- Parkway maps and other information
- Closing the gap in the Pathfinder
- Hillcrest Drive Reconstruction
- March 2018 bond and the Pathfinder
- Bridge Together project
Pathfinder Parkway
Bartlesville is blessed with the Pathfinder Parkway, roughly 11 miles of paved walking, jogging, and bicycling trails that meander along the Caney River and Turkey Creek to connect the Johnstone, Robinwood, Sooner, and Jo Allyn Lowe parks. Conceived by former city planner Joel Smith and made into a 1976 bicentennial project, the parkway is now mostly eight feet wide and also runs by Eastland shopping center, Bartlesville High School, and First Wesleyan Church.
Below is Granger Meador’s updated map of the trail system and parking areas, based on an original map by the Bartlesville Area Friends of the Parks. Click on the image to enlarge it. You can also download his printable PDF map and view an online spreadsheet with detailed mileage information.
PRINTABLE PDF MAP • INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP • ONLINE GRAPHIC • MILEAGE SPREADSHEET
Interactive Google Map
I also created an online interactive Google Map of the Pathfinder Parkway.
Closing the gap
After many years, the city completed the connection from Robinwood to Sooner Park, addressing a half-mile section of Turkey Creek which had no trail from Eastland Center at Highway 75 over to the former Will Rogers School on Frank Phillips Boulevard.
The Eastland Center trailhead was replaced with a new parking area and trailhead on the west side of US 75, just north of Señor Salsa. The trail still dives under the highway but now rises on the south side of Turkey Creek to run past the drive-through of Long John Silver’s, crossing through the old quarry area to the dead-end of Brookline Drive. It runs along the south side of Brookline for awhile, then crosses to become a six-foot wide sidewalk on the northwest side of Brookline Drive up to the Paths to Independence school (formerly Will Rogers) on Frank Phillips Boulevard, where the Pathfinder Parkway has long led onward past the west and north side of the school campus to Sooner Park.
Hillcrest Drive Reconstruction
In 2021 the city rebuilt Hillcrest Drive between 20th Street south to the Caney River with a new wider roadway just south. About eight feet of the northeast side of the original pavement was preserved to link up with the protected walkway on the Caney River bridge, forming a separate pathway for bicycles and pedestrians from the Hillcrest Heights entrance south of the Caney River bridge northwest to Shawnee Avenue.
March 2018 bond and the Pathfinder
On March 6, 2018 voters approved four city bond issues totaling $16.5 million to hold the existing 15 mill levy steady. The Parks and Recreation plan includes $304,500 to repave two miles of the Pathfinder Parkway in the guaranteed projects that form 70% of the issue. The intended 30% portions of the Parks and Recreation proposal, with projects the city will do so long as remaining funds allow, includes $32,300 for lighting of the Lee Lake trail, parking lot and roadway repairs, Caney River erosion rehabilitation, new drinking fountains, and signage improvements in the various parks.
In the intended 30% portion of the Streets proposal, with projects the city will do so long as remaining funds allow, includes $406,100 to extend the Parkway from Johnstone Park into and through downtown and westward via a combination of both on-street and off-street designs with informational and directional signage. This would strengthen pedestrian connections to west Bartlesville into downtown and provide a wayfaring system to orient folks to opportunities downtown.
Dreams for the future
US 75 is a formidable barrier separating Jo Allyn Lowe Park from newer neighborhoods along east Price Road and south Madison Boulevard. The city has property to the east of Washington Park Mall which has been proposed to become Southeast or Price Park. Granger would like to see that new park built and the Pathfinder Parkway extended from Jo Allyn Lowe Park to the new park near the First United Methodist Church campus.
Bridge Together Project
The boards on the large pedestrian bridge over the Caney River were rotting away and needed to be replaced. Bob Pomeroy spearheaded raising funds for the effort. Donors like Granger helped buy new planks, which were installed by October 2013.
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Thank you for your pix of Mt. Nebo. My son has played football at Arkansas Tech for 2 years now and I have attempted to plead, beg and bribe him to hike the trails with me. This Saturday is his Spring game and with your pix I hope I can convince him to join me. As you said some the spots made you pause before you attempted them. I don’t think I should attempt the trail alone, so I hope he will be more receptive to my urges this time.
The spring has been very rainy and the waterfalls should still be productive. He has, yet another, a new girlfriend and I will also appeal to him.
The spring game is at 10:00 am. the morning low is expected to be 44 with a high of 76, so the weather should be perfect. If I don’t get him this time, I’ll just brave the elements alone – making sure the park rangers know I am out there alone.
Wish me luck./
Thanks for making this. I’ll be in town in a few weeks, Currently training for the Burlington Vermont marathon and need to steering together a 20 miler
Cheers
Patrick
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Great post. The extensions to the Pathfinder could be done. I would be willing to join a group that wants to try and make it happen.
http://www.cityofbartlesville.org/meeting-set-input-pathfinder-grant/
I also would be interested in working on a committee aimed at extending Pathfinder around the city.
http://www.cityofbartlesville.org/meeting-set-input-pathfinder-grant/
I’d like for the next city bond to fund a start on Price Park, extending Pathfinder over to it, and closing the gap between Atwoods and the Will Rogers Complex. We shall see.
I have just started walking Pathfinder the past few months and my only complaint is the gap from Will Roger School to the Trail Head at Atwoods, all the traffic drives my dog Duke crazy. I would also like to see the city inprove on that area of the trail, and would be willing to support anything we can do to try to get the city to act on this.
http://www.cityofbartlesville.org/meeting-set-input-pathfinder-grant/
Mr Maedor,
Hopefully you can help me out. Back in the 50’s/60’s, was there a large asphalt race track located between Tuxido Ave and Frank Phillips Ave, just about where the orchird is located? I have asked many people about this about this and have always got a no, but I could sworn that my Dad took me by there one time when I was a kid and showed me it. I beleave he said it was not used very often.
Thanks …..
Bob, you prompted me to do a full scale internet search into your racetrack mystery, and I’ve posted a blog entry about what I found.
https://meador.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/the-forgotten-racetrack/
To explore this possibility further, you should contact Automasters on Tuxedo (1420 Tuxedo Blvd, 918-336-8594) since their business is directly south of where I think the old track was located. They may very well know something about it.
We have confirmation that there was a Micro Midget racetrack at the north end of Quapaw. See the end of the post at https://meador.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/the-forgotten-racetrack/ for the details.
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Great work with the map. I’m visiting for a couple months and this was super helpful plotting a course for running. Thanks.
FYI: there is a slight variation between your original map and the one created for Google at the lead up to the suspension bridge.
Thanks for letting me know of the discrepancy – I’ve tweaked the online map to be more accurate.