Oakdale Park, Glen Rose Texas
Oakdale Park has a long history in Glen Rose Texas. Even before the park was built, the land and the water wells attracted people to stay here. The park, swimming pool, and bath house were built in 1925. More recently, the park has been purchased by the City of Glen Rose.
It’s not hard to find negative reviews for this park on the Web, and I have read some of them. Oakdale Park and just about everything in Oakdale Park is old. Just to be fair though, old does not always equal bad. The little cabins seem out of place today. The bath house and, well, just about everything else is old, mostly functional, but old. On the other hand, the pool, built in 1925, is enormous, even by today’s standards. The pool and the abundant shade around the pool make it one of the best places to swim in Glen Rose.
The history of Oakdale is interesting. Everyone calls this place Oakdale Park, but the sign out front of the park tells a slightly different story. It says, Oakdale Park, Motor Inn, Camping. That old sign is a clue to the history of Oakdale Park. The park is, in reality, a surviving roadside camp and motor court. Motels as we know them today didn’t exist before the 1940′s. In the 1920′s and early 1930′s roadside camps gave road trip travelers a place to stay along the road but offered very little in the way of amenities. Eventually, accommodations became more elaborate. Cabins offered indoor plumbing and an opportunity for travelers to get indoors and out of the weather. Oakdale Park is, among other things, a surviving 1930′s Motor Court.
Oakdale Park is an unobtrusive place. There’s no gate fee. Visitors can come in and look around. They rent trailer spaces and cabins, but swimming is a popular reason to stop here. The location of this place is outstanding. Big Rocks Park is just across the street, and Historic Downtown Glen Rose is just maybe a half-mile up the road.
Where
Oakdale Park is located in Glen Rose Texas one-half mile south of US 67 on Hwy 144 S. It’s on the road that goes to the historical downtown and is across the street from Big Rocks Park.
For more information and a map do a Google search for “Oakdale Park in Glen Rose.” Right now their web site isn’t working.
Vintage Roadside has a wonderful history of motor courts, roadside camps, and motels.
For more information about the Glen Rose area see our Glen Rose Texas Guide.
We camped at Oakdale 5/14 with 2 other families and had a blast! However, we were defintely shocked at 1st because it is under reconstruction and old. I was definitely worried about the restrooms age, but they were brand new inside and more were being added to the camp. This has been preserved by the historical society and you must follow their rules of rebuilding. This place has a lot of character.
So why did we have a blast? The staff was friendly and informative. All of my group bombarded them with questions from A-Z and they took the time to patiently answer them all. Our kids had a blast in the pool which actually has a diving board! Whether it riding bikes or at playground, they were active all day. The T.V. never even came on! We were across the street from Big Rock park, the boys went 3 times. Dinosaur State Park was around the corner where we waded the Paluxy River for 3 hours finding fossils and dinosaurs tracks (top 5 Dad moment!) The wives all went into town shopping. They were gone from 10am-4pm, we thought they would never come back. Oakdale is a fun little place, yes it is a little rough right now, but we can’t wait return.
Do you know how much the cost of getting in to the pool was for both adults and children for the day?
April,
Last year admission was $2. I don’t remember if there was a special rate for kids. Every one in my family over 12. Many improvements this year and prices may have changed.
Call them to check prices: 254-897-2321.
Thanks for asking…
Update: I called on 6/7/2011 to check prices for swimming. The price to swim in the pool for adults, kids, and under 3 years are: $7, $5, $3. If you live in Sovervell county the price is $5, $3, and free. My my what a difference a year has made.
I’ve been going to Oakdale since I was a little kid. We went every summer for a weekend, often more than once. I love this place! I am so glad to hear that they are renovating it.
The $2 admission price must have been a special or something, I don’t ever remember all day admission being so low.
I haven’t been in a few years, but maybe I’ll try to bring the family down this summer. I can’t wait to see the new improvements!