Beavers Bend State Park is a

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

state park located in McCurtain County. It is approximately north of Broken Bow on SH-259A. It was established in 1937 and contains Broken Bow Lake."The Five Most Expensive State Parks in Oklahoma."
Wertz, Joe. National Public Radio. September 15, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2014. National Public Radio reported that the park generated $1,787,731 in 2011, excluding $414,255 in revenue from Lakeview Lodge. Thus, gross earnings were around $2.3 million. The report did not list the number of visitors, but stated that this had the second highest attendance of any Oklahoma state park during the year. This is 1 of 7 state parks in Oklahoma that will be in the path of totality for the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse, with 4 minutes and 15.2 seconds of totality.

History

Construction on the park began in 1935, and it was named after John T. Beavers, a

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

settler who originally owned some of the land. Other portions of the park were purchased from the Choctaw Lumber Company. The Civilian Conservation Corps contributed significantly to the park's construction, and it received over 2,000 visitors in its first year of operation despite not being fully developed.

Attractions

Beavers Bend State Park offers a variety of individual and group activities.

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

watches are available from November through February. Trout fishing,

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

clinics, guided horseback rides, and hayrides throughout the park are other activities offered at Beavers Bend. A year-round naturalist and a well-stocked nature center make possible a program lineup that includes campfire programs on the banks of the Mountain Fork River, nature hikes, arts and crafts classes, water sports, bingo, sunset hikes, nature films, and astronomy outings. 14,000 acre (57 km²) Broken Bow Lake is also a favorite of scuba divers. Other park diversions include golfing,

miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, tennis, jet skiing, bumper boat rides, boating, and canoeing. The

David L. Boren David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senat ...

Trail offers 16 miles (26 km) of hiking trails with 4 miles (6 km) of multi-purpose trails that wander along ridge tops, over creek bottoms, through tall stands of timber, and into areas so remote one can almost experience what early-day explorers must have felt upon seeing the Ouachita National Forest for the first time. The same trail can also be divided into a variety of short and long hikes for those not wishing to make the entire trek.

Forest Heritage Center

Visitors to the Forest Heritage Center's museum will find historical documents, antique forestry tools, wood art, homestead memorabilia, and a research library filled with books, periodicals, and other materials pertaining to forestry, the primary industry of the area. The Center is also home to 14 dioramas (painted by Harry Rossoll of Atlanta, Georgia, the artist who created Smokey Bear) that cover prehistoric forests, Caddo Indians,

Papermaking Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...

in the South, 1940s lumbering, and forest appreciation. Each diorama is accompanied by a taped narration. In June 2003 an eight-foot-tall

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture was unveiled, honoring the memory of Jim Burnett and all people who risk their lives fighting wildland fires each year. Burnett was the first forest firefighter from Oklahoma to lose his life in the line of duty and one of the many firefighters dispatched by the state of Oklahoma to battle an outbreak of wildfires in Wyoming during the summer of 2000. Burnett lost his life on August 11, 2000 fighting the

Kate's Basin Fire The Kate's Basin Fire was a wildfire complex which began burning southwest of Thermopolis and north of Riverton in Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The fire complex started as the Kate's Basin and Blondie #2 fires on August 7, 2000 and by August 18, i ...

near Thermopolis, Wyoming. Each year some of lumber is harvested in McCurtain County. The forest industry is the area's largest business concern, and great care is taken to ensure the prolonged health of local pine and

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

forests.

Geology

Built on the site of an old Choctaw settlement, Beavers Bend State Park was named after John T. Beavers, a

intermarried citizen. The "bend" in the park's name refers to an area of the park where a portion of

Mountain Fork River Mountain Fork, also known as the Mountain Fork of the Little River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 3, 2011 tributary of the Little River in western Arkansas and ...

meanders sharply, making an almost 180-degree turn. This area is commonly known as the River Bend, and is a popular area for trout fishing, canoe rentals, and swimming. Also in the River Bend area is the Broken Bow Hydroelectric Plant, which generates energy from the waters of Broken Bow Lake. The local rock formations are some of the most distinctive in the state of Oklahoma. Just north of Broken Bow, sedimentary rock has been thrust upward due to an ancient collision of the North American and

South American Plate The South American Plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African Plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid-A ...

s, forming what is now the Ouachita Mountains. Evidence of what is called the Ouachita

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

can be seen all over the park, where some layers of rock can be seen tilted up at angles of about sixty-degrees. These geologic features can be easily viewed around Broken Bow Lake and Mountain Fork River, where erosion has left much of the rock exposed. The unique geology of the area inspires frequent field trips by geology students from numerous colleges and universities.

Fees

To help fund a backlog of deferred maintenance and park improvements, the state implemented an entrance fee for this park and 21 others effective June 15, 2020. The fees, charged per vehicle, start at $10 per day for a single-day or $8 for residents with an Oklahoma license plate or Oklahoma tribal plate. Fees are waived for honorably discharged veterans and Oklahoma residents age 62 & older and their spouses. Passes good for three days or a week are also available; annual passes good at all 22 state parks charging fees are offered at a cost of $75 for out-of-state visitors or $60 for Oklahoma residents. The 22 parks are: * Arrowhead Area at Lake Eufaula State Park * Beavers Bend State Park * Boiling Springs State Park * Cherokee Landing State Park *

Fort Cobb State Park Fort Cobb State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA. It is located near the city of Fort Cobb Fort Cobb was a United States Army post established in what is now Caddo County, Oklahoma in 1859 to protect relocate ...

* Foss State Park * Honey Creek Area at Grand Lake State Park * Great Plains State Park * Great Salt Plains State Park *

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* Keystone State Park *

Lake Eufaula State Park Lake Eufaula State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in McIntosh County, Oklahoma on Lake Eufaula. It is southwest of Checotah. The park was formerly known as Fountainhead State Park. Fountainhead, together with the neighboring Arrowhea ...

* Lake Murray State Park *

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Lake Thunderbird State Park Lake Thunderbird State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. It is east of Norman, Oklahoma on State Highway 9. National Public Radio reported that this park had over 637,000 visitors in 2011. It earned $461,506 ...

* Lake Wister State Park *

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Osage Hills State Park Osage Hills State Park is a Oklahoma state park It is located in eastern Osage County, Oklahoma. The nearest cities are Pawhuska and Bartlesville. The park offers outdoor recreation opportunities including camping, hiking, fishing and wildlife wat ...

Robbers Cave State Park Robbers Cave State Park is a state park in Latimer County, Oklahoma. It is located north of Wilburton, Oklahoma, on State Highway 2. Originally named Latimer State Park, it received its current name in 1936. It is located in the scenic, hilly ...

Sequoyah State Park Sequoyah State Park, one of Oklahoma State Park Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, ...

* Tenkiller State Park * Twin Bridges Area at Grand Lake State Park

References

External links

Beavers Bend State Park
- Video footage of the area and a list of local activities and resources.
Aerial View of Broken Bow Lake
- Video footage of the area and a list of local activities and resources.
Forest Heritage Center info and photos on TravelOK.com
- Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
Beavers Bend State ParkBroken Bow LakeBeavers Bend Fly ShopBeaver's Bend Fly Fishing SiteBeavers Bend Lodging - Luxury Rental CabinsBeavers Bend Lodging - Rustic Luxury CabinsBeavers Bend State Park and Broken Bow Lake
- Recreational and lodging information guide, including information on fishing, hiking and water sports.
Vacation Broken Bow Lake
- Local area guide for Broken Bow and Beavers Bend, including area maps, hiking trails and restaurants.

External links

* {{authority control State parks of Oklahoma State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands Forestry museums in the United States Natural history museums in Oklahoma Museums in McCurtain County, Oklahoma Protected areas of McCurtain County, Oklahoma Ouachita National Forest Nature centers in Oklahoma Protected areas established in 1937 1937 establishments in Oklahoma