Visiting Tulsa

Located in the Osage foothills, Tulsa Botanic Garden is a 170 acre garden featuring over 8,000 plants and cascading water features. Stretch your legs at this lush, scenic oasis before getting back in the car to head home and enjoy floral terraces, a lakeside promenade, a lotus pool, a prairie trail, and an interactive children’s garden featuring a sensory walk and a tree fort.

Set in the historic home of petroleum businessman Waite Phillips, the stunning Italian Renaissance villa was designed by a regional architect for Waite’s wife, Genevieve, and their children, Helen and Elliott. In 1938, Waite gifted the 72-room mansion to the city of Tulsa so it could have an art center. Today, the Philbrook Museum of Art is filled with African, modern and contemporary, and Native American art collections as well as rotating exhibitions that span a centuries and a multitude of topics. The museum sits on 25 acres of expansive formal gardens, plus it features a relaxed, sun-lit restaurant where guests can have lunch, dinner, or a drink.

An upscale outdoor shopping center filled with over 60 local shops and national retailers, Utica Square is a short seven minute drive from Safari Joe’s H2O. Featuring stores like Anthropologie, Coach, Kendra Scott, Madewell, Pottery Barn, and Saks Fifth Avenue, the shopping center also has several luxury restaurants, like Polo Grill and Stonehorse Cafe, as well as a variety of personal services: a yoga studio, a juice bar, and a hair salon.

A public museum and archive located in downtown Tulsa, the Woody Guthrie Center is a state-of-the-art center dedicated to the life and legacy of American folk musician and singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie. A must-see for music enthusiasts, the building features a giant tan and black Woody Guthrie mural that’s perfect for souvenir photo snapshots.

Located northwest of the old Union Train Depot and near the Woody Guthrie Center, the Center of the Universe is a mysterious acoustic phenomenon that acts as an amplified echo chamber. Step in and make some noise! You’ll notice the sounds are echoed back much louder. Just a few steps away is another Tulsa landmark, the Artificial Cloud statue.

After a fun day on our water slides and water rides, visit the world-class riverfront park voted USA Today’s Best New Attraction of 2019: The Gathering Place. With adventure playgrounds, a sensory music garden, picnic areas, landscaped walkways, and more, this park is another great place (get it?) to release any extra energy before your road trip back home.

See a side of Oklahoma you won’t find in the bustling city of Tulsa or in the state’s capitol, Oklahoma City. Walk through rugged trails and look for sightings (or evidence) of deer, bobcats, coyotes, beavers, skunks, flying squirrels, over 200 types of birds, butterflies, and more. You’re going to want to bring your camera! (And bug spray and sunscreen.)

Get your kicks on Route 66! See the Golden Driller, Buck Atom, and the Blue Whale of Catoosa after you slip and slide on our lazy river and extra-tall water rides. Visible from Safari Joe’s H2O is the Golden Driller, a 75 foot tall statue of an oil worker, that clocks in at the sixth tallest statue in the country. To the west, you’ll find Buck Atom, a distinct Muffler Man holding a silver rocketship and wearing a cowboy hat over a space helmet. To the east, you’ll discover the Blue Whale of Catoosa, a Route 66 icon that sits on a spring-fed pond and was made for the former Animal Reptile Kingdom.