Redbud

Redbud Valley Ecological Preserve

Redbud Valley will be open for two weekends in April!

Space is limited and you must make a reservation. Signing up allows you to come with one car and up to 5 passengers for a three-hour time slot. Open days are April 6, 7, 13, and 14, and the time slots for each day are 9am –noon and 1-4pm. You can sign up at tulsaparks.recdesk.com/Community/Home or by giving us a call at 918-596-9054.


Redbud Nature Preserve Closure Extended

On, August 30, 2021, the Redbud Valley Nature Preserve was closed to the public. The closure will now last until at least 2024. The growing popularity of the preserve throughout the pandemic had increased foot traffic, as well as instances of vandalism, damaging the environment and the ecosystem. The Nature Conservancy gifted the Preserve to the City of Tulsa in 1990. It is managed as part of the Oxley Nature Center. A preserve prioritizes the protection of the land and ecosystem over public access and recreational use. As part of the agreement with The Nature Conservancy, the city is required to protect the land and the wildlife who inhabit the area.


In 2021, the Redbud Valley Preserve suffered great ecological damage and vandalism. The ecosystem is still healing. Our new name (Redbud Valley Ecological Preserve) is a reflection of what Redbud Valley Nature Preserve historically has been and what we hope it will be again for future generations.

The ecosystem is still recovering at Redbud so for the foreseeable future it will need to remain closed to the general public in order to protect the land. We know that you all love Redbud Valley, so we hope to have occasional specialty guided tour events in 2023. Please watch the Oxley Facebook page and monthly emails for announcements. 

Click Here for the full press release about the Redbud Closure.

The Redbud Valley Ecological Preserve is a place of quiet beauty and rugged scenery. Here are plants and animals found nowhere else in northeastern Oklahoma. It is a very special habitat, preserved for all of us to enjoy. The trail will take you to some of the most interesting parts of the Preserve. Go slowly, open your senses, enjoy the wonders of this unique place.

Redbud Valley was originally purchased by The Nature Conservancy in the late 1960's. Dr. Harriet Barclay was a professor at TU, and she spearheaded the effort to have it acquired, then worked with the Tulsa Tribune on a fund drive to raise the necessary money to repay The Nature Conservancy. TU maintained the property until the area was transferred to the City of Tulsa in 1990, and it is now managed as a part of Oxley Nature Center in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. Under guidance from The Friends of Oxley Nature Center, the caretaker's house was renovated and the Barclay Visitor's Center created. 
Our Purpose
The primary management focus at Redbud Valley is to preserve and protect the unique plant and animal life that is found here. The area is also used for environmental education and for public enjoyment, but only when these activities coincide with our main focus, protection. 

Facilities
Please note hiking outside the days and hours Redbud Valley is open is prohibited! Restrooms, picnic tables and drinking water are available in the shelter adjacent to the visitor's center during open hours. Please picnic only in this area.

Why is Redbud only open weekends? The primary management focus at Redbud Valley is to preserve and protect the unique plant and animal life that is found here. We are able to use the area for environmental education and public enjoyment, but need to limit these activities to coincide with our main focus of protection. We all love Redbud Valley, but we can't let it be loved to death!

Things to do (and not do)…

Besides some very basic improvements, we have left the trails rough and rugged. They are steep in places, rocky in others, and frequently muddy and slick after rain. Use extra caution as you walk through the area. We encourage you to stay on the trails. The soil on the top is very thin and excess traffic causes long-term damage. On the hillsides, erosion is a problem, especially where people short-cut between trail sections.

Things to do...

Hike, daydream, bird watch, visit with a naturalist , sketch, photograph butterflies, relax, study the wildflowers, forget things, look for fossils, remember things, sit, stare, listen…do all these things and more. There are a multitude of possibilities – invent some of your own.

Because of the special character of this area, and the rarity of some of its plants and animals, some activities you associate with a park are not appropriate here.

TO RESPECT THE PRESERVE PLEASE…
DO NOT Ride your bike on the trails
DO NOT Walk your dog or other pet
DO NOT Play a radio
DO NOT Have a picnic outside of the picnic area
DO NOT Go fishing
DO NOT Go hunting
DO NOT Target practice with gun, bow or air rifle
DO NOT Make a fire
DO NOT Go swimming
DO NOT Camp overnight
DO NOT Use fireworks
DO NOT Rock climb
DO NOT Hike off trail
DO NOT Take or collect things such as fossils, plants or animals

Note: This area has thin soils and is easily damaged. Hiking off trails kills plants, and exposes bare soil causing erosion. We encourage you to stay on the trails for your own safety.

Besides some very basic improvements, we have left the trails rough and rugged. They are steep in places, rocky in others, and frequently muddy and slick after rain. Use extra caution as you walk through the area.

TRAILS
Redbud Valley offers a rugged one mile trail that takes hikers through a variety of habitats, ranging from flood-plain forest and shady north-facing slopes to limestone bluffs and dry upland forest.
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