PARKS & RECREATION
The Parks & Recreation department features a full schedule of programs. Shawnee has 40 diverse parks, from a flower lover's favorite Rose Garden Park on Broadway to Dean Weigant Park's towering play space by the airport and our crown jewel and newest, Kidspace Park, a $4M play space that is Oklahoma's largest playground and 5th largest park.
Shawnee is also home to golf courses, a municipal water park with a lazy river, kid's play zone, a diving area and water slides, hiking trails, off-roading, camping, disc golf courses, pickleball, fishing, kayaking, tennis courts, playgrounds, open and covered picnic areas, and indoor recreation centers.
The recreation programs include sports leagues and clinics, dance and exercise classes, and a senior citizens center. Staude Park offers 9 soccer fields Firelake Ball Fields currently have 6 baseball/softball fields with an expansion in progress. Shawnee also features a full-service YMCA with an indoor pool, indoor track, weight room, and annual programming.
- Miles of Walking, Running, or Cycling: 6.71
- 240+ acres of offroading and hiking trails
- Bowling Alleys: 2
- Golf Courses: 3
- Pickleball Courts: 7
- Disc Golf Courses: 3
- Swimming Pools: 2
- Private Health & Fitness Centers: 12
Sporting Events
Shawnee is home to Oklahoma Baptist University the Potawatomie Fire a professional basketball team in The Basketball League (TBL) and the International Finals Youth Rodeo.
Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU)
Winner of three Learfield Sports Directors' Cups as the nation's top NAIA athletics program, Oklahoma Baptist boasts a championship tradition few can rival. With 33 titles on its resume, including 30 since 2005, OBU Athletics has earned its reputation as one of America's elite institutions.
The Potawatomi Fire is a professional basketball team, which just finished its second season with The Basketball League (TBL). The Fire won the 2023 TBL Championship (out of 49 teams in the U.S. and Canada) after winning the championship series versus St. Louis.
The Potawatomi Fire are currently 20-0 in the 2024 season and in the playoffs to capture their 2nd National Championship.
International Finals Youth Rodeo (IFYR)
The biggest annual event that our city has the pleasure of hosting! The International Finals Youth Rodeo brings in some of the world’s best young rodeo talent, coming from as far away as Australia. With the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center as their battleground, the event runs for over a week as young riders and ropers compete for the best times and achievements!
Golf
PUBLIC 18-HOLE GOLF COURSES:
Firelake Golf Course
FireLake Golf Course is an enterprise of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a sovereign tribal nation located just outside of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Built in 1983, FireLake has long been Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma’s only public course. FireLake Golf Course’s 6,335 yards of greens, fairways, and rough are ready for golfers of all skill levels and experience on its 18-hole public course.
PRIVATE 18-HOLE GOLF COURSES:
Shawnee Country Club
An 18-hole championship golf course with more than 6,851 yards of greens, fairways and rough. Home to the OBU men's and women's golf teams.
Elks Golf and Country Club
An 18-hole golf course with more than 6,619 yards of greens, fairways and rough.
Twin Lakes
Twin Lakes Reservoir is a serene public lake ideal for fishing, kayaking, camping, and swimming just south of I-40 on Hwy 102. The two lakes are connected by a beautiful red-cliffed channel and feature several parks, a campground with newly renovated amenities, swimming beaches, boat ramps, a fishing dock, and a kayak launch.
Twin Lakes is a municipal reservoir owned and operated by the City of Shawnee! Lake #1 was built in 1935, covers a surface area of 1,336 acres, and has 16 miles of shoreline. Lake #2 was built in 1960, and has a surface area of 1,100 acres and 9 miles of shoreline. The lakes are connected by a 10-foot-deep canal constructed in 1962. Learn More
Arts & Culture
Oklahoma's oldest art museum hosts a range of exhibits, lectures, and classes. One of the nation's best collections of Egyptian artifacts.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center re-opened in January 2018 after undergoing a 4-year renovation. New, updated, and digital interactive exhibits tell a more complete narrative, beginning with Citizen Potawatomi oral traditions, continuing through early ways of life, conflict, and forced removals before examining more recent history, including our time in Kansas and Indian Territory, and ending with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation today.
The Pottawatomie County Museum (Formerly Santa Fe Depot Museum), is home of the Pottawatomie County Historical Society. Our purpose is to promote and preserve the history and historical artifacts of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma for the benefit of posterity.
Art Gallery's
Features the work from over 50 Oklahoman artists from glasswork and ceramics to fine oil paintings.
100+ rotating artists selling diverse works in this large Shawnee Mall gallery. Home to some of Oklahoma's biggest art shows.
Step into another world and let your imagination take flight with this collection of fantastical artisan-crafted items. Features local art and other unique items in downtown Shawnee.
Inside the SSM St. Anthony's Hospital, this long hall gallery features a new artist regularly, curated by the Mabee-Gerre Museum of Art.
Oklahoma Baptist University Student & Faculty Galleries
Student and facility art shows happen throughout fall and spring semesters in two galleries on the OBU Campus; the Art Building and in the Student Union.
In 2007, then-mayor Chuck Mills undertook the "Horses in the City" project, to celebrate Shawnee's part of Oklahoma's centennial. Today, nearly three dozen of these "painted horses" stand proud throughout Shawnee, hand-painted by local artists, and more are added each year.
Shawnee's murals range from several historic advertisements painted on brick buildings to new, modern, and colorful designs on sheet metal. Find them all below - more added regularly!
Entertainment Venues
Whether you want to grab a beer at a downtown saloon and jam, catch a concert or comedy show, watch a theatrical masterpiece live on stage, or try your luck at one of our five Vegas-style casinos Shawnne is full of entertainment.
Check out Shawnee's event calendar for more details
Three-floor downtown watering hole on historic bricked Bell Street with top acts in country, rock, and more every weekend.
Home of the Potawatomi Fire pro basketball team, Firelake Arena hosts a variety of musical acts, fights, tradeshows, car auctions, and more.
The Grand Casino Hotel & Resort's event center holds everything from top artists' national tours to pro bowling.
Shawnee's premier event complex holds new acts and adventures nearly every weekend, from the circus to concerts of all genres and premier rodeo and ag events.
This recently renovated 1920s theater hosts music, comedy, and more from around the nation. One of Oklahoma's most haunted venues!
In the "backyard" of the Theopolis Social Club is a small outdoor venue that features some of OK's finest talent in cozy shows year-round.
This bar welcomes locals & guests alike, inside VFW Post #1317. Check out the monthly rock concerts hosted here by Pott County Meetup.
1 City, 4 Tribes, 5 Casinos
Black Hawk is home to 620+ of the latest and classic slot machines, including private High limit and Hunt for Neptune's Gold rooms. This casino is part of the Sac and Fox Nation.
Firelake Casino & Entertainment Center
Firleake is home to 700+ e-games and a variety of table games, including Blackjack and Texas Hold'em. Non-player friends can have fun at the bowling center and arcade across the parking lot. This casino is part of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Shawnee's Vegas-style destination, The Grand features 2,000 of the hottest slots in addition to blackjack, poker, and the haute player's club experience. Full resort including rooftop club, Grand Spa, and more. This casino is part of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Kickapoo features over 300 of the latest e-games with a great variety of denominations to choose from. This casino is part of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma.
Play anything from a penny to $10 on Thunderbird's collection of e-games. If you are a strategist, try your luck at poker of bonus spin blackjack. This casino is part of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe.
Shopping and Dining
Shopping
Explore over 100 shopping destinations in Shawnee, from quaint boutiques and specialty shops to major retail stores. Whether you're searching for unique finds, fashionable apparel, or everyday necessities, Shawnee offers a diverse and inviting shopping experience for all.
Shawnee Mall is the largest, most diverse retail destination in the area, with a movie theatre and arcade on site as well as over 20+ retailers.
Shawnee Marketplace
The shopping center with plenty of retail shops and all different kinds of restaurants for your dining needs. Shops include Burlington, Hobby Lobby, PetSmart, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta just to name a few.
Dining
Shawnee has a wide variety of restaurants that will appeal to anyone’s taste. Cuisines represented in the over 120 restaurants and cafeterias include barbecue, Mexican, Oriental, Greek, Indian, Italian, Thai, Seafood, Indigenous, Hawaiian and health and natural foods. Shawnee is a certified Blue Zone Community ensuring a wide range of vegan, vegetarian, and specialty options at several locations around the city and county.