Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Sardis Lake? Camping with your horse in Sardis Lake just got easier. These scenic and easy-to-reach Sardis Lake campsites are perfect for equestrian campers.
Situated in the hills and forests of southeast Oklahoma’s San Bois Mountains, Robbers Cave State Park has a history almost as exciting as the scenery and activities it offers. The park earned notoriety in the early part of the 20th century as a hideout for outlaws including Jesse James and Belle Starr. While the park recognizes this fame, today the park’s draw is as a family-friendly destination offering luxurious Robbers Cave cabins and campsites. Campers can stay at 22 modern RV sites with full hookups, 67 sites with water and electric hookups, and 86 primitive camping along secluded trails. For those looking for a more cozy stay, the 26 Robbers Cave cabins offer stunning park views, as well as a full kitchen, a fireplace, television and a full bathroom (these make for a reliable stay at the park depending on the weather in Wilburton, OK). Once you’ve settled into your stay, you’ll find countless activities in the park, enough to make you come back to do it all. There’s miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails, swimming, fishing and paddling at the park’s three reservoirs and numerous creeks, rock climbing/rappelling, and guided tours through the historic sites that once hid outlaws from law enforcement.
$32 / night
Cedar Lake is located in southeast Oklahoma, in the pine and hardwood-forested mountains of the Ouachita National Forest. The campground is situated on the shores of the scenic lake, a popular destination for boating, fishing, horseback riding and hiking.
The campground is a popular starting point for the Winding Stair Mountain Equestrian Trails, a system of over 70 miles of marked horseback riding trails. Hiking, swimming, boating and fishing on Cedar Lake are popular activities. A swimming area, boat ramp and fishing piers are available within the recreation area. A hiking trail traverses around the the perimeter of Cedar Lake offering varied views of the lake and its tributaries. The Talimena Scenic Byway is located within 10 miles of the campground, offering mountain top views of the valleys around Cedar Lake and historic sites along the way. The Talihina State Park, the western terminus of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail (OT), is located 21 miles from the Cedar Lake Campground. The OT extends across the Forest for 192 miles, the longest continuous trail system on the Forest. Kelly Branch Rifle Range is located 10 miles from the recreation area. Cedar Lake Campground offers a wide variety of camping opportunities, from campsites with electric and water at the campsites, basic campsites with no electric or water at the campsites and tent sites. Cedar Lake Equestrian Camp is one of the largest equestrian campgrounds in the Southern Region with amenities such as electrical/water connections and corrals at the campsites.
Cedar Lake covers 86 acres and is situated at an elevation of 900 feet. Fall foliage season usually occurs from the last two weeks in October to the first two weeks in November. The Ouachita National Forest covers 1.8 million acres in central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The forest encompasses 700 miles of trails, 43 vistas, six wilderness areas and the highest elevations between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Rockies.
Talimena National Scenic Byway is located 10 miles from the campground. Ouachita National Recreation Trail (OT), western terminus trailhead is located at the Talihina State Park, 21 miles from the campground. Heavener, Oklahoma, Heavener Runestone Park is located 14 miles from the campground.
Refunds may be requested for the following: Death Medical emergency Storm event Mechanical
$25 / night
$10 - $23 / night
Journey to southeastern Oklahoma for a picturesque getaway at Sardis Lake, where Potato Hills Central Campground offers fresh-air campsites shaded by blackjack oak, post oak and pines.
The lake is a popular fishing destination, with some of Oklahoma's largest species of prize bass. Catfish, walleye and crappie also reside in the lake. Other water sports include jet skiing, swimming and canoeing; hiking is also a popular pastime.
The waters of Sardis Lake are sourced from Jackfork Creek, a tributary of the Kiamichi River. Surrounding terrain extends out into the rolling foothills of the Ouachita Mountains.
More than 8,000 acres of public land around Sardis lake is available for wildlife watching and hunting. Additional camping is also available at Potato Hills South Campground.
$20 - $150 / night
$30 / night
$35 - $40 / night
$45 / night
ScoutWith so many trails that you can access just by walking out of the camp site. This is my favorite spot to camp in Oklahoma
Legend
Beautiful and lush and QUIET. I love it. Asphalt and gravel sites. Clean bathrooms. Water and electric only. Gorgeous 3 mile hike around the lake. I hear it’s a fishing lake but we don’t fish. Enjoyed the scenery and peace. Would come again and again. Don’t forget the ice, there’s nothing close. Site 33 looks to be my fav.
Legend
We stayed at Pine Trails campground which is semi modern but no bathrooms. This is well disclosed so you must be self contained. There are ATV trailheads in the campground so it might be noisy but this weekend it was almost deserted. Tall trees, gravel semi level sites, and huge fire rings. The park itself is phenomenal…so much to do but the hiking is the best. Don’t miss the Cave Trail!
GuideWe truly enjoyed staying here! From the great hiking, to the fun buildings there’s so many opportunities to explore. Great temps too.
TravelerFirst time here, we opted to stay at a site with water/electric - Old Circle 21. Small site but we managed to get our 11 person instant tent up. Lots of hiking trails - went up to Robbers Cave (more like a hideout spot than an actual cave) enjoyed the hike. We only explored a small bit of the campgrounds. Definitely want to go back and explore some more
TravelerWe 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.
GuidePretty fun, lots of areas to do some bouldering, rappelling, rock climbing
ScoutTraveling from Pennsylvania to New Mexico "The long way" we are staying off the interstates system as much as possible! This Campground was a pleasant surprise, very quiet, lots of space between sites more than most campgrounds!!! 50a and Water, need a tote if you're staying a few days, Cell Service is bad we have Verizon was only able to get a weak signal with a Booster and outdoor antenna. Not an issue if you're looking to relax. TV reception Channel 40 is weak but is doable depending on your site. The Access road is very narrow caution if you're pulling a large TT or Class A-C. You might get stuck having to back up. It's definitely worth it once you get into the campground. Some areas are prone to flooding they are clearly marked!
TravelerRemains one of my favorite Oklahoma State Parks, and we always enjoy the scenery and off-road jeep trails in Thundering Pines area. Many hiking trails of varied difficulty, all scenic, and fishing - including trout - in the waterways. Seeing the actual “Robber’s Cave” should be done, but I think you only need to do it once in your life…the graffiti ruins some of the ambiance.
The jeep trails now require a $10/day fee and are only open 8am to sunset; used to be free and open all the time, and maintained by local volunteers…hopefully they’re still maintained with the trail funds. Trails have lots of variety, from beginner to difficult, all well-shaded and several seasonal creeks for small water crossings. Rocks won’t cut up your tires like Disney, which is a BIG plus. Trail maps available in the park office, or on GAIA.
We brought our teardrop trailer, and when booking, I was told I had to book an full RV site. Wanting a theoretically quieter campground, opted for Deep Ford campground, site 5, as the majority of the sites in here are tent sites.
The campground itself was clean, with about half on the east bank of the Fourche Maline creek. If you stay near the entrance, around sites 4, 5, and 16-17, you can hear the rushing water over the ford (and see it from your spot at 16-17). Single stall restrooms and hot push-button showers are located at the entrance to the campground, as was our site, so while we had easy access, we also got lots of traffic.
4 and 5 are VERY close together, with the picnic tables and fire pits sharing the same small patch of grass. We had a neighbor with a bumper-pull RV in 4 our last night, and ended up eating at the same table because we were sharing the rest of the space, so might as well! Our little trailer and jeep had plenty of room on the pavement, but I can’t imagine cramming two full-size RVs in each spot.
Personally, we’d try a tent spot next time - teardrop is fully self-contained and doesn’t need hookups (we did plug in, since we were paying for it), and there were several other folks parking their small trailers on tent sites. Would stay at Deep Ford again, but it is definitely popular. Younger Campground also looked nice and quiet, but does not have their own set of restroom/showers.
We did take a turn around the Pine Trails(?) - I think, couldn’t get Pine Needles out of my head - RV campground at the south end of the park, on the east side of the highway. Lots of trees and shade, but all of the spots except the ADA spots were gravel. There were several trailheads into the ATV area.
LegendThe state park is situated on both sides of a main road and is broken down to several smaller campgrounds throughout the park. Campsites vary from primitive to water and electric, so there is something for everyone. The state park also offers cabins, yurts, and wagon sleepers if you're looking for something different. Each campsite has a fire ring, table (concrete or wooden), trash hook, grill, and a pad to set your tent on. The sites on the southwest side of the road are alongside a small river, while those on the east side of the road are on a hill.
The state park has a lot of amenities which have significantly improved over the past three years. This is not the campground for you if you're wanting to be isolated as it can be busy. Pretty cool spot to bring the family as you can explore caverns, hike, use ATV trails, fish, MTB, and swim. Some camping spots are farther from toilets and showers than others.
GuideWe had a wonderful girls weekend at Deep Ford! The bathrooms were new and well maintained and that hot shower was AMAZING after a long hike!
The trail wasn’t maintained well and we wandered off trail on multiple occasions but it was easy to pick up again. The view from the top of the bluffs was stunning and well worth the nearly vertical spots in the trail!
We’re already planning our next trip. We felt very safe and the park Ranger was visible on multiple occasions.
TravelerWhispering pines had newer bathrooms, but Old Circle was a little more spread out. The Bell Star Loop trail was accessible from the campground, I recommend hiking that. The lodge was under construction and there’s a new Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen going in by Lake Carlton. Both should be open next year. We came early November, the trees were all changing and the weather was perfect.
ScoutTent 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.
ScoutWe 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.
TravelerMy family visited Robber’s Cave over Labor Day weekend. We camped in the equestrian campground and it was more than we imagined it would be. The restroom and showers were the nicest we’ve seen and were well taken care of. We enjoyed hiking all over the state park and horseback riding at the Robber’s Cave Stables.
GuideRobbers Cave is filled with great hiking trails and you are surrounded by absolute beauty while you are there.
RangerThis was a great camping spot we hiked all of the trails got lost for a little while they are not marked the best but we wasn’t on a time schedule so it was great! Really good views and a very relaxing place.
TravelerI’ve camped here almost my entire life. It’s always quiet and peaceful, very relaxing. The upkeep has fell off in the last few years and I hope they can fix that! Flush toilets and good showers make it worth coming back every year.
GuideThis is a cool spot to visit. The park has many hiking trails and a lake to explore. The Camper sites were not crowded. There was plenty of space between spots. The showers close to our camp spot we’re a bit crusty. Their are other showers closer to the lake that are much newer and cleaner. Overall visiting this park was a good experience.
ScoutThis was our first trip in our new 21’ camper. Robbers Cave was quiet, and the sites were huge. Be sure to check if your site is flat, ours had a huge step down to the picnic table and fire ring. Plenty of tree cover, restrooms and showers if needed. They have upgraded most bathrooms/showers and have one left to upgrade in the RV parking.
There is putt putt, a mini museum, fishing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boats and playgrounds. If you want to rent a Yurt - they have two!
They are also in the process of upgrading and building a huge boat house.
WalMart is 40 minutes away but there is a small town less than 10 minutes with most amenities if you need something or just want a meal out.
Highly recommend and we will be back.
RangerI had Eagle’s Nest to myself… in June. No perks out there, but if you are looking for quiet and distanced sites, this is the site for you in the park. Robber’s Cave itself if a cool little walk on the rocks, though the cave itself has been ravaged by tourists or locals with a need to make their mark. Sheesh. Still, worth a stop if traveling through the area.
ScoutWent camping with my 7 year old son. Camp site was right in the river. New restrooms/showers were under construction but they had a portable comfort station in our campground.
GuideNice Park, we stayed in Old Loop and didn’t realize they have very new amenities at the site prior to ours if your looking for the bathhouse. The camp area is separate from the lake area, it is across the main road. Nice park!
ScoutWe 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 :)
GuideWe absolutely loved this park. We got a last minute reservation and got only site we could. We do not recommend DF004. It is a small site right on top of neighbors. The good thing is there are bike/hike trails attached to loop. The bouldering was so much fun and my kids played for hours. We would love to go back to some of their better sites.
GuideWe didn't stay long, but enjoyed views. Took a hike on the trails and had dinner outside, watching the sunset. Beautifil.
LegendOur first visit was in November and the fall color was stunning.
Early March for this visit and definitely winter scapes...but still beautiful.
Trout fishing just steps away from camp and we had the whole campground to ourselves for the night.
The afternoon hours did have some rambunctious local teens, but they kept to themselves. Can’t blame them - I’d have hung out here in my teens too if I lived close.
Just up the road on the main lake they are building a new restaurant overlooking the lake. They are getting a new office and other upgrades too.
Kayak rentals and horse rides nearby. Plus lots of hiking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Sardis Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Sardis Lake is Robbers Cave State Park — Robbers Cave State Resort Park with a 4.2-star rating from 60 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Sardis Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 equestrian camping locations near Sardis Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
