Swimming Holes in Northwest Oklahoma
2026-05-16 - 2026-09-01
Get wet this summer by diving into these swimming holes in Northwest Oklahoma:

Alva
Cory Washburn Family Memorial Swimming Pool, 1402 Flynn, Alva, is opening on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) with a free sponsored swim. Hours are 1-6 p.m. every day. Cost is $3 for kids ages 3-17, $5 for adults, and $2 for seniors ages 65 and older. Season passes are $75 per individual or $225 per family up to four and add $25 for each additional family member. Swim party packages available. Call (580) 327-6100 to book.
FUN FACT: Alva’s pool and bathhouse were built by the WPA in 1939 but had issues the past several years until it was refurbished and reopened last summer.

Carmen
Carmen Pool, 503 3rd, Carmen, will remain closed this year. The town is seeking donations and grants to repair and restore the community swimming hole.

Enid
Champlin Pool, 400 W. Cherokee, Enid, is opening Tuesday, May 26. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Cost is $3 per person. Season passes are $30 per individual. Learn more online at enid.org/Services/Parks-Recreation/Parks-Directory/Champlin-Pool.
FUN FACT: Built in 1956, Enid’s Champlin Pool is an Olympic-size pool at 500,000 gallons.

Fairview
Fairview Aquatic Center, 523 Park Lane, Fairview, opened last Saturday, May 16. Hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $2 per person. Season passes are $75 per individual, $150 per family. Swim party packages available. Call (580) 227-6100. Learn more online at Facebook.com/SwimFairview.
FUN FACT: Fairview’s pool offers water aerobics and hosts triathlons.

Gage
Gage Artesian Beach Pool, Oklahoma 15 east of Gage, is opening Saturday, May 23. Hours are 1-6 p.m. every day. Cost is $3 per person. Season passes are $75 per individual, $175 per family. Learn more online at townofgageok.org/artesian-beach or Facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560092705378.
FUN FACT: Since the early 1920s, bathers have been seeking relief from the hot summers and health benefits from the mineral-laden waters of Gage’s pool.

Garber
Garber Pool, 100 W. Pawnee, Garber, is opening on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25). Hours are 1-6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Cost is $4 per person. Swim party packages available. Call (580) 863-2254.
FUN FACT: Opening in 1923, Garber’s pool is one of the oldest municipal pools in Oklahoma.

Hennessey
Hennessey Aquatic Park, 459 N. Mitchell Road, Hennessey, is opening Saturday, May 23. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. every day (opens 1 p.m. on Sunday) for day swim and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday for night swim. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for kids ages 3-17. Season passes are $75 per individual, $200 per family up to five in the house and add $25 for sixth+ person(s). Swim party packages available. Call (405) 853-2416 to book. Learn more online at hennesseyok.org/aquatic-park.
FUN FACT: In 2019, the town of Hennessey voted to build a $2.1M water park adjacent to its existing splash pad and opened for business the summer of 2020.

Kremlin
Kremlin-Hillsdale Pool, south side of Kremlin, is tentatively slated to open Monday, June 1. Hours are 1-5:30 p.m. every day (opens 2 p.m. on Sunday). Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for kids ages 5-17. Season passes are $55 per individual, $150 per family. Swim party packages are available. Call (580) 478-4771. For pool updates, go to Facebook.com/khbroncs.
FUN FACT: Originally known as the Stewart Pool, it was built in the 1960s on the Kremlin-Hillsdale Public Schools campus.

Laverne
Laverne Community Pool, 800 W. Jane Jayroe, Laverne, is opening Sunday, May 24. Hours are 1-6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (until 5 p.m. Sunday). Cost is $3 per person. Season passes are $100 per individual, $200 per family. Swim party packages are available. Call (580) 921-5575.
FUN FACT: To save the community pool, residents rallied with a Save Your Pool campaign in 2018 and 2019 to raise $90,000 to restore and refurbish the local swim hole that had been there since the 1970s.

Medford
Medford Swimming Pool, 106 N. 5th, Medford, is opening Saturday, May 23. Hours are 1-7 p.m. every day. Cost is $3.50 for adults, $3 for kids ages 4-17 and seniors ages 65 and older. Season passes are $50 per individual, $150 per family. Swim party packages available. Call (580) 741-0508 to book. Learn more online at Facebook.com/medfordokswimmingpoolminigolf.
FUN FACT: For more water fun, there is a splash pad just east of the pool at Nedra Nichols-Pitts Park.

Waynoka
Waynoka Pool, 1324 Flynn St, Waynoka, opened Wednesday, May 20. Hours are 1-7 p.m. Tuesday, 1-5 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday, 1-10 p.m. Friday through Saturday, and 2-7 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $2 for kids ages 3-12, $3 for 13 and older. Season passes are $35 per kid ages 12 and under, $50 per individual ages 13 and older, $100 per family up to four and add $20 for fifth+ person(s). Call (580) 824-0634.
FUN FACT: Waynoka’s original municipal pool was built by the WPA and opened in 1939; the new pool opened for business in 2024.

Woodward
Crystal Beach Waterpark, 305 Temple Houston Dr., Woodward, is opening Saturday, May 23. Hours are 1-7 p.m. every day. Cost is $5 per person. Season passes are $80 per individual, $200 per family up to four and add $50 for fifth+ person(s). Swim party packages available, book online at crystalbeachwoodward.com. Call (580) 256-2874.
FUN FACT: The waterpark is situated within Crystal Beach Park which also has golf courses, Kiwanis train rides, pavilions for picnics, sporting events such as baseball, tennis, horseshoes, and more, plus fishing at the neighboring lake.

Please note that times are subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen emergencies that arise and prices could differ from what is listed.
Photo credit: Hennessey Aquatic Center, Jack Quirk/AllAboutHennessey.com

Nardin Heritage Day
2026-05-23 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Nardin, OK
The 2026 Nardin Heritage Day is Saturday, May 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in downtown Nardin. Admission to the event and museum tours are free. Sales of food and drink or other purchases are cash only, so be sure to stop by an ATM before arriving.
This year’s celebration will be the 49th time Nardin has hosted visitors. Many festivities are planned from a gunfighter show by Guthrie Gunfighters and blacksmith demonstrations to watching a Model T being put together and running in 10 minutes. One of Crow’s sons is in a band called North of 50 that will be providing the western music. There will be plenty of kid-friendly fun including inflatables, Chester the Clown, an ice cream shoppe, and turtle races.
The parade starts at 10:30 a.m.; visitors will see antique cars and trucks, tractors, horse-drawn vehicles, mule teams, bikes, horse riders, and floats.
Following the gunfight, around 11:30 a.m., is the lunch feed at the pecan grove that Crow’s dad planted on the west side of Main Street with hamburgers, polish sausage, hot dogs and all the trimmings, homemade pies, and more for a fee.
The general store will be open as well as the saloon, which will be dispensing ice-cold sarsaparilla. Nardin’s Heritage House will be open too. The celebration concludes with an antique tractor pull around 1 p.m. south of town at the railroad tracks.
Deer Creek Mercantile will also be set up in their vintage camper with a pop-up sale of flower bouquets and more.
Read more about Nardin’s history: nwokbuzz.com/nardin-heritage-day

Photo credit: Nardin Heritage Day, Brittany Webster/Deer Creek Mercantile

Nescatunga Arts Festival
2026-06-05 - 2026-06-06 | Alva, OK
The 55th annual Nescatunga Arts Festival is June 5-6 at the Alva Recreation Complex, 1887 Goldbug Blvd, Alva. Festival hours are Friday from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more info, go to nescatunga.org. Admission into the festival is free; fees at the individual booths and food trucks vary.
More than 40 fine artists, handmade crafters, and authors have registered for a combined 52 booth spaces for this year’s Nescatunga Arts Festival. All the booths and festival activities including entertainment and food trucks plus quilt show will be inside and outside the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse at the Alva Recreation Complex.
Among the arts featured are glass and wood art, jewelry, computer-generated artwork, quilts, weaving, baskets, knitting, crocheting, pencil or pen and ink drawings, mixed media pieces, paintings, photography, pottery, and sculptures.
Read more about the history of Nescatunga Arts Council: nwokbuzz.com/alva-runnymede-nescatunga-arts

Photo credit: Nescatunga Arts Festival, Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council/nescatunga.org
