Clear Creek Abbey is located about one hour east of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in rural Cherokee country.
For directions, please:
- use the map below, or
- download printable maps and directions (also found just below the following map), or
- get directions on your mobile device.
DRIVING TO CLEAR CREEK FROM POINTS SOUTH
From south Tulsa and Broken Arrow, travel east on Highway 51 (the Broken Arrow Expressway). On the east edge of Broken Arrow, you will have the choice of staying on Hwy. 51 or taking the Muskogee Turnpike. The Turnpike saves you a few minutes but costs $2.00.
IF YOU USE THE TURNPIKE, take the Wagoner exit. Or if you stay on Highway 51, continue through Coweta all the way to Wagoner.
From Texas, Arkansas or other southern approaches, you will arrive at WAGONER via Highway 69 or the Muskogee Turnpike (165).
From Oklahoma City, you will get to WAGONER either going northeast on I-44 around the southern edge of Tulsa to the Broken Arrow Expressway, or by traveling east on I-40 , and then going north on Highway 69.
At WAGONER, continue east on Highway 51. WATCH THE SIGNS FOR 51 CAREFULLY THROUGH WAGONER – the road turns a few times.
Continue east on 51. Cross Lake Fort Gibson. Pass the entrance to Western Hills Lodge. ON THE LEFT pass huge nursery and firewood lot. About a mile past the firewood lot, you come to a crossroads.
There are three or four signs here for churches, a 4H arena, etc. A green sign reading “Clear Creek Road” marks this corner.
TURN LEFT (north) at this corner onto Clear Creek Road. (If you come to the bridge on Highway 51 that crosses Fourteen Mile Creek, you have missed Clear Creek Road – go back.)
Go north on Clear Creek. Road. Pass general store (last chance for gas).
AT FIRST STOP SIGN, turn right (east). Pass firehouse on left. TURN LEFT AT FIRST INTERSECTION PAST FIREHOUSE. (People constantly miss this turn, as there is no landmark or sign of any kind, not even a sign warning of the intersection.)
Continue north on paved road. After about three miles, you cross Clear Creek.
AT END OF PAVEMENT, make sharp left turn up the hill onto gravel road. Do not turn left till the pavement runs out.
Follow the road up the hill and around for a mile or so. At the top of the hill, you will come to the Clear Creek Monastery entrance on the left. The gate is set back from the road, and is easy to miss at night.
It’s one mile and a half from the gate to the monastery. You turn right at the “Y” (going Northwest). This scenic road leads down hill, across the monastery’s stone bridge, back up to the monastery. The Gatehouse is very visible, near the parking lot. Just sound the doorbell.
DRIVING TO CLEAR CREEK FROM POINTS NORTH
(If you scroll down, you will see an alternate route to take when high water renders the road south of Four Corners Church impassable.)
IF YOU ARE COMING FROM OWASSO, CLAREMORE, SAND SPRINGS, in general from anywhere in Tulsa north of 31st Street, this is the route you should take.
From the TULSA area (including the Tulsa Airport), just go east on I-44, continue east on U.S. 412, and follow the directions as below from CHOUTEAU.
FROM KANSAS CITY:
Go south on U.S. 71. South of Carthage, head west towards Oklahoma on Interstate 44. I-44 is also called the Will Rogers Turnpike once you cross into Oklahoma.
JUST TWO OR THREE MILES AFTER PAYING THE TOLL ON THE WILL ROGERS TURNPIKE, take the BIG CABIN exit and head SOUTH on U.S. 69. (Many people from Kansas and Missouri have missed the Big Cabin exit and found themselves in Tulsa.)
Continue south on 69 through Big Cabin, Adair, and Pryor, to Chouteau.
At CHOUTEAU, turn east on U.S. 412. Veer right on 412 when the road splits a few miles east of Chouteau and take the Cherokee Turnpike (still marked as U.S. 412 – not to be confused with ‘Scenic 412’).
Take the first exit, Locust Grove/Tahlequah, and TURN RIGHT (south) onto Highway 82.
After going south for a few miles on 82, you will pass the Rowland Ranch Store (last chance for gas or provisions) on the right.
A bit less than two miles past the store, on the left side of the highway, you will see a large billboard that says ‘Jerco Industries’ with an arrow pointing to the right. TURN RIGHT onto this paved county road (marked NS 442).
After about 2 1/2 miles, TURN RIGHT at the first stop sign. Go west on this PAVED road (marked EW 64) for about 3 miles to the Four Corners Church.
At this intersection (the ‘Four Corners’), TURN LEFT. Continue south for about 3 miles on this windy PAVED road (marked NS 439).
STAY ON PAVEMENT. The road comes to a T at the place where the pavement ends. TURN LEFT at the T onto gravel. (For some reason, people always get lost here. The directions plainly say, Turn left, but for some reason, people turn right instead. TURN LEFT.)
The road dips and winds, but there are no side roads or intersections where you can get confused or lost. You will cross a low-water bridge and pass a farm with a yellow house marked Walker’s Ranch. After following this gravel road for two miles, you come to the gate to the monastery ON THE RIGHT.
The gate is set back from the road, and is easy to miss at night.
It’s one mile and a half from the gate to the monastery. You turn right at the “Y” (going Northwest). This scenic road leads down hill, across the monastery’s stone bridge, back up to the monastery. The Gatehouse is very visible, near the parking lot. Just sound the doorbell.
IN CASE OF HIGH WATER
On rare occasions you may be forced to turn back because of high water at some of the low- water bridges. This typically happens on the patch of road between Four Corners Church and the monastery gate, when after a heavy rain, a flash flood can make the water rise quickly. So here’s what to do if high water makes you turn around.
Say a prayer to St. Jude and St. Benedict. Turn around and head back to the Four Corners Church. Turn right (east) at Four Corners. Proceed east for 5 or 6 miles.
Do NOT turn left at the corner from which you arrived. Keep going straight east to the stop sign at Highway 82. Turn right (southeast) onto Highway 82. You will see an Assembly of God church across the highway as you turn. After a short distance, you come into the outskirts of the small town (300 souls) of PEGGS. You will pass the Peggs Community Church on the right. SLOW DOWN.
Very soon you see on the right a brown wooden sign which reads: Hulbert 12 miles Sequoyah State Park Lake Fort Gibson Lost City. Turn right (south) onto this paved road, known locally as the Lost City Road. At this corner is a rundown old Sinclair station and grocery store with a DR Pepper sign. (This store has a grill and tables, where you can get a sandwich).
Remain on this paved road for about three miles. Watch out for a white painted sign on the RIGHT which reads Clear Creek Freewill Baptist Church. Turn RIGHT (west) at this sign onto a gravel road. This road winds and snakes up and down, in a basically westerly direction, for 4 or 5 miles, mostly following Clear Creek.
The road forks WHERE THE PAVEMENT BEGINS. Do not veer left onto the pavement. VEER RIGHT UP THE HILL. The right fork is still gravel. Follow this gravel road for one mile. After a mile, you will see the gate to Clear Creek Monastery on the left. Turn left into the gate. It’s a mile and a half back to the monastery.
