Ray Harral Nature Park & Center — Attraction in Broken Arrow

I have been coming to this park for almost 20 years and have a lot of fond memories of the trails and educational programs from when I was a kid. It is great to be able to share these experiences with my child now. Over time the park seems to have declined in maintenance, electing to focus funds on the entry to the park. Unsure if this is due to lack of funding for the city.

Pros Well marked hiking trails and picnic areas. Educational programs provided by the nature center. Including a scavenger hunt that allowed the kids to look around for an alien in the park. However, due to odd hours the nature center was not open (at 10 AM) to complete this. Supplies provided for those that walk their pets to clean up. Close enough to the main part of the city to be accessible, but still feels remote when you are in the heart of the park.

Cons Several parts of the trails are not being maintained and have large holes or wash outs. Several of the benches are hard to access also due to wash outs. Multiple picnic tables are bent or broken to the point of not being usable. Graffiti on every flat surface. The nature center has odd hours that do not follow what is posted. Some people choose not to follow the posted rules regarding pets on leashes. Limited...

My review is for the Woodlands and trails only. I have not been inside the visitors center/educational center.

The park itself is fantastic. You would never know you’re in the middle of a city, except when the trails meet the corners of the reserve and you can see the houses just beyond. Most of the time you’re completely immersed in nature with just the wind, the rustling leaves, and the sounds of the squirrels and chipmunks running around.

There is one main path around, which is 0.8 miles long, and then four loops off that which vary in length from .25 miles to .35 miles. The paths are well groomed by Broken Arrow Parks employees, and while there are some ruts and grooves, they are mostly accessible. I have seen two different people using motorized wheelchairs...

This park was very clean and the grounds are taken care of. The walking trail we went on had trees overhead and the limbs were all nicely trimmed and off the ground; there were also no real visible tree roots sticking out to trip you up. There didn't seem to be any residual animal excrement, which was very pleasant. The only thing we didn't really like was that it was pretty busy (crowded) for the time of night, temperature, and time of year it was. It was about 7:45 PM and 97° when we were there, and it was right before school was beginning. Naturally I figured all parents would be focused. Yeah, no. That's not how it works these...