Family Wanderings: Beaver's Bend

This summer has been hot! At one point, the thermometer on the back porch topped out at 120 degrees, although since the back porch faces the western sun, the official reading in town was 117 degrees. So hot! And dry.

That being said, the family decided to pack up the RV (I'll review that later) and head to more temperate climes. The closest cold water to home is in Oklahoma; specifically, Beaver's Bend State Park (click for location). It has been years since I visited the park, back in my college days with a buddy from East Texas. Back then we hauled a camper and canoe and enjoyed our time "in the wild." Since then, the family has camped in tents in national parks in the west, but my memory was fuzzy on Beaver's Bend (and we wanted to use our new purchase), so we hitched up and lit out with fishing gear in hand.

Beaver's Bend State Park is near the towns of Broken Bow and Hochatown (Ho-cha-town) and close to Broken Bow Reservoir. The lake is formed by the impounding of the Mountain Fork River, and the tailwaters below the dam are cold making a year-round trout fishery that draws many fishermen from Texas.

The park is sprawling with a number of campgrounds. After arriving at the main office, we were told that there were prime spots at the Acorn Campground, and you just pull in and the park officials will come to you. The campground was easy to find with a number of sites that backed up right to the river, so we pulled into one and mom and dad pulled into the other with their B-touring motor coach and two wild and crazy canines. When we arrived there were many empty spots, owing to the fact that we arrived on a Sunday and many people left out in the morning (That would soon change).

A view of the river from camp (Acorn campground) - $27 a night, with water and electric hookups. 30/50 amp available. No sewer hookup. These sites are considered premium ($5 extra) due to location.

The covered picnic shelter across the road from our site.

A drive around the park presented evidence of Great Depression-era construction. Many of the cabins that can be rented appear to be of CCC construction, and one road in the park was even named "Dust Bowl Drive." Near to our campground was also an old low-water dam and infrastructure also reminiscent of 1930s public works projects.

The park has many activities that would match just about any interests. Hiking trails stretch throughout the park (Due to rains on our first full day there hiking was out of the question), fishing on the Lower Mountain Fork (stop by the Beaver's Bend Fly Shop for friendly people and good fishing advice), paddle boats, canoe floats, kayak rentals, horseback ridings, mini-golf, and various activities are all available for diverse families - in other words, something for everyone!

Canoes at the canoe float station.*

Much of our park activities were on our second (and last) full day at the park. We had to go to Hochatown to buy fishing licenses since the fly shop was unable to connect to the state system and the main park office no longer sells them. After breakfast, we went to the river access behind the earthen dam where the water cascades down cold and clear. We waded and cast for several hours, and generally enjoyed our time outdoors - no fish though, but according to the attendant at the fly shop the trout were skiddish since nothing had been stocked for several weeks.

Cliffs at the river below the dam.**

The Lower Mountain Fork River.**

After a return to camp, we went to Hochatown for lunch and had pizza at Grateful Head Pizza. It was good and highly recommended by the locals. Next, we visited Girls Gone Wine, a local winery, for tasting and a bottle or two to take back. Then back to camp to prepare for a canoe float we had promised our daughter. The attendant said most people took two hours, but due to the swiftness of the water, it took us only one. Casual fishermen cast jigs and spoons along the river, tubes and canoes worked down, and turtle sun-bathed on fallen trees. At places, the river got shallow to the point that we scraped bottom, and it took us a bit to adjust to the different physics of the canoe over the kayaks that we are used to taking out at home. In the end, it was a very enjoyable float and the cost was reasonable ($23 for 2 hours).

An enjoyable day on the river.**

Swift water here!*

Cypress groves along the canoe float path.*

Since this was a quick trip there were a number of things that we would like to have done. I would have liked to have fished more, and hiking is a favorite family activity. Sadie would have liked to visit the swim beach, but she was okay since the park offered plenty of opportunities to ride her bike. Before we were done she had made friends and there was a whole gang of young girls buzzing here and there on a variety of bikes adorned with streamers and LED strobes.

Our trip was a good one, and a fine fare-thee-well to summer break. It was also a good stretch of the legs for the RV. We will research other destinations, but we will certainly be back to Beaver's Bend again.