Searching for a tent camping spot near Fort Gibson Lake? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Fort Gibson Lake, including sites, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Oklahoma camping adventure.
Membership needed - The Corps manages six gated class A campgrounds, two primitive camping areas, and three day use areas with picnic sites. An additional eight park areas are offered by the Corps with limited maintenance and services. Camping in undesignated areas is prohibited. Park attendants oversee fee collection during the peak season, April 1 – September 30. Campgrounds remain open October 1 – March 31; however, campers must pay by self deposit.
A variety of recreation opportunities are offered by nine commercial concessions, as well as, two parks managed by the State of Oklahoma.
Tenkiller State Park is known as Oklahoma's “heaven in the hills.” The sparkling blue waters of Lake Tenkiller offer water enthusiasts an abundance of recreational opportunities between 130 miles of shoreline and 13,000 surface acres. The park’s plentiful amenities make it a favorite destination for all ages.
Tenkiller State Park in Vian is a haven for all water sports including water skiing, fishing, boating, tubing and scuba diving. Outdoor facilities include a volleyball court, basketball court, two playground areas, four group picnic pavilions and 172 picnic tables. An outdoor swimming pool is available seasonally at the park and includes a water slide and splash pad. Additional amenities include a community building, three hiking trails and the Driftwood Nature Center.
Lake Tenkiller is considered one of the best places in the state for scuba diving, as its waters are clear from eight to 28 feet. Tenkiller Scuba Park is a diver's dream, with a sunken airplane fuselage, school bus, helicopter and two boats to explore underwater. In some areas of the lake, divers can see the remains of homesteads and artifacts left behind from before the lake was formed. The Fisherman's Point Area provides access to a swim beach, dive park, and boat ramp. The lake's underwater terrain ranges from mildly sloping hills to rock cliffs, and the water goes up to 160 feet deep in places. With an Oklahoma fishing license, divers can try their luck at spear fishing for non-game fish. Two diving pro shops, Gene's Aqua Pro and Nautical Adventures, are located on the lake and offer training, certification and equipment rental.
Tenkiller State Park offers RV and tent sites scattered between 10 campgrounds. Online reservations must be made for the RV and tent campsites. Primitive campgrounds include Bluff View, Eagle Point, and Hickory Flats with Day use area's at Fisherman's Point, Goose Neck Bend North and South . RV campgrounds with 30-amp electric and water hookups include Blue Jay Knob and Flying Squirrel. The Shady Grove and Fox Squirrel campgrounds both offer full hookups, with 50-amp electric service. A total of seven comfort stations with restrooms and showers are available in the park, and there are two on-site waste dump stations.
In addition to the tent and RV campgrounds, Tenkiller State Park guests may choose from 38 cabins, ranging from one to three-bedroom styles. All the cabins, except for the three-bedroom models, are duplexes. Cabins are equipped for the maximum number of guests with linens, full kitchens, heat, air conditioning and satellite television. In addition, some cabins are pet friendly. There are a total of 22 one-bedroom cabins, 14 two-bedroom cabins and two three-bedroom cabin.
Tenkiller State Park features two multi-use trails and one nature trail. The Tenkiller Multi-Use Trail is a handicap accessible paved trail 1.5 miles in length. Also located on-site, the Pine Cove Marina offers fuel, snacks and boat rentals, as well as the floating Clearwater Café.
Tenkiller State Park also has The Driftwood Nature Center and a full time Naturalist on staff. There are daily activities Memorial Day through Labor Day. Through the winter months weekend events and activities are planned. To see what is happening at The Driftwood Nature Center call 918-489-5641 or email: leann.bunn@travelok.com
Tenkiller State Park is known as Oklahoma's “heaven in the hills.” The sparkling blue waters of Lake Tenkiller offer water enthusiasts an abundance of recreational opportunities between 130 miles of shoreline and 13,000 surface acres. The park’s plentiful amenities make it a favorite destination for all ages.
Tenkiller State Park in Vian is a haven for all water sports including water skiing, fishing, boating, tubing and scuba diving. Outdoor facilities include a volleyball court, basketball court, two playground areas, four group picnic pavilions and 172 picnic tables. An outdoor swimming pool is available seasonally at the park and includes a water slide and splash pad. Additional amenities include a community building, three hiking trails and the Driftwood Nature Center.
Lake Tenkiller is considered one of the best places in the state for scuba diving, as its waters are clear from eight to 28 feet. Tenkiller Scuba Park is a diver's dream, with a sunken airplane fuselage, school bus, helicopter and two boats to explore underwater. In some areas of the lake, divers can see the remains of homesteads and artifacts left behind from before the lake was formed. The Fisherman's Point Area provides access to a swim beach, dive park, and boat ramp. The lake's underwater terrain ranges from mildly sloping hills to rock cliffs, and the water goes up to 160 feet deep in places. With an Oklahoma fishing license, divers can try their luck at spear fishing for non-game fish. Two diving pro shops, Gene's Aqua Pro and Nautical Adventures, are located on the lake and offer training, certification and equipment rental.
Tenkiller State Park offers RV and tent sites scattered between 10 campgrounds. Online reservations must be made for the RV and tent campsites. Primitive campgrounds include Bluff View, Eagle Point, and Hickory Flats with Day use area's at Fisherman's Point, Goose Neck Bend North and South . RV campgrounds with 30-amp electric and water hookups include Blue Jay Knob and Flying Squirrel. The Shady Grove and Fox Squirrel campgrounds both offer full hookups, with 50-amp electric service. A total of seven comfort stations with restrooms and showers are available in the park, and there are two on-site waste dump stations.
In addition to the tent and RV campgrounds, Tenkiller State Park guests may choose from 38 cabins, ranging from one to three-bedroom styles. All the cabins, except for the three-bedroom models, are duplexes. Cabins are equipped for the maximum number of guests with linens, full kitchens, heat, air conditioning and satellite television. In addition, some cabins are pet friendly. There are a total of 22 one-bedroom cabins, 14 two-bedroom cabins and two three-bedroom cabin.
Tenkiller State Park features two multi-use trails and one nature trail. The Tenkiller Multi-Use Trail is a handicap accessible paved trail 1.5 miles in length. Also located on-site, the Pine Cove Marina offers fuel, snacks and boat rentals, as well as the floating Clearwater Café.
Tenkiller State Park also has The Driftwood Nature Center and a full time Naturalist on staff. There are daily activities Memorial Day through Labor Day. Through the winter months weekend events and activities are planned. To see what is happening at The Driftwood Nature Center call 918-489-5641 or email: leann.bunn@travelok.com
Camp at an animal lovers paradise! Gates Nature Preserve allows you to pitch your tent beside a petting zoo. Meet exotic reptiles and farm animals while spending a night in the forest of Eastern Oklahoma. When you're not playing with animals, Gates Nature Preserve is an outlet to the outdoors! This campsite sits beside the Tenkiller Ferry Lake which is great for water sports and only 5 miles from Tenkiller State Park. It is also less than 7 miles from Greenleaf state park which gives you access to the Arkansas River, Webber Falls Reservoir and Greenleaf Lake. This campsite is equipped with picnic tables, a fire pit, and a bathhouse with potable water and showers. Bring your own tent, food, and firewood.
$25 / night
After visiting Natural Falls State Park, break out the swimsuits and make a splash at Flint Creek Waterpark. This family-friendly swimming hole offers plenty of cold water to share with a variety of visitors. Guests are welcome to pitch a tent for a few nights or simply pack a picnic lunch at this summer hotspot. Whether swimming all day or dipping your toes in to cool off, please keep in mind that Flint Creek Waterpark has no lifeguards on duty.
This recreation area is part of Fort Gibson Lake
Scout
Yes people need to PICK UP THEIR TRASH! WE WERE TAUGHT THAT IN KINDERGARTEN?
Otherwise it's beautiful. I don't stay at the waterfall. That's for kids. I go upstream it's deeper, I'm scouting it for future diving trips.
I'll update as soon as I get in the water with my gear. But I'll def need a 7mm probly with a Shorty on top since I don't have a dry suit. But this water is CLEAR. amd that's what's impressive. Find clear water in oklahoma isnt easy especially if your a diver.
The trash thing is real, that's why I always take extra trash bags and do good.
Maybe if your going, you can too;)
Scout
We really enjoyed this campground. Lots of room to roam, Plenty of access to the water for boats (multiple ramps) or wading/swimming. Plenty of sites to choose from some shaded, some by the water. A few full hookups but not many. Most spots are just electric and water. Clean restrooms/showers. One newer area of the campground has new private shower rooms. We have been back a couple of times with all the kids and grandkids. Overall a nice corp of engineers park.
Scout
I sort of threw darts at a board to where I would be camping next, and Applegate Cove was my destination this time. The campground is fairly small, but each lot is well maintained. The ground was a bit hard to drive tent stakes into, but I'm attributing that to the weather and season until I visit again and disprove that. There's a small walking loop down to the Arkansas river which left me a gorgeous view of the sunset, unfortunately I also visited during a fishing competition which brought quite a few people, making it a bit of a noisy area during the day as they were using the campground boat slip and dock to cast off from. You can also hear river barges during all hours, though personally I slept through all of the supposed noise. My only real complaint was that one of the bathrooms was in considerably worse condition than the other and you could smell it up to twenty feet away, which after learning I took the extra minute to walk to the nicer one. The shower was good and hot, no complaints there. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how my stay went, and there's very little I disliked about the campgrounds.
Traveler
Very nice camping ground. A little old. Spaces were roomy. Tent spaces under trees, a little unkept. Paid $40 for an RV spot which worked out well. Toilets and showers ok, not so clean.
Guide
Great camp ground, pleanty of shady spots. Would have given 5 stars, but they are limited on sites with 50amps. Showers were in rough shape as well
Scout
We love to camp here . Although it is usually pretty full so if it's peace and quiet you are looking for this might not be the place for you mainly on the holidays. And I don't like the fact that they raised the price to $15 night primitive sites. It was free just couple yrs ago. Kids love to swim and float when they aren't fishing.
GuideOlder Park. Renovations are being done... Pads, 10 ft picnic tables, playground... Right off the lake with awesome scenery. Couple who manages the place is really nice and helpful. Would stop here again.
Scout
It's a beautiful spot surrounded by big rocks. The only complaint is the restrooms are quite dirty, and the shower doesn't have cold water.
Guide
Site 95 in Dogwood loop of Lake Eufala is awesome. Only 1 other RV site close by. Rest of campers are half mile away. Unless you need the bathouse regularly it's the perfect spot. Plenty of trees, squirrels, birds, and a few deer. Site is paved but not quite level. It's listed as premium site because of patio and wider driveway. Nearly all others are super narrow with 4-5 inch drop off on either side. I would have been rolling my ankle constantly. You're pretty close to entrance of this campground so road noise could be a problem during peak season. Short drive to lake or you can take one of the trails. Full Hookups were dirty but in good working order.
Traveler
21 RV spots available around a small, family lake. Water and electric hook ups and clean dump station. Small park/play area and two large pavilions. Hiking trail located at the back of the park. Lake is great for fishing and kayaking. Not a major boating or water sport lake. First come first serve spots. Camp host is helpful and friendly. Calm and quiet stay
Scout
Very nice and spacious sites with lots of trees and shade. Good hiking and views of the falls. Unless you’re a fan of oval dirt track racing, most Friday and Saturday nights in the summer and fall are pretty loud until after 11:00 at night.
Traveler
Wife and I stayed here for 5 nights, the owners were very friendly and helpful. The campground is close to Checotah and several boat ramps for lake access. We will definitely stay here again.
Guide
Stayed here while we went to Strawberry Festival in Stilwell. Very convenient to highway 412 and Siloam Springs. Hosts very friendly and helpful. New park, nothing fancy but a work in progress reasonably priced. Met our needs. Great location next to Illinois River if you want to kayak. Lots of open area to tent camp. Very secluded. Loved watching fireflies over the hayfield.
Traveler
Site 51 was the best view. Long but narrow paved spot. We couldn't back all the way up because the tree was too low, but the spot was long enough where it wasn't an issue. The water spicket was about 80 ft away, and unfortunately we didn't have an adapter for the 30 amp. Otherwise this was a great stay with a beautiful sunset over the water. Be mindful of a couple trees overhanging the way in, but we were able to get through without issue hitting any. We have a 13.5 ft tall and 45 ft long fifth wheel. Mosquitoes were pretty bad so be prepared.
Guide
This place is a casino and a dog track. Very busy place- the office called us to get an idea on our ETA. Told us where to park to get our paperwork. It’s a bit confusing coming in but we hooked up with someone on a golf cart who took us right to our site. Nice and long for our 40’ motorhome and truck. Didn’t check out any of the amenities. Lots of restaurants close by.
Guide
Our campsite, #33, was perched on top of a hill, accessible by a fairly long, steep incline. The site is not level and would be appropriate only for shorter RVs. The site's position made it one of the more isolated campsites so it was more private than others. Site #33 does not have its own water source. It shares one water spigot with 2 other sites.
Eufaula Lake was muddy and not very appealing. The camp grounds were well-maintained and the camp host was friendly.
Scout
Until the state replaces these lecherous leprechauns who creep around and undress you with their eyes leering with their rotted teeth and unwashed bodies, I won't be back. The place is managed by drug addicts. This place is local to me and I went there often till 2023 when these folks took over. You'll probably find missing children in their closet. Seriously, these folks need to go. This was my favorite park, went for years but I won't go back till I know they are gone. I never felt afraid solo camping anywhere till I solo camped here after they took over. There's not enough locks on your camper door to sleep with them around. State of Oklahoma - DO BETTER. I spent a lot of money there but I won't spend one red cent til these folks are gone.
ScoutThis was a really nice campground with easy walks to some beautiful scenery! Flat pads with nice tables/grills/fire pits. Sites 3/4/11-14 have a lot more room so we’d probably pick one of those next time. There is a racetrack near by that was so loud we couldn’t hear each other talking from 6-11pm on Friday night which made it difficult to put our baby to bed. We’d love to go back but will definitely pick a weekend without a race next time.
Guide
fun place to go take a swim on a hot summer day I camp here for a few weeks every year
GuideI go here with my friends every summer we hike almost all the trails , it’s gorgeous last time I went there (summer of 23) we saw a wild river otter swimming there is so much wildlife out there and it’s just gorgeous absolutely stunning and worth visiting, family friends and dog / pet friendly if you want to take your dogs on a hike this is the place , has stairs and is not very handicapped accessible if you want to go to the bottom of the falls but it is completely accessible for a wheelchair if you just want to view the falls from the top and there are multiple handicapped accessible paved paths !
GuideI stay at a camp right off of flint creek every summer , it is open to the public for the most part for fishing or swimming , there is a gorgeous little natural waterfall right under the highway so you can see when you drive by
Guide
First of all this COE stays open all year We had lake access kind neighbors that our kids made friends with two parks one right across from our site and another up by the group showers (which has tons of pokers so we didn’t play there) we caught catfish off the bank and bolt huge fires beautiful foggy mornings and we watched all the leaves change colours every clear night we saw shooting stars it was great there is a little pub across the street from the COE only open on the weekends I believe I also suggest not going to Big Reds for breakfast there are better places to eat
Scout
We had an absolutely wonderful first trip to Marval. However, we won the cabin decorating contest during the Halloween festivities this year and forgot to pick up our certicate for a two night stay in a deluxe cabin. We called when we were only one hour away and were reassured they would keep this for us and we could call to book our next stay at Marval. I called today to do so and was told by the general manager Stacy that I was given the wrong information by her staff and that maybe had I called within a week to rebook or turned around to get the paper certificate this would have been honored. I am extremely disappointed in this response when I was reassured that we did not need to turn around to get the certificate. I am also very disappointed in the way I was dismissed on the phone and told there was nothing she could do to make this right.
Traveler
Amazing free campground, you can stay here for 14 days. No amenities, but it's well taken care of. Some spots have grills and picnic tables.The road leading to the campground is mostly gravel, but it's manageable. Beautiful view over the lake at sunrise!
Legend
This was our second stop at the KOA in Fort Smith AR. They have many improvements since out last stay. The campground is convenient to I-40. It’s far enough away to not have traffic noise. The sites are level, there is a pool, Propane, fishing pond, and camp store. Also hiking trails. Also some tent sites. There is a whole new section for Class A and large 5th wheel campers now. The are located behind a highway department facility, and last visit the smell of the treated power line poles was overwhelming. No problem this time. This is one of the few campgrounds I’ve been to that have a storm shelter!
RangerSpent one night at this campground. Grounds were clean, restrooms and showers were also clean. The check in office was inviting and pleasing. We didn’t use the laundry facility while we were there, but they are available should the need arise. Bathrooms were locked and secure and passcode was required to enter. Passcode was provided upon check in. Our site was a pull through level gravel pad with full hookups. The off leash dog park was a small fenced in area with a couple of benches. Horse track and casino were well within walking distance from the camp sites. Quiet location, just off the highway. Highway could not be heard from inside our camper.
Guide
We stayed here for two weeks we stayed on the north end which has a private shower house. We caught some catfish right off the rock peer. It is close to Hwy 51 but you really can’t tell. Gate keepers were wonderful and very helpful I saw some old oyster mushrooms all over the place possibly some lions mane 💓 I had a great time. Bait and a Dollar General were right down the road. The only thing is we were told that the lake would be low for the next two years for reconstruction of the dam. Because of the low water you can walk very far into the water from where we we’re staying. The north side we were on will close for the winter soon. I do advise having a water filter system on your rig we Will totally be returning anytime of year because this COE stays open all year. Two dump stations!
Tent camping near Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma offers a variety of scenic spots and outdoor activities for nature enthusiasts. With well-reviewed campgrounds nearby, campers can enjoy the beauty of the area while engaging in numerous recreational opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Fort Gibson Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Fort Gibson Lake is Jackson Bay Recreation Area with a 4.3-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Fort Gibson Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Fort Gibson Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
