Best Equestrian Camping near Arcadia Lake

Arcadia Lake is a great little lake north of Oklahoma City about 30 minutes. It is definitely a weekender party lake, but the campgrounds are well maintained and facilities are kept up well. There are trails, boat ramps, and 'beaches,' but we go for the two disc golf courses. There are two back to back courses that are really well maintained, and are well designed. Whoever mows the course must play disc golf because they do a great job of defining the fairways. The courses are definitely worth the $6 fee to enter the park.

P.S. There are quite a few ticks out in the summer time. So bring the bug spray if you'll be in the tall grass at all.

King Snake on Arcadia Lake is my go-to site for a quick getaway.  If I have a free weekend and the weather is nice I pack my tent and head out.  The park is large and spread out.  A LOT of Rv's and boats in the main parts of the park but I prefer King Snake for the tent camping.  No rv's, limited traffic, and a short walk to a lightly-used bathroom.  The sites are large enough for 2 large tents.  Tables, hooks, and fire pits in each.  Close enough to the city to get anything you may have forgotten to pack. Also, the eastend of the lake is quiet and calm, away from the boats.

Edmond Park is one of three separate parks around Arcadia Lake; this one has primitive (no hookups) campsites. This park/campground was the quietest of the three we visited; in fact, we did not see any other campers when we were there on a weekday in early May. Of course, this may not be the case on a weekend in the summer! 

The bathroom facilities are sub-par– dated and not very clean. NO showers.

This campground would be nice for families as the playground was located centrally and is easily accessible from all sites. 

There is also a primitive group camping area. 

There is a swimming beach/day-use area not too far away. 

There are no hookups in any of the sites here and many of the driveways were short so it would be better for tents or small RVs/camper vans.

General: There are three separate parks around Arcadia Lake; two of them have one campground each and Central has three different campgrounds. Bobcat and Kingsnake are primarily for tents and have no hookups while Cottonwood has full or partial hookups. We were surprised when we arrived at 2 pm on a Wednesday in May to find Cottonwood full. However, we discovered later that an entire section of lakefront sites was closed; I am not sure if this was because of flooding or renovation. We chose a site in Bobcat. While you cannot technically reserve a site, you can call ahead and have a site put on hold; the catch is you have to pay for each day it is on hold until you arrive. The rate for non-hookup sites is reasonable at $15. 

Site Quality/Facilities: The sites in Bobcat vary; some are walk-in with parallel parking spots while others have short driveways. None of these sites would be suitable for large RVs but worked fine for our camper van. Some have direct water views and/or access. Each site has a paved driveway, a large concrete picnic table, utility table with lantern hook, a bbq grill (which hadn’t been cleaned in a LONG time), and fire ring. Be aware of many ant hills (at least in May)! 

Bathhouse: The restroom facilities can be optimistically described as rustic but really, they were pretty gross. Dated and not very clean, with no soap dispensers and I didn’t even try to use the air dryer. Two stalls and the latch was missing on one and not working on the other. Showers only in Cottonwood and I’d have to be desperate for a shower to use them. No showers in Bobcat or Kingsnake. 

Activities/Amenities: Many things to do: fishing, boating (both require permits 24 hours/day), water skiing, swimming, volleyball, hiking, and multi-use trails. Technically the beach is within walking distance, but most people would probably drive. In the summer, a store is open. I can only imagine how different this place would be on warm weekends and during the summer. 

Despite the sad state of the restrooms and our obnoxious neighbors who gunned their engines late at night, we enjoyed our overnight stay on a site that backed up to the water.

We had a great stay in Lake Thunderbird State Park near Norman Oklahoma. The park has 11 campground areas situated around the 6000 acre centerpiece lake with many tent, RV sites and some of those have full hook up; our choice was the Little Ax campground on the southern end just off Oklahoma 9. In addition to water activities the park offers hunting, horse rental and boarding, equestrian trails, hiking, mountain biking, nature trails, a nature center, and an archery range. Our lakefront site#37 was nice and shaded with a gentle lake breeze offering a concrete pad, water, 30/15 amp electric, concrete table, lantern holder, fire ring and grill at site. The campground has an entry station, camp host, picnic shelters, playground, bathhouse and laundry, beach area, common fire pit, Verizon 4 bars, dump station, trash receptacles, interior roads are paved, with many sites waterfront. RV sites are close quarters. Tent sites are amazing...pads, concrete table, fire ring, grill, water spigot dispersed, waterfront sites. The town of Norman has all the amenities: shopping, dining, groceries, fuel and yes, Walmart. The area is home to local wineries and breweries and also the hometown to actor James Garner. WARNING: Oklahoma State Parks charge a daily parking fee per vehicle of$10 in addition to the camping fee and they enforce it...just saying from experience...read the information carefully! 13101 Alameda Dr, Norman, OK 73026 GPS- 35.234940,-97.219224 for the Little Ax Campground.

Campground C area offers many pull through RV sites and some back-in RV sites, all with electric & water hook ups. There is also equestrian RV sites with pens, tent camping with shared water spigots, primitive tent camping and a dump station. There are miles of equestrian trails. Hiked down one and the trail was very peaceful and beautiful. It had recently rained a lot, so I had a thick layer of red mud on my shoes from the hike, but glad I hiked it. There are bathrooms with showers, a swim beach, a volleyball court, pavilions, a boat ramp, and plenty of wildlife. Lake is calm & shallow, so it is best for small boats and kayaks. There were plenty of flies due to the time of year and the presence of horses, so a good fly swatter and a fly trap is recommended. Found a small cemetery on the drive to the campsite with some very old grave sites. In all, it was a great place to escape from the real world and relax.