Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Managed by National Park Service
458 acres1.1 mi of trail
Rock Creek Trail 3
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: duggar11 · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sulphur
Sulphur has 427 acres of parks, 88 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Sulphur’s land is conserved, about 468 acres. The biggest trail networks: Chickasaw National Recreation Area (1.1 mi). 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Sulphur, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #13 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
468 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
427 ac
88 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sulphur?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sulphur have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sulphur is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #13 of 131 in Oklahoma. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sulphur’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical OK town 7% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · OK 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land88 acres of park per 1,000 residents (427 acres) · OK 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home73% of residents within a half mile of a park · OK 62% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 91%
Oklahoma towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Sulphur’s 12% is ahead of 75% of Oklahoma towns, while its trails per square mile lead 49% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Chickasaw National Recreation Area, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
468 conserved acres
12% of Sulphur’s land. Who manages Sulphur’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service457 ac
American Indian Lands8 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land3 ac
National Recreation Area · 451 acRecreation or Education Easement · 9 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickasaw National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 451 | Open |
| Chickasw Cultural Park Local Historic or Cultural Area | American Indian Lands | 8 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Sulphur
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Sulphur
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.1 miHorses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Rock Creek Trail 30.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Softball
1Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Sulphur
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 89 | 94 | 94 | 86 | 75 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
January is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sulphur →
Questions about parks and trails in Sulphur
Where can I hike in Sulphur?
The longest trail networks: Chickasaw National Recreation Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sulphur is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 7% for an Oklahoma town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Sulphur’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Chickasaw National Recreation Area (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sulphur?
5,041 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sulphur or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 427 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sulphur have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 of 131 in Oklahoma. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Sulphur neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →