Best Glamping near Red Oak, OK

We stayed in the non-electric sites (North Shore loop). Campgrounds were incredibly peaceful and quiet. There is running water and bathrooms which were relatively clean.There was no campground host and nobody came to check our reservations, but it was not crowded so that could be why. There is a fishing dock and a trail that goes around the entire perimeter of the lake. Each site has a tent pad, picnic table, grill, lantern poles, fire pit, parking spot and small counter-like food prep area. The setting is absolutely beautiful with tall pines, rolling hills and a gorgeous lake. Saw a ton of wild turkeys and two cottonmouth snakes.

This campground is one of my all time favorites!! It has everything you want in a campground and more. Hiking here is definitely the best, because the views are amazing!! The campground is always really well kept as well which I appreciate. The campsite spots themselves are pretty big in size and are separated by trees and bushes. Feels very private. They do have a quiet hour which is after 10pm. This is nice because there aren’t people partying all night long. There are tent spots and also RV. We camped, so I’m not sure if th RV spots are set up for electricity. The lake nearby is great. We brought our kayaks and had so much fun hitting the lake in the morning. It does get busy as the day goes on, especially in the summer on the weekends. Hiking is great, and there are multiple good spots nearby. Again, go early to beat the crowds! Dogs are welcome but must be on leash. Vaulted toilets on site and a place to fill up your water! Can’t wait to come back.

The Trailhead camping area is so-so. You can access the camping areas at the back by driving across the lawn. The spots are quite narrow, so your neighbors are right on top of you. There was a water spigot available but in a neighboring campsite maybe 10 ft from the fire ring, so I had to disturb them to get water, it's just a poor setup.

The bathroom was fine, but the shower was in poor repair, with wood rot and an uneven floor. The cover on the drain was loose and moved if you stepped on it. The showerhead could not be adjusted so it sprayed outside the shower area into the rest of the stall where you would keep your clothing. There was no curtain between the shower and the rest of the stall, either, and combined with the short stall door it was not very private at all. No clothing/towel hooks, the only place to set anything was a narrow window ledge. And it wasn't very clean, either. I got out my camp shower and set it up in my campsite because the provided shower was in such bad shape.

We had several people walk through our campsite during the weekend and plenty of noisy neighbors and barking dogs, so it seemed like people camping here in general are either inexperienced or rude. I've never had those problems so frequently while camping as I had here. If you're looking for a quiet campground to relax in, this isn't it.

The water was lukewarm in the lake, but the weather was hot so it felt ok. That's just Oklahoma in June, for you.

The staff were friendly and helpful, so that was a positive point. My overall impression is that this park is in need of funding for upgrades and maintenance, but the staff is doing their best.

Overall, I probably won't camp here again, there are tons of parks in this area and they are in better shape, with better camping areas.

• April 1 to Oct 30

• 73 sites with electric(50 avail)$20-$24

• Reservation accepted 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov

• Check In 6 pm• Check out 4 pm

 Boat ramp drinking water dump station marina playground flush toilets showers fire pit/grill picnic table pet friendly 

Brooken Cove is blessed with several beautiful water sites. Very impressed with the games that were arranged and on a beautiful well maintained grassy area. They had cornhole, volleyball, horseshoes and many more.

 There are several water sites and most all are good sites. Gates open 6 am close 10 pm Quiet time 10 pm to 6 am Stay 14 consecutive days Don’t move firewood buy locally This is an very nice COE campground and very well maintained all round. It is in a very rural setting and is an area you should plan to stay once you have arrived. Fall colors will be amazing. 

LNT

 Better than when you found it 

Stay safe Happy travels

Our first Oklahoma camping trip lead us to Robbers Cave State Park in the southeastern portion of Oklahoma. It is located on more than 8,000 acres in the San Bois Mountains. The parks claim to fame is outlaws such as Belle Starr, the Dalton Gang, and Jesse James used it as a hideout from the law. This was going to be our first full week of vacation spent in the popup, and our first camping trip outside of Missouri. We selected Robbers Cave State Park for two reasons it’s distance was a little over 4 hours away, and the number of amenities it offered for our 4 year old on our extended outing.   

 The first thing this park did was challenge my perceptions on what the Oklahoma landscape is. This is a park is located in an old growth pine forest, located in the rocky terrain of the Sans Bois Mountains. The park is split in half by Hwy 2 with the east side of the park consisting of the RV campgrounds, cabins, and Belle Starr Lodge. The west side of the park includes Lake Carlton, the equestrian camps, swimming pool, miniature golf, and nature center. This layout was negative in the fact that we could not walk between two sides with my son because of the distance and elevation change, you could rent golf carts if you would like. The positive was that it kept traffic down in the campground from the day use visitors of the park. We booked site 23 in the Old Circle Campground, when booking on the Oklahoma state park website there are no photos of the sites, only short descriptions…sometimes. I will let you know there is a youtube video that someone made driving around the old circle campground. I used this to take a look at our site after booking it.  Site 23 was a pull through site with full hookups located only about 5 feet off the main campground road. This could be a problem if the park was busy and there is a lot of traffic. Lucky for us we were camping through the week and this was not an issue. The site then on the opposite side held our own little secluded spot surrounded by pine trees down a slight slope from camper. We had a fire circle, picnic table, grill, and lantern post. We loved this site for this very reason. I will post pictures of both sides of our site below so you can get a visual. The bathroom and shower house is located in the middle of the old circle loop. The structure is very old and very dated stone structure, where you might find frogs sitting on shower curtains, spiders, and lizards (Those are just the ones that I witnessed). There is a newer shower house located outside of the Whispering Pines campground, next to the campground office and store. If you go to the newer one to take a shower make sure you have some quarters, or some dollar bills, because the showers cost money. Four quarters will get you 6 minutes worth of shower time.   

 When we were not at camp we spent most of our time exploring the west side of the park. We spent two afternoons swimming in Lake Carlton. The designated swim area has a very rocky drop-off for an entrance, but once out it was very nice swimming.  There is a concrete pier that is located along the swim ropes that you can climb up and jump off of. Besides swimming you could rent peddle boats, canoes, and paddle boards to go exploring. There was a pool with two water slides and a splash zone, it is $5 dollars to enter for the entire day. My son also got to play miniature for the first time at the course located next to the pool. One word of warning the golf course is very dated with carpet ripped or completely missing in spots. This did not slow us down at all, it just needs a little work.  They also sell shaved ice at the miniature gold building.    

The Oklahoma Park staff were very knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to answer any of my questions. Also when you get to camp they will give you a schedule of all the events that are going on throughout the week you are staying. We did a hayride that lead us through the park to the stables where there is a petting zoo, we saw the second largest pine tree in Oklahoma, and drank water from anartesian well. They also had a campfire with stories and smores one night, a cane pole fishing class, and even a tour of Lake Carlton by canoe. Just make sure you have cash because each item does cost money. 

The last thing we did before leaving Robbers Cave State Park after our three night stay was to go and search for the outlaws in the cave ourselves. I will give you a spoiler alert, the hiking trail to the cave is steep and rocky with big drop-offs, so be careful with small children. It is a ¾ of a mile trail that my son absolutely loved. He was trying to find the robber that was hiding out. The hike was worth every hair raising nervous parent moment.    

It is a consensus with my family that we will need to return to this park again. It has so much to offer, and we did not even touch on the many miles worth of trails to hike or go for a horseback ride on.  We look forward to our return to continue the exploring and searching for the elusive robbers.

Really pretty area up in hills/mountains. Park has a lodge, restaurant, mini golf, ice cream shop and a train. Would be a great place for families with kids. Trails are short but have nice views. Forest trail is overgrown once you leave the state park and go into the national forest.

Only downside is the sites are right next to each other and have odd configurations. Our site has a picnic table and grill behind the site and the fire pit in a separate area on the drivers side of the camper. Our next door neighbors fire pit is also right there but closer to our propane tanks (yikes).

Those with dogs should be aware that we found quite a few ticks on our dog, us and in the camper.

I visited Greenleaf for a short trip in the fall with my oldest son. It was a short overnight excursion so I would add a caveat that we didn’t get to do much in the park. With that said, it’s a solid little park. There’s a miniature golf course, though it isn’t well kept. The sites at the entry to the park are pretty large with water and power. Some have sewer as well. The nicer camping area is near the lake, which is very nice and the views are great. I reserved my spot at the last minute so I was not able to get a spot by the lake. It’s a great park for anyone wanting to do a lot of fishing or boating. There are two playgrounds; the one at the front of the park where we stayed is dated and frankly not very good. However, the one near the lake is much better. The bathhouses were better than most in Oklahoma and they are a single large bathroom with a toilet and shower head. This was perfect for us bc it was easy to bath my son without worrying he would be encroaching on anyone’s space. There is also a kid fishing pond which my son did well in. There’s a lot of catfish in the pond. The only negative I could add, if it is negative, would be that this is a heavily trafficked hunting campground. The woodlands surrounding the park are used by hunters all fall. While we were camping almost every site was occupied by hunters. They would all leave early in the morning which was kind of annoying, but it made the park virtually empty from the time we woke up until late in the afternoon when they all start to return. Don’t be surprised if you visit in the fall and you’re the only one not wearing camo and hunter’s orange. Also, for anyone wanting to group camp at Greenleaf, there’s a great building available to reserve at the back of the loop in the entrance to the park that is across from the bathhouse and playground. It is completely enclosed, has a/c, large fridge, sink and microwave. While we were there, several groups of hunters had reserved this to muse as sort of a home base where they kept food and other things of that nature. They had set up several folding tables and chairs and I assume they used it as a place to gather for meals. It’s a great spot for anyone wanting to camp with a large family, church group or just a multi family trip. And to that end, the sites at Greenleaf are arranged in such a way that it is a great park for multiple families to camp together, with lots of shared/communal green space for activities. That’s particular true in the loop closest to the entrance where we stayed. Lastly, during our trip, there was a lot of construction going on as they are completely remodeling the visitor center, which looked like it will be quite big. I don’t know what will be included in the new building, but whatever it is will likely enhance your experience. I would add though that it was clearly in the early stages of construction so you may want to call ahead and check the status, as the construction work and equipment was really loud. Overall, it’s a nice, tranquil park with some great views. There isn’t a ton to do at the park beyond typical campground activities unless your planning to use the lake for fishing and boating. Hiking trails are short and easy in difficulty. I enjoyed our stay and will probably go back bc my son loved the kid fishing pond and miniature golf course on site. I’m giving it 3 stars bc they need to update the playground and generally give the park a bit of a facelift.

We stayed at Bob Cat crossing, and it was fine for the most part. There’s a campfire ring, a table, and a double lamp pole at each site. The campground is close to a pavilion with lots of tables and grills, and some pretty clean bathrooms with hot showers. It really was beautiful out there and there were a million things to do that were close by; we really enjoyed our stay for the most part. There is firewood for sale at the office, but word to the wise, bring your own wood because they charge $6 for 4 really pathetic twigs.

The biggest problem I had was with #004. It’s on a horrible slope, and so is the picnic table, which caused our food to continually roll off our plates. There is no flat ground for a tent, so we would wake up in the night from sliding off our sleeping mats. It’s also really close to the road and the RV campground, so we would get woken up by cars and golf carts going up and down the road at night. Other than that, we had a pretty good time.

Stayed at a primitive site up the highway a bit thinking the distance from the main amenities would mean less people and less noise. Boy was I wrong. The spots we looked at were all trashed and filthy. Broken glass, McDonalds trash, and lots of old garbage that hadn't been cleaned. The dumpster for the sites was overfilled onto the ground. The day use in that area was ridiculous, alot of loud teenagers and partying. I get it, I was a kid once too but I stayed out in the sticks specifically to keep away from crowds and it was absolutely not worth it. The lakes are nice and the things you can do at this park are awesome but between, the trash, the people, and the highway bisecting the park, I can't really see myself staying here again. 2 stars