Best Equestrian Camping near The Village, OK

We had a great stay in Lake Thunderbird State Park near Norman Oklahoma. The park has 11 campground areas situated around the 6000 acre centerpiece lake with many tent, RV sites and some of those have full hook up; our choice was the Little Ax campground on the southern end just off Oklahoma 9. In addition to water activities the park offers hunting, horse rental and boarding, equestrian trails, hiking, mountain biking, nature trails, a nature center, and an archery range. Our lakefront site#37 was nice and shaded with a gentle lake breeze offering a concrete pad, water, 30/15 amp electric, concrete table, lantern holder, fire ring and grill at site. The campground has an entry station, camp host, picnic shelters, playground, bathhouse and laundry, beach area, common fire pit, Verizon 4 bars, dump station, trash receptacles, interior roads are paved, with many sites waterfront. RV sites are close quarters. Tent sites are amazing...pads, concrete table, fire ring, grill, water spigot dispersed, waterfront sites. The town of Norman has all the amenities: shopping, dining, groceries, fuel and yes, Walmart. The area is home to local wineries and breweries and also the hometown to actor James Garner. WARNING: Oklahoma State Parks charge a daily parking fee per vehicle of$10 in addition to the camping fee and they enforce it...just saying from experience...read the information carefully! 13101 Alameda Dr, Norman, OK 73026 GPS- 35.234940,-97.219224 for the Little Ax Campground.

The amenities were very clean, some being very new. Multiple new dump stations in each area. Bathrooms were very clean. Most all campsites are right on the water. Beautiful campground. Offers Equestrian trails, hiking trails, and bicycling trails. Our favorite in-state campground.

Visiting this campground so was expecting similarities between it and the Guthrie Lake campground as they are both maintained by the City of Guthrie. But I was pleasantly surprised as the road turned to packed rock and dirt and started to get more and more remote in appearance. I noticed equestrian crossings and trails and also signs marking arc access points before entering.

When arriving to the lake itself traffic splits off into one way lanes. You pass a house like structure which serves as a paystation for entry, though when I visited no one was there to accept my money and I didn’t see a self pay area.

The boat ramp and fishing pier is the first thing you see when entering the park with large parking and easy water access. There are a few picnic tables at this point to enjoy the day use space. Just beyond that a swimming “beach”. This was a little perplexing to me because there was less than a foot of red dirt sand then water which was marked as appropriate. The beach itself was tiny but it was nice to see they had created a space unique to swimming in the area for safety. No also noticed an abundance of naked signs about life jacket safety which I thought was great!

As you continue to drive away the more commercial day use area there are 7 campsites each with large parking areas, grills, fire rings, picnic tables and plenty of room to spread out in a tent or RV. These sites do not have hook ups but what they lack there they make up for in lake views. Each site had a clear view of he lake and water access only a short distance from your parking area.

Restrooms are only port a potty units and with recent winds some of these had been knocked over or damaged by tree limbs, so that is something to consider.

I really liked that this location by far seemed more established than the other city maintained option and also had more privacy overall.

Tips:

• Call ahead if you want to stay here on a weekend since there are limited sites and reserve in advance

• Check weather before traveling, it is very common for bad weather to roll through this area and with all of the trees you want to make sure you are safe.

Stay with some friends here for a festival in Oklahoma City. The campground was easy to find and very close to Oklahoma City but it was dirty and the fire in the fire pit was still going from the people that have been there the night before.

This campground offers lots of sites with water views. There is a swimming beach and boat ramp as well as a dock to fish off. Very easy to get to from Oklahoma City.

I’ve stayed here twice now, and I love the rural, rougher campsites. This area is much more wooded than Thunderbird, and the views of the lake are obstructed by trees, so don’t expect to get a lake view in front of your tent. Payment sucks, as you have to shove money into an envelope at the entrance and is just a hassle. The City of Edmond could improve this by allowing reservations online just like the Oklahoma State Parks.

Nice campspots as we are passing through Oklahoma, near Norman and restaurants/grocery stores. Quiet with decent shower and bathrooms.

The spot we found was level, but has pulled into the spot next door first and it was not very level. You can't beat the price for $26 a spot for electric. They also don't tack on non-resident fees like some states wish is appreciated. Tourism brings additional money into the state. Thank you!

Looking for a nature centric camping experience? This isn’t your place.

Need a place convenient to the Lazy E Arena, Guthrie or Edmond to base out of of? This could be your spot.

Need an easy on/off overnight spot in central Oklahoma? This could work for that, too.

Not scenic, but clean, level spots. On-site store and propane are handy. Spots aren’t roomy, but I’ve been packed in tighter at other places. All spots look to be pull-through.

Lazy E is only 4 miles away.

Chicken Shack is very close and has great fried chicken. A bigger convenience store and gas station is close as well.

In Guthrie check out Missys Donuts for the best donuts and in Edmond, Texlahoma BBQ is consistently awesome.

The lake is owned and operated by Oklahoma State University. The grounds were well mowed, some of the structures are dated but well cared for. Super-friendly and helpful people at the permit office. The store was closed when we arrived.

The quirky bit is the number of camping spaces that are by annual permit. That means a lot of of the shore line is taken up by permanent campers, weekend campers that leave their rigs, student living and even residents (in campers). The lake being close to Stillwater, it looks like a number of students and such commute from the lake.

None of this was problematic for us, but the level of care each annual permit holder takes on their lot range from pristine to near dilapidated.

We stayed in Beaver Cove and found it to be clean, well-maintained, friendly and quiet. No real privacy buffer between sites, but the spacing was comfortable. 

The park ranger made several passes through, even though the campground was only about 1/4 occupied. 

Lots of birds, including a resident blue heron the locals named Charlie. Wonderful views of the cove. We stayed in lot 31 and a few large elm trees gave our campsite evening shade.

Nice fire rings and sturdy picnic tables.

All in all, a good stay.

There are three main campground parks around the lake. Spring Creek and Scissortail Parks are off 15th. Central Park is off the 2nd Street entrance.

Spring Creek and Scissortail were both full, so we ended up at the Spring Creek Park.

In Spring Creek, there is primitive camping in Bobcat Campground and King Snake Campground. We stayed in the Cottonwood Campground which had a mix of camping types. 

We stayed in an RTT, so all of the spots were easy access for us, but I saw some big rigs and setups with boats, so it looked like it was easy to park for most anyone.

The spaces were ample sized and most all of them had enough trees surrounding them to offer decent privacy. They all had had fire pits, grills and picnic tables. They all looked pretty level.

Restrooms and showers were passable, but not much better than that.

The campground was pretty full, but pretty quiet. No problems with noise.

Lots of trash cans around, but they were all full or overflowing. Most of the campsites had some lingering trash around. Definitely could have been cleaner.

My son had a ball and this place isn't far from home, so we will probably checkout the other campgrounds on 15th the next time we are there.

In addition to easy setup and getting around, the other thing that makes this great for new campers is that the city of Edmond is just a few miles away for a full list of stores and restaurants. Or head east on 2nd (66) and go to Pop's in Arcadia for a burger and a selection of over 500 sodas.

And finally, lots of Oklahoma hospitality in case you do have problems or need a hand.

I love a good lake side camping site, nothing better than being able to set up with a great view and the sound of the wakes rolling in with the breeze when in my tent. But what happens when your perfect setting becomes your worst nightmare?

On a recent trip to Oklahoma I got a good glimpse of just what that would be like as a slightly unexpected rain flooded this campground miserably. Driving through the RV loop waters were right up to some of the pull throughs, tables in some areas were underwater and this was the better of the camps. The tent sites were nearly all effected by the flooding because of their location and even the road was cut off and closed.

Now is this typical of the camp? No. But however this is a scary reality you must consider when choosing your site at this or any lake. I have many times experienced overnight rains unexpectedly, however usually choose a site slightly elevated from the waters, however at this camp many of the sites are level to the water and more susceptible to rising waters.

As a location as a whole, it was nice and facilities were very well maintained, but because of the issues with flooding I would not want to imagine the stress low laying campsites could hold.

Prices are reasonable, the staff was friendly and the lake was large (larger of course because of rains…lol) but all in all this has a lot of features which make for a great location.

TIPS:

• If reserving online, look carefully at the map for your site, choose something a little further back from the water, you will still have a great view but will avoid possible fear of unexpected rainfall.
• Check out the sites just up from the camp on Route 66 including POPs (a multimillion dollar retro style cafe and gas station boasting over 700 different types of soda) and the Round Barn, a staple of the original Route 66.