SULPHUR, OK -- Maudine Tate has been coming to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area for almost forty years now, and she knows this park like the back of her hand.

Her friends and family have been coming here since 1973, and when she learned a new visitors center is in the works, she was thrilled to hear the park is gearing up to host a whole new generation of visitors.

"It will be fine if will help things, and make it grow because that's what you're here for, for the people to enjoy and see nature. My children and I started coming here in ’73, so I had three children and then as two grand boys came along here they came, and we always enjoyed it," she says.

Tate isn't the only one excited at the prospect of the park's growth. Park Superintendant Bruce Noble is looking forward to moving the Chickasaw National Recreation Area into the future with the construction of a new visitors center right off the highway.

"We're really trying to look forward rather then look backwards. We've got some history with this project that we've learned some things from, but I think now we're in a position to go forward come up with a really good design," Noble says.

Federal funding will help pay for the project that park officials hope will be complete in a couple of years. The new visitor's center could also help bring tourists to the town of Sulphur. Park officials say that those who take the time to come out and visit are guaranteed to leave with some great experiences.

"I really like the job. I consider myself very lucky. Every park has something special something that defines it,” says park employee Eric Leonard.

“There are millions of people that have good experiences here."