10 places to see in Tulsa - Oklahoma's second largest city
October 29, 2025
For Oklahoma City area residents looking for a quick getaway, Tulsa is just 100 miles up Interstate 44 — or U.S. Highway 66 if you want to take an iconic scenic route — and boasts an array of attractions for arts, animal, and outdoor lovers.
Whether you're planning a summer getaway or fall break, here are 10 landmarks to look for in Oklahoma's second largest city:
1. Bob Dylan Center
The Bob Dylan Center earned international attention when it opened in May 2022. The primary public venue for the expansive Bob Dylan Archive collection includes rare photographs, memorabilia, personal effects, and other items spanning the Nobel Laureate's influential 60-year career. The 29,000-square-foot attraction features 16 exhibits, a 55-seat screening room and a more than 5,000-square-foot archive, which is open by appointment only and intended for scholarly studies. Information: https://bobdylancenter.com.
2. The Gathering Place
Named a Best Park in America by USA Today, the free Gathering Place spans nearly 100 acres of Tulsa’s waterfront along the Arkansas River. It boasts a plethora of attractions, including the enchanting five-acre Chapman Adventure Playground, the four slopes of Slide Vale, and the Four Seasons Garden with its towering rock formations.
Weather permitting, paddle boats and canoes are available for free rental at a first-come, first-serve basis at the ONEOK Boathouse.
Open for summer, Charlie's Water Mountain is a great area to cool off, as it includes a spray area, tunnels, dams and streams, a water lab, mist area, and water plaza.
3. Greenwood District
A prominent destination for Black history and culture, the Greenwood District features many must-see landmarks, including Greenwood Cultural Center, John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, the Vernon AME Church, and more.
How much does Danny Boy O'Connor love the 1983 movie "The Outsiders?" In 2016, the co-founder of the hip-hop group House of Pain bought the modest white house that played the part of the Curtis brothers' home when Francis Ford Coppola filmed the movie in Tulsa in 1982.
O'Connor told The Oklahoman, "This starts for me as a 13- or 14-year-old boy going into a movie called 'The Outsiders' in Woodland Hills, California. Never read the book prior to it, so I didn't know what to expect. Go in and see basically the way I felt inside and the life I was living in real life on the silver screen set in a different era. And I just related to that and I was hooked."
5. Oklahoma Aquarium
In the Tulsa suburb of Jenks, the Oklahoma Aquarium is home to an array of aquatic life, from otters and beavers to a loggerhead sea turtle and electric eels. Visitors can feed the stingrays and red-eared sliders, interact with the horseshoe crabs, chocolate chip sea stars and pencil urchins, and climb in the tunnels under the Extreme Amazon gallery.
Combining a historic home, world-class museum, and 25 acres of gardens, the Philbrook Museum of Art boasts a collection with more than 16,000 objects and a focus on American, Native American, and European art. The permanent collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, Kehinde Wiley, Marisol, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Auguste Rodin, Thomas Moran, and many more. Information: https://philbrook.org.
7. Turkey Mountain and Tulsa River Parks
A natural oasis in the middle of one of Oklahoma's biggest cities, Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness encompasses more than 750 acres of rugged terrain just a few miles from downtown Tulsa. As you ascend the winding dirt trails, the sight of lush woods contrasts with the faint sounds of nearby traffic.
The Tulsa Zoo is home to African penguins, red kangaroos, grizzly bears, Malayan tigers, and many more remarkable species. Information: https://tulsazoo.org.
9. Woody Guthrie Center
Since 2013, the Woody Guthrie Center has been paying homage to the legendary folk singer-songwriter, who was born in Oklahoma. The Woody Guthrie Center educates visitors on Guthrie's role in history. Information: https://woodyguthriecenter.org.
10. Oxley Nature Center
In a corner of Mohawk Park, Oxley Nature Center features more than 800 out-of-the-way, wooded acres, plus nine miles of trails and an interpretive center.
While many are wheelchair and stroller-accessible, the trails in Oxley Nature Center are not set up for horses, bicycles or vehicles, which means hikers have them all to themselves. Information: https://www.oxleynaturecenter.org.
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