Best Glamping near Spiro, 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.

Peak Season April 01, 2021- September 30, 2021

First-come, First-served October 01, 2021- November 30, 2021  

All campsites are equipped with electric hookups, and the group shelters have electricity, too. 

flush toilets, hot showers, water hydrants, a swim beach, playground, dump station and a boat ramp complex playground

Lake Tenkiller is an amazing location to scuba dive.  It's waters are clear and cool from a distance of 8 to 28 feet.  A diver will have the opportunity to investigate a sunken airplane fuselage, school bus, helicopter and two boats.  In some areas of the lake divers can see the remains of homesteads.  The underwater terrain ranges from gently sloping hills to rocky cliffs.  The water ranges in depth up to 165 feet.

Tenkiller Ferry Lake is often referred to as "Oklahoma's clear water paradise." The 12,500 acre lake is fed by the Illinois River and the Baron Fork . It is nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in the northeastern part of the state. This area, known as Green Country, is surrounded by dense oak-hickory forests, tall bluffs, and rolling hills. The lake has 130 miles of shoreline with plenty of wildlife such as deer and turkey. It serves as one of the flyways of migratory birds, including bald eagles, common loons, and white pelicans.

Water skiing, boating, fishing, hiking, and swimming and even sailing.  Scuba divers enjoy the lake's high visibility and the beautiful clear waters.  Fish for black bass, white bass, striped bass, crappie and catfish. The trout stream below the dam is one of only two year-round trout fisheries in Oklahoma, and is regularly stocked with rainbow trout. Hunting is also permitted in parts of the lake area, in accordance with federal and state laws. 

Latitude 35° 40' 54.0001" N Longitude 94° 57' 46.0001" W 

Directions:  From Gore, Oklahoma, go 17.5 miles northeast on Highway 100, take the turn left and go 1.5 miles northwest on the paved access road. Follow signs into the campground.

Check-out time: 3:00 pm. Check-in time: 6:00 pm. Quiet hours: 10:00 pm- 6:00 am.

Entrance gate will be closed during this time. 

Grey water and sewage must be properly disposed of in the provided dump station receptacle. 

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. 

Group shelters are for day use only. Fireworks are prohibited. Fishing and hunting are regulated by federal and state laws.

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.

This campsite has some of the prettiest views in the Ozark national forest. We stayed in a basic tent site and had no issues. Nice fire pit/ pit toilet/ water pump access. There is a house where the campsite host family lives. They were amazing and helped up navigate the area and plan our adventures. They have trail maps and firewood for sale, and are always willing to help.

The drive up to this campsite was a slight challenge. I would recommend an SUV or other tall vehicle with 4 wheel drive. The twisty, steep, narrow dirt road makes for quite an adventure. It has many large rocks in the road and the decently sized potholes. I scraped the bottom of my little car quite a bit on the way up.

• 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.

Some of the reviews I read suggested that you need a four wheel drive vehicle to make the drive up. Maybe when it's wet that might be the case, but it was dry when we were there and we had no problem making the drive in a Fiat 500. If that little car can make it, any car can make it. Yes, you need to take it slow and easy, it's a rough, steep, gravel road.

We stayed in the tent campground. Peaceful spot, every star is visible. All of them. Beautiful sunrise in the morning viewed from the rim trail. Wish we had longer to explore, but we were off to Devil's Den right after breakfast. Hope to make it back some day.