Oklahoma, ev’ry night my honey lamb and I, sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin’ lazy circles in the sky. We know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand! And when we say – Yeeowþ A-yip-i-o-ee ay! We’re only sayin’, You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma – O.K.
Osage Hills State Park
We have been to many campgrounds around Oklahoma but I can’t say that you’ll find one with more spectacular surrounding sunset skies than in the Osage hills of Oklahoma.
The frogs, the deer, the lake, the pool, canoe rentals, the parks, the hikes, it’s all this camper needs! You’ll find great tent spots as well as spacious RV spots. You’re not crammed in and there are very nice amenities.
Start your morning at sunrise, on the lake, when it starts getting hot, head to the creek or pool to cool off! There are a few parks for the kids to play at, and hey, it’s a great place to just spend the day, even if you don’t stay the night.
We love to go in to Bartlesville in the evening for an awesome patty melt at the famous Murphy’s steakhouse, or for some of our favorite Mexican food at Senor Salsa, but when in a chicken mood nothing beats the Chicken Express. 😋 Another great go-to is Hideaway Pizza and a walk around town looking at the beautiful buildings. There are also many, many Buffalo art statues to collect pics of around town. Another really fun day is to go to Pawhuska to visit the famous Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile. You might get lucky enough to see their ranch, as well. I, of course, have to do some shopping there.
So whether you come to the park to stay or head off on other adventures, I like to make it back to the entrance of the park In time for a spectacular view of the sunset.
Claremore Lake and Bert Sprangel Park
It’s a beautiful evening in August with temperatures in the low 80s and a nice dry and cool breeze out of the north, when really it should be a sweltering 98-102 with humidity hitting you in the face when you step foot outside. What do we do to get out of the house on such a beautiful evening? Take a little drive to Claremore Lake. You can enjoy a nice peaceful walk along the paved path, throw in your kayak, read a book, or fish along the bank in numerous areas. There is a fishing dock and a couple of ponds, besides the lake, to fish in. There is a really cute splash pad, you could even bring your picnic dinner. I see many bring their dog on their walk, too! There are many picnic tables around the edges of the lake and they are usually located in nice roomy areas that aren’t too crowded. Most have shade and many have close access to throw in a fishing line. We personally haven’t used the boat ramp so I can’t comment on that but it looks nice from what I can tell and the parking lot is right off the ramp. There are nice restrooms at the splash pad and numerous trash barrels throughout. I found it to be very clean and well kept on every visit. When you’re itching to get out or when you want to spend a day enjoying a family get together, this would be a great location and tops my evening “go-to” list for just a relaxing unwind time in the good ole outdoors and, of course, a stop at the nearby Braums is always a win-win.
Spavinaw Lake and Spillway
Well if I’m going to go for a drive and read while the husband does some fishing, I sure am glad he knows how to find pretty spots for me to take pictures too! Spavinaw Lake has been talked about in our family since I was a kid and heard my dad talking to my mom about working over here. He was a cement mason and worked on pouring some of the concrete for the spillway area. He talked about it a lot! My husband even remembers when we were dating that he talked about it. We’ve come over here a time or two but never enjoyed it quite like today! We actually drove around and looked at more than the spillway. We saw many beautifully shaded picnic tables, many areas to throw in a fishing line, throw in a kayak, or maybe just throw yourself in! We saw cabins too and some RV spots that had us adding this beautiful little spot in Oklahoma to our to do list! It’s been quiet today with a really nice breeze and temps in the upper 80’s, a beautiful day trip! Bradfords BBQ tops off the day and makes the trip all worth it! It’s a very nice restaurant with excellent smokehouse decor and some awesome smoked meats! Salina Oklahoma is nearby with a happening little place called PigNOut. There is literally something for everyone’s appetite on the menu! If you’re in the area, you might check it out, it’s always busy! Salina also has a very nice Mexican restaurant called Los CoCo’s and I’m still trying to decide which meal is my fave! Spavinaw is definitely a place that is tucked in my memory where all the peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing things are.
Cavanal Hill, highest hill in the world!
For an amazing day trip in Oklahoma, you can venture to the southeastern part of the state to Poteau and drive to the top of the highest hill in the world! Just a foot shy of being classified a mountain but puts you in the clouds, none the less. If you live closer than we do, you can also possibly visit the beautiful Beaver Bend State Park in the same day.
Beavers Bend State Park
We set out the day just planning on going for a drive to see Beavers Bend State Park which is a good 4 hours drive from our house. We left at 830 and, of course, had to stop for donuts at our favorite donut stop in Broken Arrow, Tiger Den Donuts.
On the way, my husband remembered he had always wanted to go to the top of the worlds highest hill so we did that because, of course, we were passing it and couldn’t, not go! Check out my pictures from that visit on this page.
By the time we got to Beavers Bend it was late afternoon on a Friday and getting very busy. Since we were just Sunday driving on a Friday, we didn’t stay long but saw some very beautiful lake scenery.
Beavers Bend has a lot to offer families, people who love water sports, and those wanting to get in the lake for a swim! There were many campsites for tents and RVs but we did find that many were too short for our RV. The ones we did find that we liked were in very good shaded areas and I might point out that the temperature dropped 5 degrees in the wooded areas which was nice.
Our favorite campsite area was called Fern Campground. It seemed a little roomier between RV spots but if you’re there with other people, you might prefer the closer together sites in some of the other campgrounds. The campground we liked was not by any swimming area either if that is something that you would like.
There was a lot of gift shops and little stores right out side of the park, but as I said, it was getting busy and we thought it in our best interest not to use this trip to check them out. We were, also, really interested in trying some of the restaurants that had five star reviews but since it was during covid restrictions, we were limited to drive thru service or pick up.
I would like to go some time and stay in one of their cabins, swim, and check out those stores and restaurants! It was a great drive and fun to discover new places to go for camping! I would suggest getting there early in the day if going on a weekend.
Hawthorne Bluff Campground -Oolagah Lake-Where the Bluffs Steal the Show
For a campground near water, this is one of my favorites! The temps are always way cooler than in town and the breeze is nice. My husband likes to fish a little from the dock, I usually bring a project like painting, knitting, embroidery, or jewelry making. This time, while we were there, the campers next to us had caught a 13 pound catfish. We are usually fishing for crappie or bass. My husband has started venturing into the hobby of fishing in a kayak. We’ll let you know how that goes! We don’t venture down to the swimming area but a lot of people do and it’s very close to the RV campground. Most people drive to it although you could walk to it. While I’m not crazy about not having a water hookup for the RV, there is electric and the bluffs are totally worth it! A beautiful campground that I would add to your bucket list, just be sure to book early so you’ll be able to get a spot with a view of the bluffs, lots of photo ops!
Joe’s Farm
I wish it was in my backyard but, hey, at least it is in Oklahoma, and better yet, it’s in Bixby Oklahoma! Not too far from home, that I can’t go pick Zinnias and while I’m there grab some fruits and veggies for dinner! If you love fresh flowers, you will love going to Joe’s!
You purchase a quart Ball jar and they loan you a pair of scissors for $10. The rows of zinnias are just south of the parking lot so not a lot of walking distance if you have a disability, etc…just bring someone to help you get in there and cut them. We noticed a father letting his two young daughters pick a vase of flowers each and I thought, what a neat father/daughter trip! The area between rows that you walk down stays pretty muddy at times, especially right now because we’ve had quite a few rains so I would suggest tennis shoes and probably not your new ones. 😉 My husband helped me get to the inner rows because I had new flip flops on, lol. We took home three jars full and I made six vases of flowers plus a few little leftovers. I gave away four of the vases and decided that I had to go again a week or two later. I was by myself this time and just purchased two jars, made sure to wear tennis shoes, too! Out of the two jars, I was able to make four vases and freshen up a couple I had from before. Below are the vases that I put together with my treasures from both trips to Joe’s Farm. I have posted the link to their Facebook page, you will need to copy and paste it to your browser.
Flat Rock Creek Campground
I absolutely love Flat Rock! The photography opportunities here are plentiful. It’s a great place for kayaks and pontoons from what I see. Lots of swimmers enjoy the nearby banks. The cities of Wagoner and Chouteau, are nearby. Wagoner has a great mexican restaurant called Lopez Mexican Grill. They also have a restaurant called Russ with great chicken tenders. I was able to include a picture of it below. We were fortunate to be out there during the comet Neowise and was able to see it very clearly due to the deep dark skies. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the camera equipment I needed to get a pic and the next night I had gotten my equipment and, of course, it was too cloudy to see. None the less, the stars are beautiful at this campsite and very visible on a cloudless night.
