The Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge are a tropical oasis smack dab in the middle of bustling Oklahoma City. We arrived late in the afternoon on a blistering summer day, but this would have been the perfect place for a picnic lunch. The grounds are beautiful--blooming flowers, ducks along the fountains, scattered sculptures.
The cost to enter the Crystal Bridge is about $3.00, but well worth it. I bet you could sneak inside without paying because no one really monitors if you've got a ticket. But don't tell them I told you that.
The Crystal Bridge is an enclosed walkway across the pond/lake at the botanical gardens. The cylindrical bridge houses both a tropical environment on one side and an arid, desert climate on the other. When you first enter, it's wet, but wonderful. The waterfalls are spectacular and you can climb to the top of it. There are banana and coconut trees too. You can follow a higher bridge inside the cylinder to get to the desert side. Surrounding you are cacti and other desert plants. We saw many butterflies and a lizard too.
You can sit outside on a park bench and watch the birds in the water. In summer the flowers are bright and colorful. Inside the Crystal Bridge you'll sweat from the tropical heat, but it's worth it to see the clear cool waterfall, towering coconut trees and fluttering butterflies. Keep your eyes open for those little lizards.