Mary K. Oxley Nature Center - Nature Centers on Waymarking.com

All of Oxley Nature Center's trails and rich riparian habitats lie in the deep alluvial soil of Bird Creek's flood zone. So, if there have been heavy rains upstream in Osage County, the trails may occasionally be inaccessible due to flooding. Other than that, hikers are welcome year-round.

Oxley Nature Center's gates are open daily, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Although Oxley Nature Center closes for major holidays, hikers may park outside the gates and walk in from several access points. All of Mohawk Park (including Oxley Nature Center) closes from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Pets and bicycles are not allowed on the trails.

The listed coordinates will take you to the Oxley-Yetter Interpretive Building, which is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Oxley Nature Center has no admission fee, but there is a $2/vehicle entry fee to enter Mohawk Park on weekends from April 1st to October 31st.

The Interpretive Building is just now (Sept. 2006) completing a major exterior facelift and structural repairs, but will be closed to the staff and to the public for part of 2007 for interior renovations (see Oxley's website for details.) There are no caged animals on display, since the Tulsa Zoo is only a mile to the south, but an active honeybee observation hive will continue to be a part of the redesigned exhibit area.

Oxley Nature Center offers a wide variety of programs each month, including a free, no-reservations-required birding walk on the first Saturday of each month. Each month's Full Moon walk, on the other hand, has limited registration and tends to fill up quickly, as do the Kid's Saturday programs on the third Saturday of each month. Between August and April, a star program using telescopes and binoculars explores a different astronomy topic each month. Other interpretive programs feature natural history and cultural history of the area. Most require reservations and charge a nominal fee.

Special workshops offer a more indepth study of a topic, such as Outdoor Skills (like edible wild or map & compass skills), Oklahoma Heritage Days (featuring topics like soap-making and draft-horse harness-driving), Environmental Education workshops for teachers and youth leaders (including Project WILD or the Leopold Education Project), Primitive Skills (for example, brain-tanning or using natural fibers to make cordage), or Nature Art (cedar or rivercane flute-making, or field-sketching with colored pencils.)

Most weekdays, Oxley Nature Center's paid and volunteer staff is busy with school tours and programs.

Logging requirements for this category: Visitors should visit the Nature Center and post a photo of themselves (or GPS unit) either inside or outside of the nature center visited. Logs without photos WILL be allowed if a lenghty description of one's visit and a mention of what they learned is included.

Hours: From: 8:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Open Year Round?: yes Interpretive Programs?: yes Live Animal Displays: no

Visit Instructions:
Visitors should visit the Nature Center and post a photo of themselves (or GPS unit) either inside or outside of the nature center visited. Logs without photos WILL be allowed if a lenghty description of one's visit and a mention of what they learned is included.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/19/2018 The Snowdog visited it 05/02/2016 sarahjanel visited it 02/27/2016 KidWrangler visited it 03/15/2015 kiecker visited it 10/14/2006 stoneposse visited it

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