Lincoln Bridge Trail

The Lincoln Bridge Trail is the most substantial hiking route at Chickasaw National Recreation Area, looping through the Rock Creek canyon terrain where travertine formations create a geologically distinctive landscape unlike anything found elsewhere in Oklahoma. The trail crosses Rock Creek via the historic Lincoln Bridge and traverses canyon walls where travertine limestone has been deposited over centuries by the mineral-laden spring waters flowing through the system. The canyon environment supports plant communities more reminiscent of the Ozarks than the surrounding southern plains, with ferns, mosses, and moisture-loving shrubs thriving in the cool moist microclimate created by the spring-fed creek. Several active spring seeps are visible from the trail, and the sound of running water accompanies much of the route. The Arbuckle Mountains geology exposed in the canyon walls includes some of the most complex and ancient rock formations in Oklahoma, with folded and faulted layers recording hundreds of millions of years of geological history. Birding along the creek corridor is excellent, with breeding neotropical migrants including yellow-throated warblers, Louisiana waterthrushes, and Acadian flycatchers occupying the riparian habitat throughout the summer months.