Best Tent Camping near Pine Creek Lake, OK

We had a great time tent camping here on Labor Day Weekend. Beautiful park with grassy tent sites. Nice hiking trail. Bathrooms could stand to be updated. There is a marina where you can rent canoes and kayaks and buy supplies. There is a mini golf course too. The absolute best part of this park is the splash pad. It was the best splash pad we’ve been too. They had a cool slide and we had a blast.

We took our first trip there Oct 4 & 5 2020 and really enjoyed it. The drive to the park is wonderful with great spots to take in the views as you drive to the top. We even spotted a bald eagle at one stop.  

The Lodge is very modern and the welcoming staff were very polite and helpful. We asked if a 15amp site for tent camping was available but they had to move us after determining that they didn't give us a site with a pad. There aren't many tent sites at all, especially with electric/water and only 5 primitive and 1 walk-in. 

Due to COVID many activities weren't available but we did enjoy one trail. The restaurant wasn't that great but it served the purpose for one of our meals. I would still go back and recommend to friends or family.

We stayed at RV site #3 on Quarry Island. The concrete pad was perfectly level and took no time to set up. There were 5 RV sites with full hook ups on isle, even though #4 and # 5 are so close to each other that slide outs could bump into each other, and 2 very nice RV sites with only water and electric on the isle. There was also a lot of tent camping, flush and vault toilets, dump station, pavilion, 5 cabins, picnic tables with grills, boat ramp and swimming anywhere you wanted except for 150’ of the boat ramp. The ranger station was on the isle, so traffic was high at check in. There were 2 hiking trails that looked very nice, but never hiked because we were kayaking. My parents stayed in cabin #4 on the isle and my brother tent camped at Wister Ridge. The view from both of their places was breathtaking and his tent site was well shaded with maple, oak and pine. Fishing was very good and wasn’t a whole lot of boat traffic. There is also primitive camping which looked very nice, except for a couple of sites where the campers didn’t clean up too well behind themselves.

Pros: Beautiful area and amazing views. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. Plenty of options for accommodations and outdoor activities. The Heavner Ruinstone and Spiral Mounds are close. Tons of wildlife areas and we even spotted a bald eagle. The campgrounds and cabins were very clean.

Cons: RV sites can be very crowded and not well spaced, especially at Victor Landing. The Wards would be the least crowded for RVs. The booking website is not very good and not very accurate. The cabins bed was not very comfortable, the shower was small and flooded the bathroom while using and the kitchen light and living room ceiling fan was on one switch, so there was no way to have the fan going without the light on. Not all RV sites have picnic tables.

Primitive Tent Camping with family. It was okay for a one night tent camping experience. I wouldn't recommend staying longer than that in the primitive camping area.

Dogwood part has full hookups and close walk to lake. Lake view is awesome water and electric no sewer. Tent sites are sweet wooded lots. All October is $5 tent

Tent camped at Lakeview site #254. The sites aren’t well marked but they’re right near the water. There’s a good playground and the bathrooms were decent. There’s a marina restaurant nearby and plenty of hiking.

There are two section to this area. The northern one is labeled “below the dam tent sites”, the southern one is labeled “below dam”. The southern one is a just a cluster of pull in camping sites next to the fishing area. There’s a short walk to the bathrooms. You can get to the water by walking down the rocks. The northern side is a bit greener but 3-8 are very small sites jammed close together. There isn’t much room, if any, for a tent. Sites 1 & 2 are further back and much more spacious and pretty. There’s a water spigot here but no bathhouse. You would need to drive to the south lot.

Hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, and swimming among rolling wooded hills and rocky cliffs, plus cave tours, nature center, special events year-round (tractor show!), canoe & bike rentals, horseback tours, and lots more extras. They have rustic tent sites, full RV, and small cabins to rent. We stayed in the tent sites, which had great shade and decent privacy. Restrooms need to be updated (as of 2014), but we didn’t mind. While this is a very built-up campground with many activities and is relatively crowded, it does not feel like a theme park since all the activities are tied to nature. Great place and perfect to bring less experienced campers.

Tent camping had no facilities and is by a busy road. All camp sites were nothing but lose dirt. It didn’t help that a biker gang was staying in the cabins right next to our camp ground. Guess it was just bad timing.

Rented a tent site day before through the state website with no trouble, quiet as there weren’t many campers there that night where we were. Beautiful view of the lake in the morning.

This place is usually busy and loud with 4-wheelers and rock-crawlers... the tent camping area only had porta-pottys and they were full when we were there. You can drive to the RV area for bathrooms and showers. Camping areas are open (not designated), making it convenient for groups to get together.

It was great. I took my boys, 8 and 18 year old. Very quiet and felt secluded even though the campsites were about 75% full. Tent camped with electrical hook-ups which I wasn't expecting. I think it was only$14 a days. Went hiking the next day on the trails around the lake and mountain

We stayed at Bobcat tent camping and loved it the spots were spaced enough apart where you are not on top of other campers the spots were very clean also the front office is great at helping out if you want to move spots last minute I will say we had no service at all so be prepared for that :)

I love Robbers Cave. It’s one of my most favorite places to camp. There are over 40 miles of hiking trails and the views are incredible! I prefer to camp away from people and toilets don’t matter, I tent camp around Lake Wayne Wallace or Eagles Nest. Watch the trails bc you could end up on the horse trails and be very sad lol.

We stayed at Arrowhead in a travel trailer, with friends tent camping on our site. Nice big pull thru site located in Turkey Flat, although most sites do not have much shade / covering. Great location on Lake Eufala with a golf course nearby, as well as horseback riding located in the park. Staff was friendly, as well as the Park Hosts. Family friendly and quite, with great trails incorporated throughout.

Hiked some of the trails here today. Good trails, fairly well marked, until the very end. No service in the woods of the trails, but T-Mobile reception through the campgrounds.
Nice looking lake, clean bathrooms, easy access to trash cans. Campsites with grills, rv camps all looks really nice. Can't wait to book a tent site after what I've seen!

The views of this campground are amazing, however, the campground left much to be desired. The bath house and spots are fine for RV's but when we tent camp it gets crowded at this site and lacks privacy. The campground for the most part is one single road with many camp spots on each side. The Ozark Highland Trail does pass close by and the Lover's Leap trail is pleasant with some amazing views.

This is a great area by the river. It is a bird watcher’s paradise, and we saw a lot of people fishing. There is a boat access area as well. We did camp there in a tent for one night, but were politely told by a game warden the next day that, though it used to be open for that, it is no longer allowed. It is open to the public only during the day. There are still signs up showing tent camping, but they are apparently inaccurate. We had a great time and he welcomed us to stick around and hang out for the day, but no more camping. I was able to see multiple species of Oklahoma’s woodpeckers, some birds of prey, and many songbirds. Go during the day! Still worth it, even if you camp elsewhere.

We tent camped here in April. We got here in the dark and it was hard to find a a spot but when we woke up the next morning we had a great view of the lake. The bathroom near the office was newer and had showers that you need quarters to use. Also had an old school playground but the kids had fun. We took a hike around part of the lake but the trail was pretty much unmarked.

This State Park is really designed just for the hotel, which is incredible. However, the campground really should be avoided. There is a small area to camp with one restroom in the center. It is incredibly crowded to stay in a tent and really should just be considered for a drop in if you have an RV. You should also look at reservations during peak seasons as the limited availability will make this park fill up fast. If you tent camp, I would suggest Cedar lake about 30 minutes away in Oklahoma with many more options to set camp. The pluses of this park are the views from the hotel and "Lovers Leap" but the overall hiking is something less than desirable as the trails are limited unless you choose to go the long route of an out and back of the Ouachita trail.

There are a lot of RV and tent sites with plenty of asphalt roads throughout the park to walk on. We didn’t see any showers and the park has pit toilets. There’s a beautiful playground for the kids. This place is close to home for me and it was so much better when I was a kid. They definitely should’ve put showers and toilets back in when they rebuilt. We ate good food and my gentle giant loved the water and our walks. I seriously doubt I’ll ever go back.

I've stayed here a couple of times the night before starting my hike on the Ouachita Trail.  The OT is a 200+ mile trail and this is park is the Western Terminus.    The park has tent and RV sites.   The tent sites are level and clean.  

The bathrooms and showers are very clean. It is a great place to grab a shower after a few days hiking.  The showers have plenty of hot water and the water comes out a good rate to make it easy to knock off that trail dirt.

For a small daily fee you can park your car here for the duration of the hike.   I have left my car here several times with no issues.