Where are you going to park at Turkey Mountain this November? The lot many of us picture first, the upper lot at West 61st and Elwood, was closed for electrical line work as of mid-October. That closure comes just ahead of the mountain's busiest weekend of the fall.
For those of us in The Willows and around south Tulsa, Turkey Mountain is the closest real dirt across the Arkansas River. This fall, how your visit goes depends mostly on which lot you pull into. The trails are mostly fine. The parking map has been redrawn over the past year, one big piece of it is out for now, and a free three-day festival lands on top of all that in mid-November.
The lot you know best is the one that's closed
River Parks Authority lists three general parking areas for Turkey Mountain.
| Lot | Location | Spaces | Mid-October note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main trailhead | 6850 S Elwood Ave | 110 | No closure posted |
| Upper lot | W 61st St and Elwood | 105 | Closed for electrical line work |
| West lot | Farther west on W 61st St | 150 | No closure posted |
| Rock Yard lot | Off 71st St, between the river and Elwood | 20 | In use since July 2026 |
As of mid-October, River Parks' live trail conditions page marks the mountain "partially open." The upper lot is closed. All cross-country trails are open. Some downhill lines are under repair or muddy, and the Rock Yard is open. No reopening date for the upper lot has been posted. That page updates through Trailbot, so it's the one to pull up on your phone before you leave the house.
With the upper lot out, more than a quarter of the spaces in that table are gone, and the remaining traffic shifts to the Elwood trailhead and the West 61st lot. On an ordinary weekday walk, that's a small inconvenience. On a weekend when hundreds of bikes and spectators show up, it changes where you end up parking and how far you walk to the trail.
The newer lots help. A City of Tulsa project update in the September 2026 Sales Tax Overview Committee packet reports that all soft-surface trail construction under the Turkey Mountain master plan work is done. The west and east parking lots have been complete and in use since January 2026. If you haven't been out since last winter, the layout around the trailheads may look different from what you remember.
Why a 20-space lot showed up off 71st Street
The smallest lot on that table exists because of the newest feature on the mountain.
The Rock Yard Bike Park opened on November 14, 2025, FOX23 reported. River Parks describes it as a first of its kind for Oklahoma. Three acres of hillside have been turned into dirt jumps built only for mountain bikes. Two "Stone River Forts" rise out of the tree line above the Arkansas River, and six trails drop 80 to 90 feet from them through jumps, bridges, wall rides, drops and big gaps.
The Rock Yard sits on the south side of the mountain, with its own entrance from 71st Street between the river and Elwood Avenue. A bike park needs its own parking, so River Parks designed a 20-space lot in-house for it. The city's project notes say Tri-Star built it, and the money came from the sale of land to ODOT for the Highway 75 expansion. The lot has been complete and in use since July 2026, with final punch-list fixes still being wrapped up. At an August 2026 committee meeting, a city representative described that lot as "complete and in use," with contractors "making final corrections before we begin closeout and final payment."
If you don't ride, the Rock Yard is still worth a stop. The jump trails are for bicycles only, but River Parks set aside viewing areas where people on foot can watch. The park keeps normal park hours and closes when it's raining or muddy. If someone in your house wants to try jumps before tackling anything that tall, River Parks points beginners to the Skyline Jumps or Bomb Cellar areas first. For anyone who doesn't own a mountain bike, River Parks refers rentals to Tom's Bicycles.
Count forward from that opening date and you'll see the timing. One year after the Rock Yard opened, Turkey Mountain hosts its biggest bike weekend of the fall.
Cold Turkey weekend tests every lot on the mountain
The 4th annual Cold Turkey Mountain Bike Festival runs November 13 through 15, 2026. River Parks' events listing puts it at Turkey Mountain, 6815 S Elwood Ave, from 4 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday. Racing takes registration, but spectating is free.
That free spectating is why this matters to non-riders. Here's how the weekend breaks down for someone coming to watch, based on the festival's posted schedule.
- Friday, November 13. This is the one to put on the calendar. Organizers light the jumps at the Skyline session area, with the Tulsa skyline behind them. A $250 prize is on the line for the Whip Off and Best Trick competitions. There's a free cookout, and the night wraps up with Zingo Unchained, a timed run on a string-lit course with the chains taken off the bikes.
- Saturday, November 14. The 5 Stage Enduro Party spreads riders across the trail system, roughly 14 miles of course including transfers. Specialized runs bike demos, and Bike Club Tulsa hosts a free youth clinic with loaner bikes available on request.
- Sunday, November 15. XC races go out on a 3.6-mile loop that comes back past the "Yeti Yell" pass-through tent. Kids 12 and under race free in the Lil' Shredders Kids Cup near the main festival grounds, and parents can sign them up on-site with no preregistration. New for 2026, a downhill race starts with a shuttle at 9 a.m.
The 2026 date doubles up the anniversary. The Rock Yard opened on a Friday, November 14, 2025. This year November 14 falls on the Saturday of the festival, the Enduro day.
Plan on the regular lots. The festival address on Elwood sits right by the 110-space main trailhead, and with the upper lot closed as of mid-October, the West 61st lot is probably your best backup. Riders who are camping will already be parked when you arrive. Friday evening, with the lit jumps and the cookout, is likely the easiest time for a south Tulsa household to drop by for an hour.
The festival's own disclaimer applies too. Every race depends on weather and trail conditions, and the River Parks listing says the race will be rescheduled if it rains.
A slower look at the mountain the Saturday before
If you'd like to walk the mountain without bikes everywhere first, River Parks Authority has a History and Mystery guided tour of Turkey Mountain on Saturday, November 7, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The Eventbrite listing describes a 2.5-hour hike, notes it may be strenuous, and lists tickets at $12.
It also gives you a low-pressure test of the parking change. Find out which lot works for you on a Saturday morning with a small group, and you won't be figuring it out a week later in festival traffic.
For any visit, River Parks' trail rules are short. Pets stay on a leash. Dirt trails close when they're muddy. The curfew runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and glass containers aren't allowed. Carry water for yourself and your dog. River Parks also posts a downloadable trail map, last updated in March 2026, if your printed copy is older than that.
The trail that would let you leave the car at home is still waiting
You'll be driving to all of this for a while because the 71st Street Connector Trail isn't built yet.
The city's September 2026 project notes say construction is on hold while AT&T relocates a sensitive communication line. AT&T is finishing its design and coordinating with River Parks, and construction timing is listed as TBD. The notes add that as of September 2026, no new schedule had come out, since AT&T changed its legacy contractors. The utility relocation request dates to July 2025, and at the August meeting one committee member said the issue "has been going on for over a year."
The bigger plan for the south side of the mountain goes beyond that one trail. The updated master site plan from October 2023 ties together a RAISE grant to extend west bank trails from Turkey Mountain to Jenks, possible changes to the 71st and Elwood intersection, the parking expansion, and a possible new River Parks maintenance facility at Turkey Mountain. The new lots off Elwood and 71st Street are the pieces of that plan you can already use this November. The connector trail is the piece still on paper.
I spent 15 years in construction, so I always notice who's paying for a project and how far along it really is, and Turkey Mountain's parking work is a good example. If you're weighing a south Tulsa address and want to know how trail access, road work and parking projects like these fit into everyday life, Cosby Property Group is happy to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
