Best Cabin Camping near Tenkiller Ferry Lake

Follow route alerts by taking AR170 at West Fork from Interstate 49! 

Do not go to Visitor Center to check in while towing. Go to campsite, unhitch, and then go to Visitor Center. 

Fayetteville for Walmart, Target and other box stores + Braun's Ice Cream

Jakes in West Fork Harps grocery store & fuel 

PROS 

Senior discount 

No fee to make my own on-line reservation

Dark sky friendly 

Quiet during weekday stay

Campground E has lots of trees 

Campsite asphalt parking pad level 

Metal picnic table (on concrete pad), pedestal BBQ grill, metal fire ring with cooking grate that consumed half of the ring and metal lantern hook 

Good space between most campsites 

Campground E trash bin at every other campsite 

Clean toilet/shower facility 

Ample TP, hand soap and an electric hand dryer in toilet facility Campground E

Climate controlled toilet/shower facility. Felt great on a 38 degree morning! 

Park ranger drive thru campground during daylight hours 

Good signage throughout park concerning burn ban 

Good assistant park superintendent presentation at the park amphitheater regarding the CCC constructing DDSP 

Nice hiking trails 

Squirrels will eat from your hand
 in Campground E

CONS 

No cell service. Pay phone at campground toilet/shower facility 

Only free WiFi is at camp store by the pool. We purchased WiFi from park vendor Viasat $20 unlimited for 3 days for one device 

Cannot see or hear creek from site 89 

Sewer connection at rear of site pad 

No privacy from any other campsite in Campground E 

Cannot move site picnic table 

No camp host

I don’t normally leave reviews, but my experience at the facility needs to be shared.

I called the number provided and was able to find out info on cabin rentals .  I asked what I would need to bring and a young girl explained just cooking pot and pans.  I asked about a fire pit  since I wanted to have a fire for hot dogs and marshmallows.   Yes there are large pits  was the answer.    Thank goodness I camp on the regular, I’ll explain soon.   She did warn me there are chickens near the cabin I wanted.  Well good, I thought, I wouldn’t miss my  own flock so bad.

Upon arrival, before noon, the office was closed.  I walked back to my truck to get the phone number and saw a truck with a camp logo on it driving by, leaving….   Same young girl answers and says she is heading back to check me in.  I get the key and drive over , get parked, and see the chicken coop, it’s pretty close to the cabin.   The next thing I see is a big fire pit; full of trash!  Flies everywhere!  Well that can be cleaned up, right?   There was chicken poo all over the steps and deck.  That can be cleaned up , right?  So I opened the door, flies and a dank smell hit me hard.  . Nice.    It appeared that the inside had not been cleaned either, sticky stuff on the stove, sink and fridge.  The shower was a joke. There were extension cords running through a sliding window which left a half inch gap just open to the outside…. I plugged that with paper towels I had brought.  There was a king size bed , but the pillows and sheets were stained.   I found dead flies in the fridge as well.          Before I brought anything in, I wiped down all of the surfaces. I spread my sleeping bag out on top of the provided bedding and covered up with a couple of blankets.   I always bring towels as well, I’m glad I did, those are not provided either.    I had also brought T - paper as a precaution,  so glad I did…..       

 I really just wanted to make the best of this and I know it’s hard to keep these river cabins clean so I decided to tough it out.  The next morning, I paid for my float and asked if I could have bags to clean out the fire pit… but then asked if THEY could clean it while I floated, the young girl handed me three trash bags and said “some one was supposed to get that”. I laid the trash bags on a log near the pit so they could be used.     

My float went well and was great fun.  Upon my return to the cabin, the fire pit trash had been burned and a plastic bag was still smoldering!  There were still tin cans and other debris in there, and it stunk!   So , I could not / would not use it for cooking or just lounging around!  Later, I was hungry and decided to use the oven.  When I opened it, there was a skillet with old moldy food in it!   It smelled horrible and I gagged!   I took a pic of the offending skillet and showed it to the other office worker; a lady and her little girl.

She said that she usually is the one that cleans , but she didn’t do this cabin this time.  

She closed the office, called the owner, and removed the offending skillet.  She stated there would be something done….  There was never an offer of compensation of any kind.   My recommendation is don’t stay in the cabins.

The campground as a whole was just worn down and trashy.  The staff were nice but didn’t really seem to want to be there.

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.

called on June 27th to reserve a cabin for 6, Saturday the 2nd- 4th, At first was told they had no cabins available about 15 min after I made the call John the owner calls me back to tell me they had a cabin that was a 2 room available for theses dates and it was 100 per night and would sleep 6. I said we would like to reserve it. After hanging up called to inform my husband that we got a cabin then remember that I forgot to see if dogs were allowed, so I had to call back to make sure cause I can’t leave my fur babies. When I called it was a young girl that answered and said yes dogs were allowed and proceeded to talk about her 2 little puppies that were in the office with her. When packing and getting everything we needed together on Friday the day before we left we called to make sure the cabin had bedding and towels etc.. the young girl said yes. We get to sparrow resort on Saturday afternoon 2 young girls checked us in gave me a key pointed us in the direction of the cabin we pulled up to a cabin unloading all our stuff and unpacked was at this 2 bedroom cabin for approximately 2hours when John the owner came to this cabin told us we was at the wrong cabin I told them the key unlocked it. They said this was not cabin 2 and the people that reserved it would be up later so we gathered our things and moved to the cabin they said was ours that was next door. OH MY WAS WE LET DOWN. Mind you we have 2adult children myself and husband and 2 teenagers and 4 dogs they put us in a concrete prison that had missing curtains holes around the air conditioning window unit It was dirty holes in the walls. One king size bed a chair and a futon couch one room box. Bedding on bed only with a dirty comforter. For$100 a night not including the float trip. We were let down but determined to make the best of this we went to the store and bought bedding and towels and cleaning wipes. The next morning get up and noticed no one was in the 1st cabin still. So my daughter and I go to the office to get out float paid for and ask if we could get the bigger cabin since no one was in it told them I would pay more for it the little brown haired girl said yes then the other girl with a nose piercing said no it was booked and we should have had to pay a pet deposit of 15 a dog and we needed to pay this fee and was nasty with me. I said I wanted to by one raft and 2 tube rentals she keep saying and 60 pet deposit the brown haired girl rung up the float while the nasty teenager kept repeating and pet deposit the other girl stated stop worrying about the deposit and she kept saying it! The sign read tube float for 4 hours was only$20 and the raft was 25 per person for 4hours she charged us 30 x 6 people to float the 4 mile I said the 20 tube for 4 hours she nasty teen says that for just playing in the water😡 really the sign clearly says 4hour float only$20 and 25 for rafting over 4 people. I ask again about the other cabin the nasty girl said Chelsea and her 2 daughters were staying in it. Really because Chelsea and John the owner were the ones that came to the cabin the day before and Chelsea said she was the cleaning lady and John was the owner. Always we paid our pet deposit and float trip and tried to make the best of this regardless i a grown woman not to be argumentative with a child. This morning comes and we can’t wait to leave we cleaned the crap out of our concrete box prison and went to to office to return our key and get my 60 dollar pet deposit back and the nasty little teen was by herself while we started recording the whole encounter since day prior I ask for my pet deposit she said it don’t work like that I said excuse me you say deposit that means I get my deposit back if no damage was done. John came in and said what do we want he said you want your deposit here thank for staying and goodbye🤯wow what service. The best part the large cabin stayed vacant the entire time. The teenager that was running John’s business will be his downfall she don’t know how to treat people VERY DISRESPECTFUL!!!  Will never be back!!

We didn't know what to expect. This place has absolutely everything you could need. Full Hookups, level sites (mostly gravel but level), shop with souvenirs and RV gadgets. The office also has a gameroom, pantry, and propane. We didn't get to use the playground area this visit as pool and hot tub were closed for the year. They also have normal cabin rental and tiny home rentals that were perfectly positioned around campground and fishing pond. My only complaint would be that the sites are really compact. Plenty of room for your RV but so close that you can hear and smell your neighbors. Nearby Walmart and restaurants were handy.

This state park is challenging to locate, especially at night. Familiarize yourself with the directions and try to arrive before dark.

There are many campsites available in many different areas of the park. Most of the sites are very private, have nearby facilities with showers, fire pits, tables, and trash bins. The sites all have access to trails and are close to water activities. The trails that are available are challenging, offer spectacular views and some history. There is back country hiking available, the park prefers that you register for a permit 24 hours in advance to accessing the back country trails. Some trails available are appropriate for mountain biking, however depending on the popularity of the trail is the level of maintenance that the trail receives. This state park is excellent for families because there are plenty of activities available that interest young kids.

• Mar 1– Oct 30

• 65 Sites w/electric$10.00-$50.00(50 avai)

• 11 non electric$10.00-$14.00

Some pull thru’s boat ramp dump station day use area with picnic area playground flush toilets showers swimming grills with fire rings picnic table drinking water

Gates open at 6 am and close at 10 pm

Check in 6 pm check out 4 pm

You may stay 14 consective days within a 30 day period

There is a nice playground for children but it is located right next to the water. There is a toilet right by the playground. There are boat launches at each of the three Landing sites and of the three sites I prefer the two smaller ones. Cozy and quiet. Sunsets are amazing Don’t move firewood.

No fireworks

LNT Better than when you found it

Stay safe Happy travels