Best Cabin Camping near Fort Gibson Lake

I don’t normally leave reviews, but my experience at the facility needs to be shared.

I called the number provided and was able to find out info on cabin rentals .  I asked what I would need to bring and a young girl explained just cooking pot and pans.  I asked about a fire pit  since I wanted to have a fire for hot dogs and marshmallows.   Yes there are large pits  was the answer.    Thank goodness I camp on the regular, I’ll explain soon.   She did warn me there are chickens near the cabin I wanted.  Well good, I thought, I wouldn’t miss my  own flock so bad.

Upon arrival, before noon, the office was closed.  I walked back to my truck to get the phone number and saw a truck with a camp logo on it driving by, leaving….   Same young girl answers and says she is heading back to check me in.  I get the key and drive over , get parked, and see the chicken coop, it’s pretty close to the cabin.   The next thing I see is a big fire pit; full of trash!  Flies everywhere!  Well that can be cleaned up, right?   There was chicken poo all over the steps and deck.  That can be cleaned up , right?  So I opened the door, flies and a dank smell hit me hard.  . Nice.    It appeared that the inside had not been cleaned either, sticky stuff on the stove, sink and fridge.  The shower was a joke. There were extension cords running through a sliding window which left a half inch gap just open to the outside…. I plugged that with paper towels I had brought.  There was a king size bed , but the pillows and sheets were stained.   I found dead flies in the fridge as well.          Before I brought anything in, I wiped down all of the surfaces. I spread my sleeping bag out on top of the provided bedding and covered up with a couple of blankets.   I always bring towels as well, I’m glad I did, those are not provided either.    I had also brought T - paper as a precaution,  so glad I did…..       

 I really just wanted to make the best of this and I know it’s hard to keep these river cabins clean so I decided to tough it out.  The next morning, I paid for my float and asked if I could have bags to clean out the fire pit… but then asked if THEY could clean it while I floated, the young girl handed me three trash bags and said “some one was supposed to get that”. I laid the trash bags on a log near the pit so they could be used.     

My float went well and was great fun.  Upon my return to the cabin, the fire pit trash had been burned and a plastic bag was still smoldering!  There were still tin cans and other debris in there, and it stunk!   So , I could not / would not use it for cooking or just lounging around!  Later, I was hungry and decided to use the oven.  When I opened it, there was a skillet with old moldy food in it!   It smelled horrible and I gagged!   I took a pic of the offending skillet and showed it to the other office worker; a lady and her little girl.

She said that she usually is the one that cleans , but she didn’t do this cabin this time.  

She closed the office, called the owner, and removed the offending skillet.  She stated there would be something done….  There was never an offer of compensation of any kind.   My recommendation is don’t stay in the cabins.

The campground as a whole was just worn down and trashy.  The staff were nice but didn’t really seem to want to be there.

called on June 27th to reserve a cabin for 6, Saturday the 2nd- 4th, At first was told they had no cabins available about 15 min after I made the call John the owner calls me back to tell me they had a cabin that was a 2 room available for theses dates and it was 100 per night and would sleep 6. I said we would like to reserve it. After hanging up called to inform my husband that we got a cabin then remember that I forgot to see if dogs were allowed, so I had to call back to make sure cause I can’t leave my fur babies. When I called it was a young girl that answered and said yes dogs were allowed and proceeded to talk about her 2 little puppies that were in the office with her. When packing and getting everything we needed together on Friday the day before we left we called to make sure the cabin had bedding and towels etc.. the young girl said yes. We get to sparrow resort on Saturday afternoon 2 young girls checked us in gave me a key pointed us in the direction of the cabin we pulled up to a cabin unloading all our stuff and unpacked was at this 2 bedroom cabin for approximately 2hours when John the owner came to this cabin told us we was at the wrong cabin I told them the key unlocked it. They said this was not cabin 2 and the people that reserved it would be up later so we gathered our things and moved to the cabin they said was ours that was next door. OH MY WAS WE LET DOWN. Mind you we have 2adult children myself and husband and 2 teenagers and 4 dogs they put us in a concrete prison that had missing curtains holes around the air conditioning window unit It was dirty holes in the walls. One king size bed a chair and a futon couch one room box. Bedding on bed only with a dirty comforter. For$100 a night not including the float trip. We were let down but determined to make the best of this we went to the store and bought bedding and towels and cleaning wipes. The next morning get up and noticed no one was in the 1st cabin still. So my daughter and I go to the office to get out float paid for and ask if we could get the bigger cabin since no one was in it told them I would pay more for it the little brown haired girl said yes then the other girl with a nose piercing said no it was booked and we should have had to pay a pet deposit of 15 a dog and we needed to pay this fee and was nasty with me. I said I wanted to by one raft and 2 tube rentals she keep saying and 60 pet deposit the brown haired girl rung up the float while the nasty teenager kept repeating and pet deposit the other girl stated stop worrying about the deposit and she kept saying it! The sign read tube float for 4 hours was only$20 and the raft was 25 per person for 4hours she charged us 30 x 6 people to float the 4 mile I said the 20 tube for 4 hours she nasty teen says that for just playing in the water😡 really the sign clearly says 4hour float only$20 and 25 for rafting over 4 people. I ask again about the other cabin the nasty girl said Chelsea and her 2 daughters were staying in it. Really because Chelsea and John the owner were the ones that came to the cabin the day before and Chelsea said she was the cleaning lady and John was the owner. Always we paid our pet deposit and float trip and tried to make the best of this regardless i a grown woman not to be argumentative with a child. This morning comes and we can’t wait to leave we cleaned the crap out of our concrete box prison and went to to office to return our key and get my 60 dollar pet deposit back and the nasty little teen was by herself while we started recording the whole encounter since day prior I ask for my pet deposit she said it don’t work like that I said excuse me you say deposit that means I get my deposit back if no damage was done. John came in and said what do we want he said you want your deposit here thank for staying and goodbye🤯wow what service. The best part the large cabin stayed vacant the entire time. The teenager that was running John’s business will be his downfall she don’t know how to treat people VERY DISRESPECTFUL!!!  Will never be back!!

We didn't know what to expect. This place has absolutely everything you could need. Full Hookups, level sites (mostly gravel but level), shop with souvenirs and RV gadgets. The office also has a gameroom, pantry, and propane. We didn't get to use the playground area this visit as pool and hot tub were closed for the year. They also have normal cabin rental and tiny home rentals that were perfectly positioned around campground and fishing pond. My only complaint would be that the sites are really compact. Plenty of room for your RV but so close that you can hear and smell your neighbors. Nearby Walmart and restaurants were handy.

• Mar 1– Oct 30

• 65 Sites w/electric$10.00-$50.00(50 avai)

• 11 non electric$10.00-$14.00

Some pull thru’s boat ramp dump station day use area with picnic area playground flush toilets showers swimming grills with fire rings picnic table drinking water

Gates open at 6 am and close at 10 pm

Check in 6 pm check out 4 pm

You may stay 14 consective days within a 30 day period

There is a nice playground for children but it is located right next to the water. There is a toilet right by the playground. There are boat launches at each of the three Landing sites and of the three sites I prefer the two smaller ones. Cozy and quiet. Sunsets are amazing Don’t move firewood.

No fireworks

LNT Better than when you found it

Stay safe Happy travels

(See below for my updates) Great park for anyone wanting to catch a round of golf while camping. Sequoyah is very near Tahlequah, Oklahoma so there’s easy access to food and other shopping needs on a trip. The main pro for Sequoyah is the golf course, which large flows along the shore line of Fort Gibson Lake, over 19,000 acres of water. The course is really well maintained for a state park; however, you should be aware that during a recent trip to another OK state park, I played a round of golf and was told by the course pro that Sequoyah is turning their 18 hole course into a 9 hole course bc the campground is so frequently flooded. To that end, you should definitely pay attention to local rainfall levels prior to visiting Sequoyah if your planning a trip. There are several separate camping areas, all of which are named after a particular Native tribe such as “Seminole area.” Some areas are more prone than others to flooding so you should check with the park before going bc you may very well be limited in what you’re able to do or access if there has been local flooding. Beyond the golf course, the other obvious benefit of this park is Fort Gibson Lake, which is stunning. It’s a paradise for fishermen and boaters. For non water sport enthusiast, there is some great hiking at the park, as well as the Three Forks Nature Center, which my kids loved. The camp sites along the lake are generally for tent campers, but regardless, there is tons of sandy shoreline for swimming and playing in the water. Really pretty area of the park. There’s also a few beach volleyball courts and disc golf, which is a personal fav of mine. Lastly, for anyone not wanting to “camp,” have no fear! The “Lodge at Sequoyah State Park” is very, very, VERY nice and the rooms are reasonably priced for what you get. It was completely renovated recently and now very much looks like something you would expect out of a premier hotel or resort, not a state park. If you have a significant other who suffers through your love of the outdoors, they will LOVE this place and likely ask you when you’d like to return as soon as they arrive.  My wife loves me enough to go camping in our PopUp, but when she learned about the Lodge, that was it no sleeping the popup on this trip.  The room was unreal (see pics). We definitely felt like we were at a luxury resort, not camping.  So to the extent that may bother you, don't stay in the Lodge.  The Lodge is located directly on the water and it has tremendous views of the lake and sunset.  It is also located in close proximity to the volleyball courts and beach area along the lakeshore, which has day use picnic tables everywhere. I should also mention that there is a superb restaurant in the Lodge as well, which I always make note of due to the ease of having at least one meal prepared for us instead of cooking at the campsite while trying to wrangle 3 boys under 4.  Overall, I feel confident in saying that Sequoyah is probably one of Oklahoma’s better parks due to the activities and amenities it offers, the scenery and proximity to a “town” in the event you need something during your trip. We will definitely be going back, whether I want to or not.  My wife is sold! (Updated review) I have since been back to Sequoyah and I decided to upgrade the park to 5 stars. It’s just a beautiful, great park. Tons to do, accommodations for all preferences, swimming, boating, golf, disc golf, horseback riding, boating, fishing, great trails, HUGE park, tons of sites, lots of trees, tons of green space in camping areas, [now has renovated] camping sites for all preferences/sizes of campers, trailers, hookups, etc. (see video). Above all, for anyone in Tulsa or surrounding area (the second most populated city in OK by far), the park is 30 minutes SE. Its also like 15 minutes from Wagoner or Hulbert, in both of which you can easily find food options, groceries, etc if needed. For anyone with or without kids, Sequoyah is a cant miss in this area of the world. I want to check out Sequoyah Bay Park, which is across the lake in a SW’ly direction. I plan to camp at Sequoyah in two weeks so I will drive over to Sequoyah Bay and snag some video/pics for anyone needing more info. Overall, great park with literally everything you could want in a state park.

Quick update: I just camped at this park (June 2020) and it was one of the hottest weekends we’ve had in almost a year. One of the things I wanted to note was shaded campsites. In the Seminole loop (best in park), site 8 is one of the hottest in the park. It gets sun from about 10am to 5pm. There are no trees south of this site so it’s very hot. If you need relief from sun, site 22 is the bomb. Shades all day. Also, site 9 isn’t bad, but it gets a lot of sun in the late afternoon. So I think of all the sites, for temp considerations, site 22 is the way to go. Happy camping!

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Nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks, Natural Falls State Park boasts a unique beauty which is unmatched through other state parks within Oklahoma. Perhaps best known for its beautiful waterfall, there are many other things to do here that make this a great place to visit during camping season. 

I visited during the summer months, it was hot and sticky outside, but slightly overcast making it a perfect day to visit and enjoy the park itself as well as some of the camping options. 

Exploring this park is fun as trails wind around and meander through some of the most beautiful areas of Oklahoma. If you are a person who likes mountains more than plains, this area of Oklahoma is one for you as lush tree coverage and rocky crags abound. 

The campsites themselves are pretty typical of an Oklahoma campground. 44 RV sites, also which can accommodate tent campers who are in need of power and 17 tent sites are available in addition to yurts they have on property. Yurts are pretty common in many Oklahoma State Parks in this region I have found. The sites are pretty standard with fire rings, picnic tables and some lantern hooks, just the basic ground work laid for you to set up your own unique adventures. 

When visiting I noticed that the Yurt section had no visitors during the week day and the campground itself was sparse as well. During the weekends I can imagine this fills up much more as it is a great place to visit. 

Visiting is fun with lots to do including the hiking trails however they also have playgrounds, volleyball and disc golf. The one downside for those visiting during the heat of summer however is, unlike many parks in Oklahoma which offer swimming beaches or pools, this park does not have any swimming resources. This was not a deal breaker for me personally but I would think for many it could be. 

A few things I noted that apply at the park that could be negatives to visitors passing through. They do currently have a reservation system, this can have both pros and cons. The reservation system is pretty easy to navigate but does state that on weekends you must book for the 2 days of the weekend no exceptions. When visiting the park in person I was told you can also get a site on the day of, however there is no guarantee of sites being available. Unlike many parks which hold a certain number for arrivals they are moving toward a fully online booking system like many other states.