Heading to Oklahoma’s capital city, Tulsa? Bring the family: The city’s Gathering Place riverfront park is officially open. Set upon nearly 100 acres along the east bank of the Arkansas River, the complex was built utilizing sustainability practices and local materials such as an Oklahoma sandstone, Wildhorse Swirl — harvested nearby in McCurtain County.

Adventure Playground © Shane Bevel Photography

There are plenty of family-friendly attractions to keep you busy. Among the activities are Chapman Adventure Playground, a five-acre space designed to engage the imagination with play gardens, water areas, signature towers and climbing features. There’s also the Spiral Connector, with seven towers, a suspension bridge and puzzles; the Skywalk Forest with net climbing elements; Land of the River Giants with slides and cradle swings; Volcanoville toddler’s area; a Fairyland Forest replete with tiny houses; Ramble Sensory Garden created with science, technology, engineering and math features; The Reading Tree, with sing-along performances and story time beneath a magnificent cottonwood tree; and Charlie’s Water Mountain with spray and mist areas, tunnels, dams, streams and a water plaza.

Check out paddle boats, kayaks and canoes at the ONEOK Boathouse for excursions along Peggy’s Pond. The boathouse is also the location of Vista at the Boathouse restaurant and the Overlook Deck with a terrace and great views of the city and river. Visitors relax at the Picnic Grove or on the Cottonwood Lawn beneath The Reading Tree.