Are There Hot Springs

Hot Springs in Oklahoma: Sulphur's Mineral Springs and Spas

Oklahoma's mineral springs at Sulphur were famous enough to become a national park in 1906, but they are cool, and there are no hot springs in Oklahoma. Here is their story, what the water is like, how near Arkansas's hot springs are, and three places to soak in Sulphur.

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Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Sulphur
Photo: Cecil W. Stoughton, Public domain

What to know before you soak in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's springs are cool mineral springs at about 63°F; its spas heat the water.

Nearest hot springs
Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 200 miles from Tulsa
We list
3 places
Spa
The Artesian, Sulphur
Natural hot springs
None
Mineral springs
Chickasaw NRA, Sulphur, about 63°F
Federal reservation
1902, 33 springs

Are there hot springs in Oklahoma?

No. Oklahoma has no natural hot springs. Sulphur's mineral springs drew health seekers from the 1890s, and in 1902 the federal government bought 33 of them to create what is now the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The water comes out at about 63 to 64°F.

The nearest water that surfaces hot is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 200 miles from Tulsa and 260 miles from Oklahoma City in a straight line, where the National Park Service measures the springs at about 143°F.

The nearest hot springs to Oklahoma City and Tulsa

Arkansas is much the nearest, and eastern Oklahoma is closer still.

FromNearest hot springs (straight line)Next nearest
Oklahoma CityHot Springs, Arkansas260 milesSan Antonio, Texas, 430 milesLas Vegas, New Mexico, 440 miles
TulsaHot Springs, Arkansas200 milesSan Antonio, Texas, 490 milesLas Vegas, New Mexico, 520 miles

Texas and New Mexico come next, both well over 400 miles away. Oklahoma once had a national park of its own for springs, Platt National Park, but it protected cool mineral springs, not hot ones.

Sulphur's springs and Platt National Park

Sulphur grew up around Pavilion Springs in the Chickasaw Nation. By around 1890 gatherings at the springs were drawing visitors, and a fishermen's clubhouse there was later enlarged and sold as a hotel.

In 1902 the federal government bought 33 mineral springs from the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations to create the Sulphur Springs Reservation, and residents living on the land had to move, splitting the town into East and West Sulphur on either side of Rock Creek until a bridge joined them in 1909. The reservation was enlarged in 1904, and in 1906 Congress renamed it Platt National Park.

Unlike the 143°F water at Hot Springs, Arkansas, Sulphur's springs are cool, about 63 to 64°F, and visitors mostly drank the water rather than bathing in it. Platt National Park became part of the new Chickasaw National Recreation Area in 1976; the springs and the streams they feed are protected there today.

Map of springs and spas in Oklahoma

Where each of the 3 places in Oklahoma is. Pin shapes show the type; open the larger map for more detail.

Spring site Spa or resort Heated pool

The best springs and spas in Oklahoma

Cool mineral springs in a national recreation area, and two spas in Sulphur that heat the water for soaking.

  • Mineral springs

    Chickasaw National Recreation Area

    Sulphur

    Cool mineral springs and the streams they feed, protected since 1902; once Platt National Park.

  • Bathhouse

    The Artesian Hotel, Casino & Sole'renity Spa

    Sulphur

    A spa with steam rooms, saunas and soaking tubs in downtown Sulphur.

  • Spa resort

    Echo Canyon Spa Resort

    Sulphur

    A B&B resort on 27 acres in the Arbuckle Mountains, with in-room Jacuzzis of mineral water.

Before you go

At the springs and spas.

  • Taste, don't batheSulphur's springs were always for drinking; swim only where the park allows.
  • Keep hot tubs at 104°F or belowThe CPSC's safe limit applies to mineral-water Jacuzzis too.

How to visit

When to go

The park's springs and streams are outdoors, so summer is the busy season. The spas are indoors and open all year.

What it costs

Check the NPS page for Chickasaw National Recreation Area fees. Spa services are paid.

Getting there

Sulphur is about 75 miles south-east of Oklahoma City in a straight line, near the Arbuckle Mountains and Turner Falls.

Hot springs in Oklahoma: questions and answers

Are the springs at Sulphur hot?

No. The mineral springs in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area are cool, about 63 to 64°F. Sulphur and Bromide springs were named for the minerals in their water.

What was Platt National Park?

The national park created around Sulphur's mineral springs in 1906, from the 1902 Sulphur Springs Reservation. It became part of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in 1976.

Are there hot springs near Tulsa?

The nearest is Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 200 miles away in a straight line.

Are there hot springs near Oklahoma City?

The nearest is Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 260 miles away, followed by San Antonio, Texas, about 430 miles away.

How far is Sulphur from Oklahoma City?

About 75 miles south-east in a straight line, near the Arbuckle Mountains and Turner Falls.

Pictures of places to soak in Oklahoma

Photos of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, a place to soak in this guide. We only use photos whose license allows reuse and credit the photographer under each one. The full credits are on our photo credits page.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Sulphur
Chickasaw National Recreation AreaPhoto: Cecil W. Stoughton, Public domain
Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Sulphur
Chickasaw National Recreation AreaPhoto: NPS, Public domain
Group of bison in pasture at Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Group of bison in pasture at Chickasaw National Recreation AreaPhoto: Jonathan Schilling, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sources and verification

Reviewed on against the sources below.

Hot springs elsewhere in the United States

Pick another state to keep exploring.

See all hot springs in the United States