Turner Falls

Garfield Falls, Oklahoma

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The Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur, Oklahoma has a number of odd waterfalls. I think that’s probably the best way to describe them. Some of them don’t seem natural, but I include them anyway because somehow it’s been decided they’re important enough to be named.

There’s Little Niagara Falls, Bear Falls, and Cave Island Falls in addition to this fourth falls, Garfield Falls. They are all barely 5′ tall at the highest. There is supposed to be another waterfall in the Recreation Area, but I couldn’t easily find the falls. The Chickasaw NRA is honestly a beautiful place to visit, even if it isn’t for the waterfalls. The trails around the park were definitely enjoyable.

Directions:

  1. From US-177 in Sulphur (at the intersection of OK-7), head south along US-177.
  2. There are two entrances that will both lead you to the same general location. The first option is to turn left onto Perimeter Road soon after that intersection. The second option is to head just under a mile south and turn left (on what might also be Perimeter Road). Why would you choose the second? Part of the drive is one-way, and the only way to get to the falls from the first entrance is to drive over the river at some point. When I was there in early March, the river over the road, and there was no way I was going to cross in my rental car. The second option avoided this river crossing.
  3. If you choose the second, southern option, you can drive directly to the sign for the falls for Little Niagara. The other falls can be accessed along the trail nearby.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 3′
Length of Hike: roadside

Garfield Falls in March 2018

Where in the World is Garfield Falls?

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Cave Island Falls, Oklahoma

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There are a number of waterfalls in and around Davis, Oklahoma south of Oklahoma City. The most impressive of the bunch is Turner Falls. There are a few larger falls that aren’t accessible to the public, at least based on my research. The other bunch of falls are not tall, but they are plentiful.

These falls can be found in the Chickisaw National Recreation Area very close to the town of Sulphur. One of them is cleverly named Little Niagara Falls, though it is nowhere near as impressive as Niagara Falls or, well, pretty much most other waterfalls. The waterfalls in the area are at most 6′ tall and some of them seem heavily affected by human engineering.

Cave Island Falls, which is found along Limestone Creek in between two chunks of land, hence the island portion of the name, seems to be the least affected by humans. The waterfalls themselves aren’t wildly amazing, but the area is really beautiful. I can see why this was set aside for recreational and conservation use.

Directions:

  1. From US-177 in Sulphur (at the intersection of OK-7), head south along US-177.
  2. There are two entrances that will both lead you to the same general location. The first option is to turn left onto Perimeter Road soon after that intersection. The second option is to head just under a mile south and turn left (on what might also be Perimeter Road). Why would you choose the second? Part of the drive is one-way, and the only way to get to the falls from the first entrance is to drive over the river at some point. When I was there in early March, the river over the road, and there was no way I was going to cross in my rental car. The second option avoided this river crossing.
  3. If you choose the second, southern option, you can drive directly to the sign for the falls for Little Niagara. The other falls can be accessed along the trail nearby.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 5′
Length of Hike: 0.3 miles round-trip

Cave Island Falls in March 2018

Where in the World is Cave Island Falls?

Turner Falls, Oklahoma

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted much about waterfalls. I haven’t really seen too many in the past few months, and haven’t had much time to sit down and post about older ones. This weekend, though, I had a chance to take a trip to Oklahoma, partly because I knew there was a waterfall I wanted to see.

My father said to me, “I always thought Oklahoma was just flat.” And I’m guessing a lot of it could be… And yet, there are hillier areas.  In the eastern portion of the state, you can find Natural Falls. In the center of the state, you can find Turner Falls, hidden among the Arbuckle Mountains. The area is surprisingly beautiful, and this is after it rained much of the time. (I think I enjoyed the fact it was about 40+ degrees warmer than home.)

Both of them are about 70′ tall. Turner Falls is often called the tallest, but Natural Falls seems equally as tall. Turner Falls is wider, though. What I liked about Turner Falls was the geology surrounding the falls. It almost seemed as if there were the remnants of lava flows from long ago, as the rock seemed very similar to ones I had seen in lava fields in California and Hawaii. The colors of the rocks and the tree leaves made the falls even more interesting. The rainy weather meant the falls were also flowing well. Overall, it was definitely cool to see Turner Falls. And if you have the time, go searching for what I believe are a few other falls in the area.

Directions:

  1. Follow I-35 south from Oklahoma City (or north from Dallas). If you are heading south, you would pass the town of Davis, and then you would see a sign for Turner Falls. In the daytime, it was pretty hard to miss.
  2. Exit I-35 at those signs. (If you’re headed north, there’s a sign also.)
  3. Follow US-77 to the Turner Falls Park entrance. If you miss the entrance, you would loop right back around to I-35.
  4. The entrance fee in winter is a very nice $4 per person (compared to the summer rate of $12 per person).  There is a short hike to the falls.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Distance of Hike: 0.1 miles (along a paved path)
Height: 77′

Turner Falls in late November 2014

Where in the World is Turner Falls?