[3] Part of the area was established as Sulphur Springs Reservation on July 1, 1902, and renamed and redesignated Platt National Park on June 29, 1906.

[4] On March 17, 1976, Platt National Park was combined with the Arbuckle Recreation Area and additional lands and renamed.

[5] The Chickasaw National Recreation Area preserves partially forested hills of south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur.

Named to honor the Chickasaw Indian Nation, who were relocated to the area from the Southeastern United States during the 1830s (and who later sold the original 640 acres (260 ha) of land for the park to the Federal government), the park's springs, streams, and lakes provide opportunities for swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, camping, and hiking, among other activities.

[7] On June 29, 1906, Congress re-designated the reservation as Platt National Park, named for the senator, a year after his death.

[10] In the 1930s, crews of the New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps developed the park's infrastructure, applying then-popular ideas of landscape design to create a tranquil and scenic oasis.

[12] In 1983, the city of Sulphur traded the 67-acre Veterans Lake (27 ha) to the recreation area in exchange for a strip of land above the State Highway Seven bridge.

A narrow road circles the district, passing by parking areas, camp and picnic grounds, the Travertine Nature Center, swimming holes, and springs.

Facilities include three campgrounds for tents and RVs, picnic areas, public restrooms, boat docks and ramps, and several miles of multi-use trails.