Tulsa

Understand

Situated between the prairies of central Oklahoma and the foothills of the Ozarks, Tulsa is located in the Green Country region of Oklahoma. It is also affectionately called “T-town” by the locals.

Tulsa was settled in the mid-1800s by the Loachapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe. A booming city during the 1920s, rich oil barons built stately mansions and skyscrapers, turning Downtown Tulsa into a treasure trove of art and architecture. Tulsa was the most important hub for the American oil industry for most of the 20th century.

Tulsa sustained heavy economic hardships during the oil crises of the 1970s and 1980s which led to diversification efforts that created an economic base in the energy, aviation, finance, telecommunications, and technology industries.

Tulsa is known as the arts and culture center of Oklahoma. Tulsa contains two world-renowned art museums, the Philbrook Museum of Art and the Gilcrease Museum of Art. Tulsa also boasts full time professional opera and ballet companies, which are a rarity in the region. Tulsa contains one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco in the nation, ranking number 9 on US News and World Report's list of top cities for Art Deco. Tulsa has also been called one of America's most livable large cities by Partners for Livable Communities, Forbes, and Relocate America.

In Tulsa you will find old west charm and southern hospitality as well as a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The people of Tulsa take pride in their city, welcoming outsiders with open arms. Most are willing to help you find your way around.

Tulsa lies in northeastern Oklahoma, at the convergence of the Great Plains and the Ozark Plateau, and receives an average of of precipitation each year, both of which account for its abundant beautiful rolling green terrain. As a result, Tulsa breaks the Oklahoma stereotype of being nothing but a flat, arid dust bowl. Summers can be very warm and with the cold wind across the plains it can get very cold in the winter, but it does not last long. The winters are considered to be very mild. There is not much snow, just a few inches each year, typically. Tulsa has over 225 days of sunshine annually.

The city had about 391,000 people and the metro area had about 937,000 people as of 2010 from the US Census Bureau. The Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville area had a population of 1.15 million in 2015.

Tourist information

• Visit Tulsa website

Get in

Tulsa is served by one major airport and three general aviation airports.

By plane

• [https://okmulgeeonline.com/189/Airport Okmulgee Regional Airport] (OKM) is south of Tulsa and is a general aviation airport.
• [http://www.sandspringsok.org/index.aspx?NID=190 William R. Pogue Municipal Airport] (FAA LID: KOWP) is west of Tulsa and is a general aviation airport.

By bus

By car

Most Tulsans drive almost everywhere, although bus, bike, and pedestrian routes are starting to catch on.

From the North (Kansas), take US-75 South from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, or US-169 South from Coffeyville, Kansas.

From the Northeast (Missouri), take I-44 West, aka the "Will Rogers Turnpike." The self-proclaimed world's largest McDonald's spans the roadway near Vinita, OK.

From the east (Arkansas), take US-412 West, aka the "Cherokee Turnpike." From the southeast (also Arkansas), take the "Muskogee Turnpike."

From the south, take US-75 from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, aka the "Okmulgee Beeline."

From the southwest (Oklahoma City), take I-44 East, aka the "Turner Turnpike."

From the west, take US-412 East, aka the "Cimarron Turnpike."

For the slow scenic route from the northeast or southwest, come in on old Route 66.

By train

There is no passenger train service to Tulsa. The nearest service is in Oklahoma City which has a daily train from Fort Worth, Texas.

Get around

Thanks to urban planning, the major city streets are placed in a grid layout. Almost all major intersections are 1 mi from each other, and exactly in a straight line. That makes it much easier to find places than in cities where streets go every which way. The major exception is downtown, which is slanted at a 25 degree angle to the rest of the grid. This is due to the original town not facing true north and instead putting main street at a 90 degree angle to the original MKT railroad tracks.

By car

Several freeways and bypasses can be used to easily get around the Tulsa Metro area: I-244, I-44, US 169 (Mingo Valley Expressway, "Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway"), US 75, US 64/OK-51 (Broken Arrow Expressway, The "B.A."), and OK-364 (Creek Turnpike).

The streets and avenues are planned on a 1 mi by 1 mi grid system, with the main arterials running on each mile. In the core of the city, named avenues run north/south and are named after US cities, generally in repeating alphabetical order (for example, Winston-Yale-Allegheny-Braden). In the mid-town area the names are taken from colleges and college towns. North/South is divided by Admiral Blvd. Name streets East of Main are cities east of the Mississippi River, vice versa for name streets west of Main. In the parts of the city farther from downtown, north-south streets are numbered. It is important to recognize that the specific format of the north-south numbered street names is North/South 145th East/West Avenue.

Numbered streets run east/west with Main Street and the Arkansas River as the dividing line. Watch out for Place, Street, Avenue designation, e.g. 47th Place, 47th Street, or Florence Place, Florence Avenue. It is important to recognize that the specific format of the east-west numbered street names is West/East 71st Street North/South. In some parts of the city, numbered streets intersect, so the distinction is important. Although rare, one east-west numbered street may even intersect with a street of the same number running north-south.

Downtown streets were platted parallel to the Frisco railroad tracks. When Tulsa expanded beyond the bounds of its original plat, the expanded areas were platted in alignment with the points of the compass. Thus the "twisted" area down-town represents the original extent of Tulsa ca 1907.

By bus

By bicycle

Tulsa has an extensive interconnected paved bike trail system. Rivertrail follows the Arkansas River from downtown Tulsa south to the suburbs. The Katy Trail runs west to Sand Springs. The Osage Trail is a rails-to-trails route that begins at the OSU-Tulsa campus and travels north 15 mi to Skiatook. The Creek Trail connects Rivertrail and continues east through Broken Arrow to the NSU-Broken Arrow campus. Riders accustomed to flat terrain may find Tulsa's rolling land to be a bit more challenging, particularly during the heat of summer. If you are looking for a good workout, the Creek Turnpike Trail follows the land's original contours. Rivertrail is probably be best choice for the rider seeking an easy route.

Four bike loan depots, along Rivertrail, allow riders to borrow a bike for free for up to 24 hours.

Tulsa has an active bicycling community.

Stay safe

Take precautions as you would in any other larger American city. Generally speaking, the areas of Tulsa immediately north and east of downtown have a rough reputation and caution should be taken.

The tornado sirens are tested at noon on Wednesday, but they are not tested if it is rainy, stormy, or very windy. You might want to check the tornado safety page if you are visiting Tulsa. Tornado season is normally in the spring and early summer, but they can occur anytime during the year.

Oklahoma Weather is very harsh on road conditions and road repairs are needed on an almost yearly basis. Please be prepared to slow down or stop for road workers as fines double for accidents in work zones as specified by Oklahoma State Law.

Swimming in the Arkansas River is inadvisable due to the large amounts of pollution and the currents created by the dams near downtown.

The intersections along 71st Street, especially the one at Memorial, are amongst the most dangerous in America. Drive defensively.

Go next

• The Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower and Arts Center is in Bartlesville
• Oklahoma Aquarium Just south of Tulsa in the suburb of Jenks
• Renaissance Fair In Muskogee. Last of April and first part of May.
• Rhema Bible Church Christmas Light Tour in Broken Arrow -- free admission.
• The cities of Sand Springs, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bixby and Catoosa are all suburbs and part of the Tulsa Metro Area.
• Claremore, the birthplace and hometown of Will Rogers, is about 30 minutes away. A wonderful museum about Will Rogers is located there.
• Pawhuska is home to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It is also the Tribal Headquarters of the Osage Nation and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma.