Lake Murray State Park: Loop South of Park Office (Blog Hike #936)

Trails: Main and Shortcut Trails
Hike Location: Lake Murray State Park
Geographic Location: south of Ardmore, OK (34.07087, -97.10102)
Length: 3 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: April 2023
Overview: A lollipop loop with rocky views of Lake Murray.
Park Information: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/lake-murray-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=934351
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: South of Ardmore, take I-35 to SR 77 (exit 24).  Exit and go east on SR 77.  Drive SR 77 east 2.8 miles to its intersection with SR 77S beside the park office.  Park in the parking lot to the right (south) of the park office.

The hike: Built between 1935 and 1941, Lake Murray State Park is one of 7 original state parks in Oklahoma and the oldest Oklahoma state park.  (Aside: Osage Hills State Park, featured elsewhere in this trail journal, is another park from the original 7.)  The park has joint state and federal roots.  The Oklahoma State Legislature approved $90,000 to purchase up to 10,000 acres for this park, and the project had the backing of Oklahoma Governor William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray who saw it as a way to help Oklahoma's economy recover from the Great Depression.  The park and lake are named for Governor Murray.  On the federal level, the National Park Service purchased 2700 acres adjacent to the state's land, and that land was designated as one of the nation's 46 Recreational Demonstration Areas.

            The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked here from 1935 through 1941, and they used the National Park Service's rustic style of architecture that is the trademark of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Canyon National Parks.  Thus, Lake Murray State Park is one of the best destinations in Oklahoma for "parkitecture."  The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1951 the historic Lake Murray Lodge became the first state-owned park lodge in Oklahoma.

            At 12,500 acres, Lake Murray State Park remains Oklahoma's largest state park.  The park offers the usual lake recreation such as swimming, boating, and fishing, 9 developed campgrounds with over 300 sites total, an ATV area, an 18-hole golf course, and more than 19 miles of trails open to hikers and mountain bikers.  Many of these trails form out-and-back hikes along the lake, but the hike described here is one of the better lollipop loops in the trail system.  This hike gives you a sample of the rocky, dense forest that makes the cross timbers famous, but it does so without pegging the length or difficulty meters and with only minimal retracing of steps.

Trailhead at park office

            From the south side of the park office, pick up the concrete path that heads south and downhill toward the lake.  The concrete path heading left is the park's Heart Healthy Trail; it leads 0.75 miles east to the aforementioned Lake Murray Lodge.  A gradual descent brings you to the parking lot for the park's fishing area where a bridge leads across a strait in the lake.  If you look to the right while crossing this bridge, you can see a small arch-shaped CCC-built bridge that now carries SR 77S over a small creek.

Bridge at fishing pier

CCC-built bridge

            After crossing the bridge, the trail splits to form its loop; a yellow carsonite post marks this intersection.  For no particular reason, I turned left here and used the old road going straight as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise.  For the most part the trail parallels the lakeshore, although sometimes it stays closer to the lake than others.  The trail is unmarked, but I found it easy to follow except for a few side trails that lead down to the lake shore.

Climbing a rocky bluff

            The terrain is rockier than you might expect for a lakeside hike, and the forest is the usual cross timbers mix of red cedars and oaks with a dense understory.  Although the difference in maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only about 70 vertical feet, there is considerable up and down as you go in and out of the many ravines that feed the lake.  At 0.7 miles, after topping a rocky bluff you reach a partially obstructed view of the lake that reveals the lodge and marina in the distance.

Marina across the lake

            1.5 miles into the hike, the trail curves right to begin the first of two long U-shaped curves.  These curves are necessitated by a deep, rocky lake inlet that comes into view on your left.  As you approach the end of the first U, an unofficial trail going right tempts you to skip the second U, but do not succumb to this temptation: the best view of this scenic, tranquil, rocky lake inlet lies just ahead.  Some rocks here make perfect places to sit, rest, have a trail snack, and enjoy the rocky aquatic views.

Rocky lake inlet

            After finishing the second U, the trail curves left and climbs slightly to reach the paved beach and marina access road at 2.4 miles.  The trail to the Ski Jump Campground continues across the road, but to continue this loop you want to turn right and walk a few hundred feet along the road.  This road carries moderate volumes of vehicle traffic, but wide shoulders allow you to easily dodge the cars.

Connector trail exits park road

            After walking the road a few hundred feet, watch the right shoulder for the yellow carsonite post that marks where the connector trail enters the woods.  Even though this trail follows what appears to be an old road, I would have had a hard time finding it without the carsonite post.  The trail undulates moderately and descends to the south side of the fishing pier bridge to close the loop.  Cross the bridge and walk the concrete path back up to the park office to complete the hike.  While you are here, be sure to check out some of this park's "parkitecture."  My favorite park structure is Tucker Tower, a multi-story stone castle-like structure that dates to the 1930's and stands on a rocky protrusion into the lake about 5 miles south of the park office.