Best Glamping near Lone Wolf, OK

The Wichitas are (in my humble opinion), by far the best place to be in Oklahoma. When my boyfriend took me camping there (he's an OK native), I was pressed to the glass looking at the buffalo. AMAZING. So much wildlife (make sure you stop to see the prairie dogs), and the mountains are amazing. There is no bad place to camp here, just make sure you go for a hike!

This park was turned back over to the state in 2020 and is exactly how I remembered it from the 80’s. Tucked down in southwest Oklahoma in the Wichita Mountains, it’s a small park but has LOTS of options. There are RV and tent Campgrounds, cabins, a very modern lodge with 96 rooms, group pavilions, and a dormitory. There’s a full restaurant, ORV trails, hiking trails, a river and a lake. Something for everyone.

We stayed in the Mountain View campground which has concrete pads and didn’t have to level our rig at all. Electric and water and steps to the flush bathroom that has a shower in it. It backs up to the lake berm and has a view of one of the mountains. Not much cover but we didn’t need it as it was cloudy during our stay. LOTS of stickers. Beware especially if you have long haired dogs.

Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area, Fort Sill, OK

Cabin 3 (both late June and mid-October)

Lake Elmer Thomas(LETRA) is a 334 acre lake located on Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma. LETRA offers a pretty nice location for recreating. Offering quite a bit for families in a limited space.                                                                                                            •A nice beach and cordoned swim area, complete with restrooms and shower house(11a-7p)…lifeguards                                                                                                          •Sand volleyball court                                                                                                             •Watersport rentals: paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, pontoon boat                                      •Mini golf course                                                                                                                         •Disc golf course                                                                                                                     •RV/Camper area                                                                                                                         •Rustic rental cabins                                                                                                                    •Random primitive tent camping                                                                                        •Fishing                                                                                                                                              •Nearby off-base hiking(Mount Scott and the Medicine Park Wildlife Refuge)              •Bicycling-ample quiet, paved road opportunities but surprisingly limited off road options 

Tent Camping: there are no specifically designated loop or numbered site tent areas. Tenters are permitted to camp all along the lake’s edge in the grassy area. There are a few picnic tables and elevated charcoal grills(no ground fires permitted), so you may have to do without. There are also a few picnic tables under shelters, but half are in a state of disrepair and caution-taped off. Tenters cannot set up tents within the cabin rental inner circle. 

The modern facility restrooms are across from the playground as you enter the cabin rental peninsula. Tent campers are able to utilize the shower house/restrooms in the RV/Camper section, as well as the beach areas during open hours. There is no ground cover to separate one tent from the next…all can be seen and heard. 

RV/Camper Sites: big rigs are lined up side by side in a separate gravel loop immediately to the left of the entrance. Sites have water and electric hookups. The nicest shower house/restroom is located there. There is a small patch of grass between sites, picnic table and elevated charcoal grill. These sites are closest to the entrance, beach area, watersport rental and campground activities. 

Cabin Rentals: log home rentals are on a small peninsula with great views of Mount Scott and Lake Elmer Thomas. At the time of this review, you must bring your own bedding linens/blankets, towels, etc. I would also recommend packing extra eating utensils, condiments and any other items that you would take camping. We rented Cabin 3, which the website says will sleep 4…inaccurate. One full size bed and a small futon will sleep two average-sized adults and one small child in marginal comfort. The table only provides two chairs, not four for two not four. I would subtract 1-2 persons on the cabins unless you count floor space. Cabin 3 was$80 nightly. 

Painted turtles are in abundance around the lake, as are smallish ‘fist-sized’ tarantulas. Bicycling the Artillary Range perimeter roadways on base, coyote dash across in early morning hours. Note: you are on a military base, so there are a number of restrictions that you need to be aware of and abide by. 

Additionally, the campground is positioned along the northern side of the Artillery range. Yes, you will see and hear C-Ram’s lighting up the sky randomly during the day and night hours, as well as other ordinance. I enjoyed the display and out-of-the-ordinary disruption. Think unanticipated fireworks.

We camped here in May 2019 in the tent camping area right on the river, just below the dam.   There is no electricity for the tent sites.  There is water, but not at every tent site.  Each tent site had a picnic table, fire ring and grill.  This campsite caters to RV's and it looks like several of the RV's live there year round.  There is a store.  We were the only ones camping in the tent area until our last day, we stayed 3 nights.  There is a bathroom (no shower) at one end.  Other bathrooms in the campground have showers.  We drove to the bathroom by the store and took a shower one day.  Even though we were the only tent campers, there was an extreme amount of traffic on the road.  The area had record amounts of rain and all the gates on the dam were open which had not happened in 20 years.  So, there were a lot of locals that came to see it.  We climbed Quartz Mountain on the first day.  There is not a well marked trail, you just have to try and find the path of least resistance and not die.  The view is well worth the hike (hiking shoes are a must, lots of slick rock).  You can see all the surrounding mountains, the dam, the lake, etc. from the top.  There are many hiking trails, not very many bike trails.  There is a paved bike trail, but it's not very long.  We did use our bikes to ride around the campground and up on top of the dam.  Tent sites are $10/night. If you're looking for a campground with lots of amenities, this is a good one.

We stayed here for two nights while making our way back from CA to NC. It is end of Nov. So the campground is super quiet and only a handful of people camping at the multiple campgrounds

When I visited the park I was very excited having seen some of the trails and also the lodge area.    Unfortunately much of that was closed as a result of improvement projects, sadly limiting some of the things which were accessible to me upon my visit.   I instead settled into a campsite and checked out the beach area.   

The campsites were pretty close together in most loops  and because it is a very popular lake, it was a bit loud for my liking still I had shade a picnic table, fire ring and some basic amenities.   The restrooms were in decent shape but a bit outdated, a part of the improvement project is to create better facilities throughout the many loops also.  

I enjoyed the sites which were a bit further from the waterfront itself because they seem to have less noise from trucks with loud pipes.    

The beachfront was vast and amazing I could easily say this was what made it worth the trip.  You could walk the beach, get in the water or enjoy a picnic through one of the shaded areas.    A couple of small trails were accessible however because many were not these were very crowded also.  In addition the nature center was currently closed.

I would like to return to this site after renovations are complete and give it another shot.  It had all the makings of being able to be a really nice place to stay and enjoy lake activities.

We only spent one night at the Cottonwood Campground here and would go back in a heartbeat.  Sure, the facilities were old and buggy and I didn't even want to shower there, but the park has enough to keep me interested in coming back!

Nice 'heart healthy' trail off of Cottonwood that was about a mile long.  The park is huge and really needed to be explored more. Some great birding!

We stayed on site 7 at “Sandy Beach”

We had fantastic neighbors and a great view of the lake. 

Unfortunately the bathrooms/showers were the worst of our four stops on this journey. They were pretty bad. 

Additionally, our shoreline power went out overnight too. Thus, we leaned on the generator to get us through the 100 degree night.

Very nice, clean campground. About 12 pull through sites and a group site for tents. All spots had a level cement pad to park, picnic table and fire ring. Right on the water. Beautiful view. The campground was fairly empty when we stayed and it was very peaceful and secluded, although if the camp was full it wouldn't be very private. Great place to fishing or boat. There is a decent size marina with a restaurant in the park as well. There were a lot of bugs but maybe that's just the way OK is in July... Just bring bug spray!