Camp at Great Salt Plains Lake

Located in Great Salt Plains State Park in western Oklahoma, Great Salt Plains Lake provides ample camping opportunities while also being a very scenic location with kayaking, fishing, and bird watching activities. It is also a great place to stay at if you are traveling to the salt flats or Alabaster Caverns nearby.

There are two campgrounds at Great Salt Plains Lake. One is the River Road campground, which sits right against the bluffs and the dam and offers 36 RV sites. The other campground is Sandy Beach campground, which continues on Highway 38 taking a left outside of the state park entrance. Entering in the first entrance of Sandy Beach campground is where all 27 RV sites are, include the boat ramp, and swimming beach area. If you continue west through the campground on the road through the little town of Nescutanga, you will reach the primitive tent sites bordering all along Great Salt Plains Lake. You can also reach the primitive tent sites by going through Nescutanga and taking the second Sandy Beach campground entrance right before Highway 38 swings back north. We stayed in primitive site #18 (which also can be combined with site #17) and it sits right on the lake shore with extraordinary views. Each primitive tent site offers a picnic table, lamp pole, and grill. There are restrooms located within the campgrounds. RV sites with electricity are $20 per night, while primitive sites are $12 per night.

It is highly recommended to take the chance of camping at Great Salt Plains Lake in the near future, as it is expected to be non-existent within some years. Its shallow waters of less than 4 feet and silt deposits are causing it to dry up faster than other lakes. The 2011 drought also wiped out most of the fish in the lake. Even though the lake is restocked with fish on a regular basis, the fact that this has happened to the lake draws awareness that something needs to be done to bring more water into the lake. However, laws require that other parties other than the federal government assume the responsibility of making that happen, which is very unlikely. Without necessary funding and the continuing threat of dangerously hot summers, the lake may dry up and become unlivable for fish and the distinct migratory birds that rely on that food may leave elsewhere as well. Great Salt Plains Lake is quite a gem, so make the trip out to it and experience it as soon as you are able to!