Beavers Bend Resort Park facts for kids
Beavers Bend State Park is a beautiful park in Oklahoma. It covers about 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) of land in McCurtain County. You can find it about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north of Broken Bow on SH-259A. The park was created in 1937 and is home to the large Broken Bow Lake. It's one of Oklahoma's most popular state parks, attracting many visitors each year.
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Fun Activities at Beavers Bend
Beavers Bend State Park has tons of fun things to do for everyone! Whether you're visiting alone or with a group, you'll find something exciting.
- Wildlife Watching: From November to February, you can join special tours to watch eagles. It's amazing to see these majestic birds in their natural home.
- Fishing and Water Sports: The park is a great place for trout fishing. You can even learn how to fly fish! If you love being on the water, you can go scuba diving in the 14,000-acre (57 km²) Broken Bow Lake. You can also enjoy jet skiing, bumper boat rides, boating, and canoeing.
- Land Adventures: Explore the park on guided horseback rides or fun hayrides.
- Sports and Games: Play a round of golf or miniature golf. You can also try archery or play tennis.
- Nature Programs: The park has a special nature center with a naturalist who leads many activities. These include campfire programs by the Mountain Fork River, nature hikes, arts and crafts, and even astronomy outings to look at the stars!
Hiking the David L. Boren Trail
The David L. Boren Trail is a fantastic way to explore the park's natural beauty. It offers about 16 miles (26 km) of hiking trails. Plus, there are 4 miles (6.4 km) of trails you can use for different activities. These trails wind through forests, over creeks, and into quiet areas. It's almost like stepping back in time to see what early explorers saw in the Ouachita National Forest. You can choose to hike the whole trail or just a shorter part of it.
Discover the Forest Heritage Center
The Forest Heritage Center is a museum where you can learn all about the history of forests in the area. You'll see old documents, tools used for forestry, and beautiful wood art. There's also a library with many books about trees and forests.
Inside the center, you'll find 14 amazing displays called dioramas. These were painted by Harry Rossoll, the artist who created the famous Smokey Bear! The dioramas show different forest scenes, from prehistoric times to how paper is made today. They also honor the brave people who fight wildfires. One special bronze sculpture remembers Jim Burnett, an Oklahoma forest firefighter who lost his life fighting a wildfire in Wyoming.
Forestry is a very important business in this area. A lot of wood is harvested each year in McCurtain County. People here work hard to make sure the local pine and hardwood forests stay healthy for a long time.
Park's Unique Geology
Beavers Bend State Park is built on the site of an old Choctaw settlement. The park was named after John T. Beavers, a Choctaw citizen. The "bend" in the park's name comes from a part of the Mountain Fork River that makes a sharp, almost 180-degree turn. This area is called the River Bend and is popular for fishing, canoeing, and swimming. The Broken Bow Hydroelectric Plant, which creates electricity from the lake's water, is also in this area.
The rocks in this park are very special! Just north of Broken Bow, you can see how sedimentary rock layers have been pushed up. This happened a long, long time ago when the North American and South American Plates collided. This event formed the Ouachita Mountains. You can see these tilted rock layers, sometimes at steep angles, all over the park, especially around Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River. Geologists (scientists who study rocks) often visit the park to learn from these unique formations.
Park Entrance Fees
To help keep the park beautiful and make improvements, there is a small entrance fee for vehicles. This fee helps fund maintenance and upgrades. The cost is usually $10 per day for visitors from out of state, or $8 for Oklahoma residents with an Oklahoma license plate. Some people, like honorably discharged veterans and Oklahoma residents aged 62 and older, don't have to pay. You can also buy passes that are good for three days, a week, or even a whole year for all 22 state parks that charge fees.
Here are some of the state parks in Oklahoma that have an entrance fee:
- Arrowhead Area at Lake Eufaula State Park
- Beavers Bend 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
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