Camping near Heyburn Lake

This is the old city lake outside of Pawhuska. It is not Bluestem Lake (Bluestem is a couple miles north). The Old city lake is smaller and quieter and has no improvements beyond a few picnic tables and a toilet only the desperate would consider using. To reach the camping area you drive across the damn to the west boat dock area. There is a dirt road/trail that heads up to a few camping spots. Most of the camping areas have been abandoned to time but some of them are still maintained. The lake is a no wake lake and is great for kayaking. They used to stock it with trout. Near the east boat ramp is a pretty cool table top rock feature. Below the damn you can find a trail and some bluffs that are fun to explore. On top of the bluffs is an old abandoned camping area.

Safe, spacious, with amenities.

Super quiet and peaceful campground, bathroom and showers weren’t to bad just a perfect relaxing area to lay your head down at night

Once arriving at the camp site, I discovered that the sites near the lake were very sloped making it a little difficult to find a flat spot to set up a tent. I talking to one passer-by, who was unfortunately house-less at the time, who explained that Hawthorn Bluff does not charge for camping until April 1st. I paid for my campsite as the website did not state this. I'm not upset by this because I know the fees will help maintain the park. However, this makes for some very interesting campers. The couple next to our site were having a domestic dispute where the lady sped off in her car after cussing her partner out for some time. She returned later with an 18 pack, one in her hand, and thankfully they seemed to have made up. This was hard to explain to my young kids who witnessed the whole exchange. Since they were not charging for campsites during my stay, the showers were locked and not opened as well as another restroom. There was only one opened restroom on the opposite side of the park and it had beer cans and other trash in it. 

Nice views of the lake, but I think I'll cross this one off my list for next time.

Great campground with great host.On river so fishing right there.Minutes from Sand Springs or Mannford.Great walking trails and playground

Spots are level and have full hook ups. We didn't try the bathrooms or laundry rooms and stayed only 3 nights. It's in the middle of town so there is plenty of road and train noises, but that didn't bother us too much. It's a decent spot to stay if you are just passing through or visiting town. Spots all seem to be pull through and they stack you close when full. It's park yourself just remember your site number. We didn't see the camp host once.

We booked a month stay here as my family is from Stillwater. We stayed during Dec-Jan, so there was no game day craziness. The park is small, in the smack middle of town, and has minimal amenities. But it’s within walking distance of campus, great food, and shopping options. We mainly appreciated the free laundry on site and the large shower rooms. There were no picnic tables, fire pits, or doggy bags/trash. There is no manager on site, at least not during the off-peak season. A bit pricey as the charge a flat rate plus electric usage. Significantly more expensive durning OSU events and games, so plan ahead!

The grounds was very clean the bathrooms was totally clean easy to get to overall a great experience.

Someone came into the office from at 10pm just to let me camp. She was SOOOO nice! The facilities are absolutely incredible . The nicest bathrooms I’ve seen on my cross country trip. A little pricey at $67 per night, but they make it worth it with the excellent facilities.

This place has terrible customer service and communication with their tenants. Save yourself a headache and go somewhere else in Tulsa. It will be a nightmare to stay here

Lots of shade, spacious, clean and well equipped. We could see the water through the trees. Level paved lot with water and electric. Awesome clean showers and bathrooms

Site #5 was level with plenty of shade. Wide picnic/patio area was clean. There was quite a drop off on 2 sides of this nicely spaced wide site. You could see the glimmer of water through the trees but really just a wooded view. The sun would shine directly on site around noon but mornings and evenings were pleasant. Bathhouse was updated and clean with individual shower stall in each of the 4 areas. Unfortunately there was little water pressure at the bathouse and just disappointing warm water in shower. (UPDATE- WIFE said she had plenty of hot water and she never she's that.) All sites share water but this particular one was too far away for nearest site to share. FYI, Water at site really high pressure, have regulator ready. Gate attendant was polite and actually on post nearly all the time. The lake itself is massive. Had no idea just how big until we saw from a distance. Wish we had a boat to take advantage. We had plenty of areas for walking the dogs. Overall we enjoyed this COE more than others mainly because of the upkeep.

Skiatook(15 min) has a multitude of places to eat. Fast food to actual sit down restaurants are everywhere. I recommend Mac's BBQ.

Stayed the night prior to a bass tournament. I was surprised to see weeds overgrown in the camp areas, the shoreline is covered in tall weeds. The fire rings were trashed and grill mostly unusable. Loud trucks and cars made it very noisy. Evidently there isn’t a speed limit or anyone out there enforcing any laws. I will return to fish but it’s not worth camping at. Cell service is very unreliable.

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.

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.

Are the showers open today

This once cool camping lake looks unattractive and not taking care of of. Weeds in campgrounds, fire pits full of trash and grills all broken. There is no longer any personnel or workers living in the area. You are basically on your own with no Patrols or Law Enforcement. Loud people kept us up all night and we left early. Go elsewhere. Not family friendly anymore.

Very pleasantly surprised by this campground. Has everything you need for pretty cheap ($11 for tent/no hookup) including bathrooms, tables, trash, water and more. Only one other car on a weeknight in April, so very quiet and peaceful. Bathrooms were kind of gross but I expect that’s due to visiting in a shoulder season.

This is a new park. Very well layer out. Easy access to all sites. The management is fantastic and extremely helpful. This is a great place for all types of visits to the Tulsa/Bristow Oklahoma area.

This has been a great experience. Especially for a solo trip. Offer A frame structure. There is currently no running water due to colder temperatures. But once it warms water is on site. The land is beautiful and firewood is provided for a small fee. The Outdoor show is a nice touch too. Will definitely be back.

Ashley here with The Dyrt. We're so happy to welcome Rocky Ridge Resort to our platform. Check them out and come back here to leave them some love!