The Gathering Place is a one-year-old public park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The park covers about 100 acres of land along the Arkansas River just south of downtown. USA Today named The Gathering Place the Best New Attraction in its 2018 Reader’s Choice poll, it made Time Magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Greatest Places of 2019 and National Geographic listed it as one of 12 Mind-Bending Playgrounds Around the World.
I wondered if The Gathering Place would measure up to all the hype and after spending about 6 hours there today I can testify that it does. It is hard to explain exactly what it is – its a garden, its a lake, its a children’s playground, it has restaurants, work areas, meeting areas (inside and outside), sports courts, places to bike, run, skate and skateboard and even has hidden nooks and crannies for sulky teens to hang out – all FREE except for food. I saw it called an “amusement park” somewhere and I’m not sure it fits that category as compared to Six Flags but it definitely does amuse. Hopefully the pictures here will help define it a little better.
The Lodge is the central Gathering Place 
Outside view of The Lodge 
Two stories of comfortable seating 
Free wi-fi 
Incredible views 
Places for casual meetings 
A women’s prayer group was meeting downstairs when I was here 
Coffee/pastry/sandwich shop on lower level of The Lodge 
Covered space off lower level of The Lodge
One of the many water features 
Landscaping – across the lake if a deck for sunning 
The Beach – you can’t swim but you can enjoy the sun 
Looking out across part of the lake from The Lodge 
Slide down aluminum tubes at Slide Vale 
Sunning deck – looks over Peggy’s Pond 
The Great Lawn 
Swing Hill – note the handicap swing – in same area they had standard straight swings, too. 
Multi-purpose track around outside of the park 
Log Climb 
Boathouse serves many purposes 
Place for hanging out at Boathouse 
Left: Vista – casual restaurant in the Boathouse 
Boats at the Boathouse (looking 3 stories down) 
Place for drinks, board games or just rocking at the Boathouse 
Cabinet of Wonder in the Boathouse 
I was told Roy Clark won this alligator in a bet -note the pay phone 
Pullout drawers have wondrous collections – here: swizzle sticks 
Dolls in a drawer 
Political buttons in a drawer 
I think this is a room for grandparents to tell grandkids about the “old days” 
I had lunch at Vista in the Boathouse 
And then went kayaking around Peggy’s Pond – 30 minutes FREE 
A little tentative about taking a selfie in a kayak 
Park looks different at water level 
Flower boxes? No – flower boats 
Different view of the Boathouse 
Happy Pam rocking at the Boathouse 
Watching others kayak, canoe, paddle boating
These bridges allow traffic on Riverside Drive to run under… 
Sky Garden 
Sky Garden connects the park to the running track and sports fields along the river 
Benches to people watch or rest 
Sky Garden 
This bird in Sky Garden was singing a happy bird song. 
Four Season Park 
Four Season Park 
Four Season Garden is a pleasant path between parking and the center of the park 
A docent told me all this stone was quarried in Oklahoma 
Another bridge over Riverside Drive 
Path through Four Season Park 
Entrance/Exit to the neighborhood
This is the heart of the park – the playground area, unlike any you have EVER seen!!!
Note the green pods on the left 
You climb the ropes to stick your head inside 
Tree branches to climb 
Mom and daughter doing the zip line 
A grandma/grandson zip line moment 
Climb up and across and over and down 
This was closed but it usually has water in it with all kinds… 
of machines and troughs to move the water – all in a sand box – with no cats 
I had to try out this climbing tower 
Swinging bridge – I did 
Slide – I did not do 
Water play – someone on the ground pumps water to the top 
Crawl thru net – I did not do 
Ladder to look out – too small for me! 
Two giant heron you climb into and between and slide out of 
Three brothers were playing here and noted there were fish inside the bird
I found a hammock between the birds 
My view from hammock – while a game of hide and seek was going on around me 
I thought kids would go inside these – instead I saw a girl climbing across the top of them – so many ways to play 
Fairyland for the smaller kids 
Another hammock 
Isolated picnic spot – this is where I would expect to find sulky teens 
Ever slide down a banana? 
Or climbed inside a bear? 
Family picnic area 
Part of the Sensory Garden 
Sensory – sound 
Sensory – texture 
Sensory – texture 
Sensory – sound -acoustics 
Sensory – sound – acoustics 
Sensory – sound – acoustics 
Turn crank – turns fins – demonstrates vortex 
A maze… 
kids were playing hide-n-seek 
Water fountain play 
“Mist Mountain” was steaming… 
from cold water hitting hot stone 
Picnic area by Peggy
Pond
Just outside The Lodge was a quick order restaurant and an eating area 
Benches for a presentation 
So after seeing the pictures what you would call it? A park? A playground? Would you use it? How? What photo would you have used for the “featured image” on the blog? I used a shot of the playground but that only tells so much about it.
The park cost $465 million to construct. The George F. Kaiser Family Foundation, several corporations and local philanthropies provided the funding for construction of the park and The Kaiser Family Foundation created a $100 million endowment to support the maintenance of the park for the next 99 years. Then the park was deeded over to the River Parks Authority. I was told by a docent no taxpayer money has been used for it.
At the far south end of the park, which I did not get to, has lighted sports courts for basketball, volley ball, street hockey, street soccer and a state of the art skate and bike park.
A Phase #2 of the project is in the works. There is a low head dam with a dilapidated [closed] covered wooden pedestrian bridge across the Arkansas River that if extended would come right into the park and connect both sides of the river (below). A docent told me a design is on the table currently for a two deck bridge (one walking, one biking).
Travels with Pam 