• Little Niagra

    Chickasaw

    National Recreation Area Oklahoma

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  • Warning to Boaters

    Chickasaw National Recreation area is warning all boat users to be cautious while boating on Lake of the Arbuckles due to low water levels in the lake. More »

Hillside Spring

Spring waters coming from a stone basin under the trees
Hillside Spring retaining wall and basin, built in 1935.
NPS/Chickasaw National Recreation Area
 

Spring Type: Mineral
Spring Status: Flowing; not safe to drink

 
Stone and wood pagoda-style pavilion over a mineral spring

Pagoda-style pavilion over Hillside Spring, 1920s.

NPS/Chickasaw NRA

Prior to the construction of a new cistern and basin by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, Hillside Spring issued from a grotto in a rock wall below the park headquarters (the present-day Platt District Ranger Station, also known as the Leeper House). Heavy in sulphur content, this water flows at a rate of about eighty gallons per minute. For thirty years, Hillside Spring was also known as the "Beauty Spring" because the water was believed to brighten eyes and beautify complexions. Due to high bacteria counts, the water of Hillside Spring is not presently safe for human consumption.

Did You Know?

Park Rangers at Buffalo Spring, 1969

For 70 years, from 1906 to 1976, the Platt Historic District [then designated Platt National Park] was the smallest National Park in the United States. The 800 acre park was absorbed into the Chickasaw National Recreational Area in 1976 More...