Best Dispersed Camping near Marietta, OK

We stumbled upon this dispersed camping area after driving forest service roads for a while. I would NOT recommend taking any kind of trailer or motorhome down these roads and to this spot. 

To give you an idea- we drove a Toyota 4Runner and a small utility trailer with a roof top tent on it. Though this is some room down there, if someone else is there, I would move on. 

There were some locals who came through and talked to us for a while when they were fishing in the lake. They said that they had been coming to this spot for 30+ years and rarely saw anyone else there. So this is my plea- if you come here, be respectful and clean up after yourself. If you are there in the right time of the year, stay out late and turn off your lights- you'll get a night surprise.

 When I arrived at the location to which my GPS directed me, I was a little concerned that there was just a building with bathrooms and three large dumpsters off to the side.

If I had a been brave enough to drive my little Mustang down the gravel path that was on the opposite side of the road leading away from the restrooms, I would have found waterfront campsites along the Blue River, large boulder, formations to climb, and beautiful views.

What I did, though, was continue down the road I had a been on and found a large dirt parking lot. There were fire pits and designated camping set up along one side of the parking lot, which seemed a little weird.

There was a gravel road on the opposite side of the parking lot that led to the RV camping and a couple of tent sites along that road, so I chose one. The campsite was secluded with several paths that lead down to the river. 

What I found to be the best part of this area was Hughes Crossing! It’s a waterfall that you can drive over. I did not attempt this in the mustang, but watched several trucks easily pass over.

Not only is there a beautiful little waterfall that also substitutes as a bridge, but the area is perfect for swimming. There is a bit of green algae, but it is otherwise clear and refreshing.

The only downside was the amount of trash that people had left. I think I might make it a new goal to try to carry out at least one or two grocery bags worth of other people’s trash so that I can hopefully leave places better than I found them.