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    Rotary Centennial Park

    5.0 (1 review)

    Rotary Centennial Park Photos

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    6 years ago

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    Cunningham Park - Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Cunningham Park

    4.5(8 reviews)
    22.6 mi

    This was a nice break with a playground (three stories!) and walking paths as we explored Joplin…read more Cunningham Park was originally known as Cunningham Grove and was donated to the city by Thomas W. Cunningham, who was the mayor of Joplin at the time. Cunningham was a significant figure in Joplin's development, contributing to various sectors such as banking, mining, and philanthropy. In 1897, Cunningham donated eight acres of land to the city for use as a public park. The deed was officially dated on July 5, 1898, and the park was dedicated in the early 1900s1. Cunningham Park became the first park in the Joplin Parks System. Over the years, the park has seen many enhancements, including the addition of a fountain, playgrounds, a swimming pool, and picnic areas. The park was also a central location for community gatherings and celebrations1. Unfortunately, the park was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado in 2011, but the community came together to rebuild it. Today, Cunningham Park stands as a symbol of resilience and community spirit. We were here to walk around the park and to see The Miracle of The Human Spirit monument. [Review 2323 of 2024 - 392 in Missouri - 23337 overall]

    Cunningham Park is a vast oasis of everything a city park should be. Sporting fields, trails, lots…read moreof playgrounds with nice equipment, water features, picnic and gathering facilities and a world class memorial garden. The Memorial garden is what caused me to visit and pay respect to those 161 Joplin residents that lost their lives to one of the worst tornadoes in American history. The garden consists of natural rock, sculptures, fountains, informational signage and a vast array of beautiful plants and flowers that are well maintained. The park was in the direct path of the tornado and offers great vantage points to see what was, what remains and what was rebuilt in the vicinity. My visit was during a slight rain shower with approaching storm clouds; which only added to the somber and reflective visit. A must see for anyone traveling in the vicinity of Joplin.

    Photos
    Cunningham Park - Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Cunningham Park - Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Cunningham Park - Cunningham Park, Joplin

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    Cunningham Park, Joplin

    Little Blue State Park

    Little Blue State Park

    4.7(3 reviews)
    28.6 mi

    *** Review is during COVID-19 ***…read more Came here earlier in the summer and it was so fun. This is a great spot!!! We wanted to find a swimming hole one day, which I now know can be very difficult to do! After driving around and around to several different spots for hours, where place after place turned out to be unsuccessful or just nonexistent, we were almost ready to give up. Then we remembered one more spot we could try... a swimming hole we'd been to when I was a little kid, with surprisingly clear blue water. We couldn't remember the name at first, but after some calls to my Grandma (always a great resource!) she helped us remember that it was Little Blue! Little Blue was still a bit hard to track down, but we eventually made it there, and had FINALLY found a spot worth staying around for! The water was as pretty as we remembered. In the shallower parts, it's crystal clear and you can see lots of pretty rocks on the bottom and sometimes little fishies too! The deepest part becomes a pretty blue color, and the water went up to at least between my elbows and shoulders (maybe more?). That deepest part isn't a huge area, so a little hard to stake your claim on it if you are trying to social distance, but overall there's plenty of space to spread out. It seemed to me like there were two areas: the area I just described, and then more river down to the left of that. This second area is much less populated, but I can see why, as it kind of quickly starts to get a pretty fishy smell as you go further and also has some animal bones (yeah...). Aside from the water, there's also lots of parking space, where many people had also set up camp (as in literally to camp in a tent for the night). We went on a Saturday (reminder that this was also in the "heat" of summer, no pun intended) so there were quite a few people. However, we were still able to stay a safe distance from others... we did have to be pretty mindful of it though, since others did not appear to be doing the same. I would give 5 stars if it (and other swimming holes in Oklahoma) had better information for people to find and clearer locations/directions!!! It's honestly pretty ridiculous. Also because that second swimming area down to the left could use a little work.

    Small & quiet. Refreshing & not too cold on our super hot day. We Had to be careful we didn't want…read moreour kids inhaling around a few groups.

    Photos
    Little Blue State Park
    Little Blue State Park
    Little Blue State Park - Mini waterfall thing

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    Mini waterfall thing

    Cowskin Recreation & Public Fishing Access

    Cowskin Recreation & Public Fishing Access

    4.0(1 review)
    22.7 mi

    *** Review is during COVID-19 ***…read more It was another summer day where we were looking for something fun to do outside, had heard about this swimming hole through the grapevine, and thought we'd check it out. As usual, it was a little confusing to get there (why are the locations of places like this SO HARD to find?!?!). I think at the very last turn, our directions said to go left when we were supposed to go right, or something like that. I think maybe it was trying to take us to the canoe rental, also called/ under the name Cowskin. Kind of an interesting spot because it's near/ under a highway (or some kind of road?) bridge. Not too many people, maybe one or two bigger groups of people and then a handful more of groups of 2 or 3 people. Some of the smaller groups were really only just passing by via canoes or rafts, anyway. The river definitely has space to spread out far past the "entrance" if you want to keep plenty of distance between you and others there. The water is decently clear, and seemed pretty clean. The deeper parts of course weren't as clear because there's more water between you and the ground, but even then you can still kind of see your feet touching the bottom. That deepest part went about to my waist. There may be deeper parts than this further down, but we didn't stray too far away from the "entrance". There's a nice current as well as areas that are more still, so it's great for adapting to different water activities, depending on if you want to float away (on a boat or just on your own) or just stay in place and kind of wade around. Some places also had a little island in the middle, creating two different streams but also a place where you could hang around out of the water, other than the entrance spot. The surrounding area, from what we saw, was pretty empty. I say this to say: if you think you might make a day of it/ need food at some point, maybe bring some of your own. I could be wrong, but I really don't remember seeing ANYWHERE where you could grab anything (food or otherwise) nearby.

    Photos
    Cowskin Recreation & Public Fishing Access - Sign before the "entrance"

    Sign before the "entrance"

    Cowskin Recreation & Public Fishing Access - "Bridge over troubled water"? ;)

    "Bridge over troubled water"? ;)

    Cowskin Recreation & Public Fishing Access

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    Oologah Lake

    Oologah Lake

    3.6(8 reviews)
    54.9 mi

    Easy parking and clean bathroom right next to swim beach. Arrive early for less crowds. After 3 it…read moregot crowded but it was not bad for a Saturday. There was also volleyball court, lots of grass and picnic tables under the shade too! We will def come back year after year!

    This was my first visit to Oologah Lake. I came quite early in the morning about 8:30am on a…read moreSunday. I came specifically to hike the Skull Hollow Nature Trail. No one was in the gate attendant shack when I pulled up but there were easy to follow instructions to self pay. It was only $5 for a day pass which I thought was a great deal! The hike along the nature trail was beautiful. There are many areas where you're able to look out over the lake if you follow the "hiking" trail. I took my doggo with me. I personally didn't think it was a very strenuous hike, but I'm also fairly active. Be careful and watch your footing. I also came across what I would call a "hidden beach". Unless you hike to it or know where to locate it via boat, it's quite private. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to come back once everything greens up and bring a lunch with me to enjoy it for longer. The trail seemed well maintained and there wasn't any trash anywhere which is what I always like to see. I hope to get back to this lake before the end of summer. I'm trying to visit a different Tulsa District Corps lake each weekend this summer! Would highly recommend!!

    Photos
    Oologah Lake - Quiet lake

    Quiet lake

    Oologah Lake
    Oologah Lake - Check out the lights at Hawthorne Bluff campground.

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    Check out the lights at Hawthorne Bluff campground.

    Rotary Centennial Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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