Route 66 Park

By Joanna Young

Clear blue skies, a slight breeze, and not a cloud in sight—sounds like a great day for a trip to the park! Oklahoma City’s newest and most colorful park, Route 66 Park is a hot preschool hangout. Located just off historic Route 66 and west of Lake Overholser, this large, colorful park provides visitors with a gorgeous lake view and preschoolers with plenty of free outdoor fun. Pack a picnic lunch and head out to beautiful new Route 66 Park! 

Route 66 Park is home to Oklahoma City’s largest park playground. Preschoolers will never get bored playing in this park! Bright and colorful, Route 66 Park’s playground comes equipped with a huge variety of climbing, swinging, and sliding equipment. Preschoolers can run and play around this playground that includes a soft ground material to prevent painful falls and scrapes.

Route 66 Park isn’t just for children! The entire family will enjoy the winding walking trails, bridges, duck ponds, amphitheater, Cyrus Avery Observation Tower, and beautiful Route 66 Plaza. Etched on the ground of the plaza is a large map of Route 66 as it winds from the Pacific Ocean, through Oklahoma, and on to the east coast. Parents will appreciate the covered seating areas where they can sit and rest a bit while their preschoolers run and play.

 

Route 66 Park cares about the environment. In addition to plenty of trash receptacles, Route 66 Park provides doggy-poo bags! This simple addition allows dog-walkers to freely share the park while guarding little ones from stepping in piles of unwanted mess! 

Bring water. Although there are water fountains, they’re sometimes turned off.

 

Don’t bring too much water. The bathroom’s are often locked! Call the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department at 297-2756 for more information about the water fountains and bathroom facilities.

 

Tempting as it is, no skateboarding or bicycling is allowed on the "plaza". This may be to prevent damage to the beautiful Route 66 map, or it may just be a deterrent from teenage loitering. Either way, it sure would be fun if preschoolers could ride their tricycles down the cute Route 66 map road! 

Located at 9901 NW 23^rd, Route 66 Park can be reached from the Kilpatrick Turnpike and Route 66 (NW 39^th Expressway). Map

 

For more information, call 297-2756 or visit the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation website.