Honor Heights Park

Honor Heights Park

Honor Heights Park holds various activities throughout the year. They are well known for the azalea festival in April & the Garden of Lights Festival from Thanksgiving Day through New Years Day, nights only. This evening winter celebration includes a drive-through display of over 1.2 million shimmering lights strung throughout the park. The lights are strung to enhance the natural beauty of the park's gardens, waterfalls and ponds. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

The original 40 acres of Honor Heights Park was bought by the City of Muskogee in 1909 for $4,500. Since that time, the park has grown to 122 acres through purchases and donations of land. Agency Hill was officially named "Honor Heights Park" in 1919 in honor of the soldiers of WW I.

Much of the landscaping was done by George Palmer, the Park's first superintendents in 1912. Under Palmer's care, Agency Hill became the Jewel in the Crown of Muskogee's prized park system. Laid out by landscape architect Myron West of Chicago in 1919, Palmer implemented the landscape plan over the years of his much lauded tenure, winning the national "More Beautiful America" contest in 1935, sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens.

Practically all of the present azalea beds were planted and manicured in the 1950s under the direction of Art Johnson, the second Park Superintendent. The azalea plants number over 30,000 with over 625 varieties. Muskogee's Annual Azalea Festival was started in 1967 at the insistence of Maurice Dighton, a Muskogee businessman who, armed with $175 from a local Kiwanis Club, set out to put Honor Heights Park on the map. Since those humble beginnings, the Azalea Festival has grown to draw the largest crowds of any event in Oklahoma during the month of April, in years bringing over 500,000 visitors to see the pageantry of Honor Heights Park and the azaleas.

Other Features of Honor Heights Park

J.E. Conard Rose Garden contains 3,500 rose bushes, certified by All American Rose Selections.
Art Johnson Memorial Dogwood Collection is a synoptic collection of the Dogwood genus. This collection has a special interest ine very season of the year. It contains 60 varieites of Dogwoods in all colors, shapes and sizes to be experienced by the visitor.
C. Clay Harrell Arboretum is a collection of 170 commonly used landscape trees suitable for Oklahoma.
Elbert L. Little Jr. Oklahoma Grove is presently 139 trees with planned growth to include all 162 varieties of native Oklahoma trees.
Five Civilized Tribes Museum, located at the top of the hill contains antiquities and artwork of the Five Civilized Tribes.
The Henry Bresser Nature Trail winds from the top of the hill through some of the less traveled native areas of the park. Icons along the trail identify various plants.

Recreation Facilities include a swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, playground, paddleboats and a baseball field. For more information of Honor Heights Park call 918-684-6302

Click here to return to the Affiliate Gardens.

Click here for more information on Honor Heights Park.
The link will take one to the Muskogee Parks and Recreation, then click the Parks Link on the left side of the page for Honor Heights information.