Beavers Bend State Park

I don ‘t know how I’ve gone so long living in North Texas as an avid outdoorsman and fisherman without knowing about the Okie gem of a park in Beavers Bend.
The park and the lake are picturesque. The rolling mountains look like they were cut by God who places the most perfectly reflective lake in the middle of it. Around this are slightly flowing and other raging rivers teeming with rainbow and brown trout ready for the traveling fisherman to snag with a little luck. The drive along the roads in the park are worth the trip itself.
If I had to do our trip over again, I would spend the entire trip inside the parts. This might be the best part of Oklahoma. No sasquatch though.

Just rv camped at this park (early November) and it is absolutely beautiful! The park amenities are great, the staff was helpful and friendly, and the scenery was amazing. There are several hiking trails suited for beginners to pros. There is a river that runs through the park that is great for trout fishing or kayaking. There is also Broken Bow Lake here which has stunning scenery and is good for bass fishing. The rv site rates are great, ranging from $ 20 – 25. The only con of this park is there are no modern amenities such as wifi or cable. We were unable to even acquire antenna signals for local stations. But honestly, you don’t really need that stuff when you’re camping! We will definitely be visiting this park again.

This park is a clean 3 hour drive from Plano — but we make the trip monthly when the weather cools off.
1. There are actual hills that you can HIKE and get lost in!
2. Plenty of camp sites with picnic areas and grill provided.
3. Primitive camping is $ 12/​night.
4. There are designated RV areas with plug-​ins.
5. Toilets scattered throughout — but the best is in the RV section with two full showers and sinks.
6. Kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, etc. can be rented.
7. You can fly fish — with the proper permit.
8. There is a grocery store and Wal-​Mart down the road if you forget anything.
9. Feeling lazy? There are restaurants right outside the park!
When you want to unwind, unplug, and GTFO of the city, definitely hit up Beavers Bend.
Actually, don’t.
I want it all to myself!

Stayed over the weekend at the Dogwood campground. Trails started right across. Hikes part of the skyline trail, excellent. Campground had a smelly loo. One water pump per campground. Fern campground (RV) nearby has proper bathroom facilities, dirty but functioning. Got no help at the main office. River is beautiful in the morning.

We love this place. This was out second time camping here and the only bad thing I can say is that there are a limited reserve sites and you can’t pick your own. We reserved a site but then forfeited our deposit ($ 30) to camp in the premium no reserve spot in acorn (name of the area) these spots are more spacious and we like them better. Plus we were on the water. Park is clean. We saw deer every day and at night we had armadillos and raccoons that made a visit every night. We plan on making this park a yearly event.

Beautiful scenery; stayed in cabins at State Park. They are not 5 star by ANY means but basic, good accommodations with a fire place that adds to the atmosphere. Missed fall foliage peak by a week probably but good time to go. Lots of Halloween parties going on in Hochatown restaurants there, so energy was nice.
Don’t miss breakfast at State Park Restaurant… served on tin or steel plates. Basic but nice activity/​meal to enjoy right by or on the river and next to Nature Park.
Remember to bring whatever you need to cabins. They only provide the very basic essentials and if you want to make sure everything is clean, or kept clean since they don’t do any housekeeping except for exchange of linens or towels DURING your stay, I would suggest bringing coffee, paper towels and maybe some disinfectant wipes or something similar.
Great hiking; good fly fishing and a scenic golf course they used to call Oklahoma’s Little Augusta but apparently the Masters got after them. (Cedar Creek Golf Course) For a State Park, it’s Oklahoma’s hidden gem. Get there before the «Texans» take over… LOL

Our first time visiting southeastern Oklahoma and WOW! What a beautiful surprise. I lived in the high country of Colorado for years and never expected (of all places) Oklahoma to offer landscapes to rival gods country. Heavily forested with great hiking/​biking trails. Boats/​kayaks/​canoes/​float trips, a swim beach, horseback riding and a small train ride (which young children will like, but we could have skipped) are all great family activities available at the park. Not to mention some great fishing opportunities if you know where to fish. The lower mountain fork river is stocked on regular basis with trout (bows and browns) and just below the damn can be fairly crowded with fisherman. But there are miles of river to fish if you can make the hike.
Great RV park, first come first serve and few sewer hookups are the only drawbacks. The roads are a little tight for a 40ft RV, but manageable. No swimming in Acorn and Cypress areas due to the raising/​lowering of the river when they open the damn everyday, listen for the sirens and get out of the water, it takes 10 – 15 minutes for the level to become a concern, but at full flow, the river is very dangerous. Warning signs are posted along the shoreline so you will know when you’re in a dangerous section. Look out for the local wildlife vacating the flood areas as well, I had a «to close for comfort» encounter with a copperhead swimming through the brush as the river level rose. No issue, we both were heading for higher ground.
The food at the park restaurant was great, all homemade and the staff was friendly and very gracious, the squirrels on the deck are fairly brazen and obviously accustomed to being feed by patrons.
Broken bow lake is one of the most scenic I’ve seen. The visibility is 8−10ft and many coves/​islands and fingers to find your own private spot to relax. Rent a boat, you won’t be disappointed with a day on the lake.
The restaurants around the entrance to the park are awesome! The Oak Steak House is the best down home southern cooking we tried (their gravy is the best). Try the pizza at the Tap Room, you won’t believe how good this little backwoods restaurant is. Next door is the Grateful Head (surprisingly not a head shop), they have a great little humidor, Padron and Fuentes. I would have never guessed I’d find them here.
Beavers bend and Hochatown state parks are a jewel in southern Oklahoma, we just happened to stop here and stayed for a week. We’ll be back!

With 2 little kids, we are always looking for good places to visit that are within a reasonable driving distance of the Dallas/​Fort Worth area. It helps the people in the front seat maintain their sanity in the face of the constant queries of «are we there yet?» and «how much longer?»
On the suggestion of a friend, we chose to try a week in the Beavers Bend State Park in southeastern Oklahoma. It turned out to be a wonderful choice. The state park offers a huge variety of outdoor activities all within one beautiful location. This area of Oklahoma is heavily forested with pine trees and other natives. If the terrain were a little more elevated and the the temperatures a little lower, you might think you were in one of the country’s more famous areas for pine forests like Colorado or northern California.
The state park has a huge range of options on where to stay. You can go as simple as basic camping in a tent all the way to renting a lodge with your family and friends. Since my wife is not a camping fan, we opted for one of the local cabins to rent. We were happy with our choice, but I’ll have to go into that detail in another review since this one is for the park itself.
Once you’ve decided where you want to stay, their is an endless list of outdoor activities available for you to try. There are over 16 miles of trails on the David Boren trail system that winds through the park. The park is also home to Broken Bow Lake. The lake offers fishing, swimming, canoing, kayaking, and other forms of boating. It is a large, man-​made lake with plenty of room for any of the watersports you may enjoy.
For the fisherman looking for fly fishing options, you can also fly fish for trout all along the Mountain Fork River south of the lake itself. Their are many guide services available for the amateur and pro angler looking for a little local help. The choices range from short excursions up to over night trips.
We spent a lot of time hiking on and hunting geocaches with the kids all along the trail system. There are trails from the most basic for the beginning hiker up to overnight, primative camping hikes for the more experience trekker. The vistas are beautiful, and the huge trees provide shade and cover for most of the trails. For the most part, the trails are very well marked and quite easy to follow. We found just what we were wanting: easy 1 or 2 hour hikes with the kids and much longer, more rugged hikes for the parents while the grandparents entertained the kids back at the cabin.
For those with kids, there are also several horseback riding stables in the area that will take you and the family on trail rides. They aren’t very exiciting for the experienced equestrian, but if you have small kids they are perfect. Be sure to call ahead, there are variances in age requirements between the stables. We ended up using the Beavers Bend Depot. (Reviewed separately.)
We had a great time «tromping through the woods» and are looking forward to visiting again. We’ve just sworn to do it sometime a little cooler than August!