Beavers Bend Resort Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beavers Bend State Park |
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 Beavers Bend State Park
Location in Oklahoma
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| Location | McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States |
| Nearest city | Broken Bow, OK |
| Area | 3,482 acres (1,409 ha) |
| Created | 1937 |
| Visitors | 2,283,559 (in 2021) |
| Governing body | Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation |
Beavers Bend State Park is a large and exciting park in Oklahoma. It covers about 3,482 acres (14 square kilometers) of beautiful land. You can find it in McCurtain County, not far from Broken Bow. The park first opened in 1937 and is home to the amazing Broken Bow Lake.
This park is very popular! In 2021, over 2.2 million people visited Beavers Bend State Park. It is one of the most visited state parks in Oklahoma. People love coming here for all the fun activities and natural beauty.
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Park History and Naming
The building of Beavers Bend State Park started in 1935. The park was named after John T. Beavers. He was a Choctaw settler who owned some of the land originally. Other parts of the park were bought from the Choctaw Lumber Company.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped a lot with building the park. The CCC was a program that gave jobs to young men during the Great Depression. They built many of the park's early structures. Even before it was fully finished, over 2,000 people visited in its first year.
In 2017, another park called Hochatown State Park joined Beavers Bend. This made Beavers Bend State Park even bigger. On April 8, 2024, the park was in the path of a total solar eclipse. Visitors could see the sun completely hidden for over four minutes!
Fun Activities at Beavers Bend
Beavers Bend State Park offers many fun things to do for everyone. If you love nature, you can go on eagle watches from November to February. You can also try trout fishing or learn fly fishing. Guided horseback rides and hayrides are also popular ways to explore the park.
The park has a naturalist who works all year. They lead cool programs like campfire stories by the Mountain Fork River. You can also go on nature hikes, do arts and crafts, or try water sports. There are even astronomy outings to look at the stars!
Broken Bow Lake is huge, covering 14,000 acres (57 square kilometers). It's a favorite spot for scuba divers. Other activities include golfing, miniature golf, archery, and tennis. You can also enjoy jet skiing, bumper boats, boating, and canoeing on the lake.
Hiking the David L. Boren Trail
The David L. Boren Trail is perfect for hikers. It has 16 miles (26 km) of trails to explore. There are also 4 miles (6 km) of trails for other uses. These trails go along ridge tops and through creek bottoms. You will see tall trees and remote areas. It's like stepping back in time to see the Ouachita National Forest as early explorers did. You can choose short or long hikes, depending on how much you want to explore.
Discover the Forest Heritage Center
The Forest Heritage Center is a museum inside the park. Here, you can see old documents and tools used for forestry. There is also beautiful wood art and items from old homesteads. The museum has a library with books about forests.
The center features 14 amazing dioramas. These are detailed 3D scenes painted by Harry Rossoll. He was the artist who created Smokey Bear! The dioramas show things like prehistoric forests and Caddo Indians. They also show how paper was made and what lumbering was like in the 1940s. Each diorama has a story you can listen to.
In 2003, a large bronze statue was added to the center. It honors Jim Burnett and all firefighters who fight wildland fires. Jim Burnett was an Oklahoma firefighter who sadly lost his life in Wyoming in 2000. The statue reminds us of their bravery.
Forestry is a very important business in this area. About 60 million cubic feet (1.7 million cubic meters) of lumber are harvested each year. People here work hard to keep the local pine and hardwood forests healthy.
Park Geology and River Bend
Beavers Bend State Park is built on an old Choctaw settlement. The "bend" in the park's name comes from the Mountain Fork River. In one part of the park, the river makes a sharp, almost 180-degree turn. This area is called the River Bend. It's a popular spot for fishing, canoe rentals, and swimming. The Broken Bow Hydroelectric Plant is also in the River Bend. It uses water from Broken Bow Lake to make electricity.
The rocks in this area are very special. North of Broken Bow, you can see sedimentary rock layers pushed up. This happened long ago when the North American and South American Plates crashed together. This crash formed the Ouachita Mountains. You can see these tilted rock layers all over the park. They are easy to spot around Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River. Many geology students visit the park to study these unique rock formations.
Park Entrance Fees
To help keep the park nice, there is a small entrance fee. This fee helps pay for park improvements. It started on June 15, 2020. The cost is per vehicle. It's $10 per day, or $8 for Oklahoma residents. Veterans and Oklahoma residents aged 62 and older (and their spouses) do not have to pay. You can also buy passes for three days, a week, or a whole year. An annual pass costs $75 for out-of-state visitors and $60 for Oklahoma residents. This pass works at 22 state parks that charge fees.
Here are some of the other parks where the annual pass works:
- Arrowhead Area at Lake Eufaula State Park
- Boiling Springs State Park
- Cherokee Landing State Park
- Fort Cobb State Park
- Foss State Park
- Honey Creek Area at Grand Lake State Park
- Great Plains State Park
- Great Salt Plains State Park
- Greenleaf State Park
- Keystone State Park
- Lake Eufaula State Park
- Lake Murray State Park
- Lake Texoma State Park
- Lake Thunderbird State Park
- Lake Wister State Park
- Natural Falls State Park
- Osage Hills State Park
- Robbers Cave State Park
- Sequoyah State Park
- Tenkiller State Park
- Twin Bridges Area at Grand Lake State Park
