Best Cabin Camping near Arcadia Lake, OK

We were in Site# 66. We had Full hook- up with a paved pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep.

The site was easy to level. Our site was not shaded with limited trees. In eight years of RV-ing, we’ve never had such little space between us and our neighbors. We literally walk out our door into their sewer. (See pictures) My husband can touch both RVs with his arms outstretched.

The lot did not come with a concrete patio, picnic table, or a fire ring. Some lots had a picnic table. We did not request one since we’d be eating at our neighbor’s sewer.

It is an easy access to the campground from highway -(right off the highway).

There is free WiFi. They offer Cable TV and there are many local channels).

They do not sell wood here.

They do not provide garbage service at your site but there are many barrel drum trash cans that can be accessed.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a Swimming pool (not heated & freezing). They have a fishing Lake on property (it is hidden behind some cabins so you could stay here & never know the lake is here). There are two Buffalo that are owned by the owners of the restaurant and trading post above the KOA (who also own the KOA).

There is a Playground and jumping pad for kids. They have a basic general store.

There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site but there is a restaurant at the top of the hill.

The streets are paved and good for riding bikes. There is not really anywhere to ride bikes outside of campground.

This is a RV park but also have many cabins for rent and tent areas.

They have 2 shower houses. The shower house has the typical stalls. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility. You’ll need to get change in the main office while they are open (no change machine). There are approximately 6 washers and 6 dryers. It is approximately $2 to wash and $2 to dry a load.

They have a fenced in dog park.

Bugs were an issue and bug spray was definitely needed.

There were no trails to hike in the campground.

We’ve noticed that the casinos nearby mainly offer slot machines only (very few have live tables (craps, roulette, blackjack,etc.).

 The most unkept RV park I’ve ever seen in the 11 years I’ve been RVing this place is disgrace. It smells like sewage, their pool and spa have algae in the water feels like slime is on you. The staff is so unprofessional and rude, and just plain ugly to you literally, there are drugs in meth addicts in the bungalow cabins they literally rent these places to homeless people and crime is so high here do not stay. The manager is so so evil.

I just spent the weekend in the South camp site but ventured to the North campsite on my way out to look around for a future stay.

There are no facilities so best to bring your own, or plan on driving out and into the main campground to use the restrooms there.

North: Large campsite with both tree shaded and open areas, larger access to the water. Area is large enough for multiple vehicles, though only 2 vehicles are allowed to stay at the campsite it would a nice site for others together if they were camping in the nearby primitive sites. Fire ring provided. The main road in isn't bad, but the Y to the North camp site does have a bit of a rock ledge to drop off of and a bit of an off camber section. 

South: Nice primitive campsite with water access. Plenty of room for a couple of vehicles and tents. Mostly tree shaded with one small area open to direct sun. Fire ring provided. The water access in this site is a path through the grass that grows at the edge of the water, the bottom is sandy. Heard/saw fish hitting the water often was not able to catch any. The road all the way to this camp site isn't bad.

Should it rain while you are staying in either spot, the roads out could change quite a bit especially due to the sandy soil. The Lake states 4wd is required to stay at the sites and while it's not necessary when dry, I can see it being needed during/after a storm.

One thing I did not like about the primitive sites is that the hiking/biking trails come right by the campsite within a few feet, so I had people all weekend practically coming into my camp. I prefer primitive for a reason and that is to get away from people not have them coming through my campsite. There is more than enough room between the campsites and the main road to have adequate space between the trail system and the campsites as not to disturb the campers.

Don’t miss this one... it’s special.  The owner is a professional artist and it shows. Such an inspirational space and amazing hosts. A sacred spot in Oklahoma City worth of meditation and communion with nature- priceless. This will forever be my home away from home when traveling in this area. Inspiring with all the essentials and luxuries of glamping. Highly recommended!

Looking for a nature centric camping experience? This isn’t your place.

Need a place convenient to the Lazy E Arena, Guthrie or Edmond to base out of of? This could be your spot.

Need an easy on/off overnight spot in central Oklahoma? This could work for that, too.

Not scenic, but clean, level spots. On-site store and propane are handy. Spots aren’t roomy, but I’ve been packed in tighter at other places. All spots look to be pull-through.

Lazy E is only 4 miles away.

Chicken Shack is very close and has great fried chicken. A bigger convenience store and gas station is close as well.

In Guthrie check out Missys Donuts for the best donuts and in Edmond, Texlahoma BBQ is consistently awesome.

The lake is owned and operated by Oklahoma State University. The grounds were well mowed, some of the structures are dated but well cared for. Super-friendly and helpful people at the permit office. The store was closed when we arrived.

The quirky bit is the number of camping spaces that are by annual permit. That means a lot of of the shore line is taken up by permanent campers, weekend campers that leave their rigs, student living and even residents (in campers). The lake being close to Stillwater, it looks like a number of students and such commute from the lake.

None of this was problematic for us, but the level of care each annual permit holder takes on their lot range from pristine to near dilapidated.

We stayed in Beaver Cove and found it to be clean, well-maintained, friendly and quiet. No real privacy buffer between sites, but the spacing was comfortable. 

The park ranger made several passes through, even though the campground was only about 1/4 occupied. 

Lots of birds, including a resident blue heron the locals named Charlie. Wonderful views of the cove. We stayed in lot 31 and a few large elm trees gave our campsite evening shade.

Nice fire rings and sturdy picnic tables.

All in all, a good stay.

We really love the long, relatively private sites on the west side. Each campsite is somewhat screened from the neighbor by brush.

Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring, water and electrical hookups.

There is a dumpster on the circle. There is a shower and a toilet at the bait shop. Each (west side) campsite has access to the lake.

Our favorite campsites are #11 and #12, which are a little more private, and because we can easily launch our kayaks from both spots and they have nice areas to fish.

There are many nice hiking trails.

The west side is our favorite place to camp within 60 miles of Stillwater.

The cons - ticks are very plentiful, and we have heard that copperheads are plentiful in the camping area. I personally haven't seen one, but camping neighbors are always happy to let us know when they have! Might take a weed eater and clear the brush on your path to the water!

The road to the campground is fairly long and winding, but easy to make with the trailer as long as you obey the speed limit.

The only other con is it is hard to get reservation. They have a very nice online reservation system, but the campsites fill up quickly and pretty far out date wise. I wish they had twice as many campsites!

Here is the main website: https://www.lakemcmurtry.com/

Here is their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lakemcmurtry I highly recommend their facebook page and their youtube videos. They are really funny.

Regarding boating (Taken from the website):

• The following are prohibited: activities that involve towing a person behind a boat, sea-doos, jet skis, or any similar personal motorized watercraft. 
• Boats of any kind are not allowed in the swim area. 
• Watercraft must be properly registered by the state of Oklahoma before entering the lake.
• Designated boat ramps are for “launching” only.
• Maximum speed is 25 mph. No wake at boat docks and ramps.
• Water skiing, jet skis, sea doo’s, water bikes, and any other related water sports are prohibited.

Always a blast! Enjoy bringing my children here.

We stayed over Labor Day weekend and the park was mostly full. It’s right off a major interstate and easy to get to. Even with being off a main road and lots of other campers the park was nice and quiet. We stayed in a pull thru spot so easy to get in an out of. Nice and level. We had a picnic table and grill. Lots of shade trees and paved roads made it nice to take walks. The bathrooms were nice and clean, individual rooms with toilet, sink and shower in each. Had a nice playground and great swimming pool. They have a small store on site for souvenirs, camping items and also food items. There are storm shelters on site.

The spots were a little close together but not too bad.