come, first served. | ||
Show all 9 campgroundsHide
| Guy Sandy Campground | 40 sites | |
| $14 a night · Due to maintenance issues, Guy Sandy Campground is closed. · 40 first-come | ||
| Buckhorn Campground Loop B | 25 sites | |
| $16 a night · 25 first-come | ||
| Buckhorn Campground Loop C | 137 sites | |
| $16 a night · Loop C is open year round by reservation only. | ||
| Buckhorn Campground Loop D | 48 sites | |
| $16 a night · Loop D is first come, first served, and has a mix of sites with electric and water hookups, and sites without utilities. · 48 first-come | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Travertine Nature Center ↗Passport stamp
A good starting place for visitors. It has brochures, exhibits, maps and helpful Rangers. Get information about lakes, camping, hiking trails, and special events.
No webcams, no things to do or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
News
- 2026 Opportunity to Cut and Remove Hay ↗2026-04-28
Sulphur, Okla. – Chickasaw National Recreation Area is seeking one applicant to cut and remove hay from three former agricultural fields within the park.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Murray County CourthouseBuilding · Sulphur · 3.6 mi
- Sulphur ArmoryBuilding · Sulphur · 4 mi
- Travertine Nature CenterBuilding · Sulphur · 4.4 mi
- Davis Santa Fe DepotBuilding · Davis · 7.2 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for the Southwest
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 79 birds, 23 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsBarred Owl · Black Vulture · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Great Horned Owl · Mississippi Kite · Red-shouldered Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersBlack-crowned Night Heron · Canada Goose · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Green Heron · Little Blue Heron · Pied-billed Grebe · Wood Duck
Shorebirds & seabirdsKilldeer · Least Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Pigeon · Mourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAmerican Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Robin · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-capped Gnatcatcher · Blue Jay · Boat-tailed Grackle · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Chuck-will's-widow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Starling · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood Pewee · Field Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Great Crested Flycatcher · Greater Roadrunner · House Sparrow · Indigo Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Painted Bunting · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Martin · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Tufted Titmouse · Western Kingbird · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-eyed Vireo · Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Attwater's Mouse · Deer Mouse · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Woodrat · Fulvous Harvest Mouse · Hispid Cotton Rat · Southern Flying Squirrel · White-footed Deermouse
PredatorsBobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Striped Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer
BatsEastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Evening Bat
Also on the checklistDomestic Cat · Marsh Oryzomys · Virginia Opossum · long-nosed armadillo
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Stargazing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 34 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
Summers are hot and humid. Temperatures above 100ºF occur, and humidity often exceeds 50%. Winters are mild and prolonged freezes are rare. Thunderstorms are common April through July.
Questions people ask
Does Chickasaw charge an entrance fee?
No. Chickasaw is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Chickasaw open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Chickasaw?
Yes. The Park Service lists 9 campgrounds in Chickasaw: Rock Creek, Central, Buckhorn Campground Loop A, Cold Springs, and The Point, and more. 5 take reservations through Recreation.gov; 4 are first-come, first-served.
Which Chickasaw campgrounds have showers, hookups, or a dump station?
Showers: Buckhorn Campground Loop A, The Point, Buckhorn Campground Loop B, Buckhorn Campground Loop C, and Buckhorn Campground Loop D. Dump station: Rock Creek, Buckhorn Campground Loop A, The Point, Buckhorn Campground Loop B, Buckhorn Campground Loop C, and Buckhorn Campground Loop D. Electric hookups: The Point, Buckhorn Campground Loop C, and Buckhorn Campground Loop D.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Chickasaw right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Vendome Well Parking Lot Closure October 5 - October 19, 2026.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Chickasaw?
1,877,797 recreation visits in 2025, number 49 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Chickasaw?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
What is the weather like at Chickasaw?
Summers are hot and humid. Temperatures above 100ºF occur, and humidity often exceeds 50%.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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