Greenleaf State Park: Greenleaf Lake Hiking Trail to Dam (Blog Hike #949)

Trail: Greenleaf Lake Hiking Trail
Hike Location: Greenleaf State Park
Geographic Location: north of Gore, OK (35.62516, -95.16731)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: April 2023
Overview: An out-and-back with side loop to the dam that forms Greenleaf Lake.
Park Information: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/greenleaf-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=935471
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of SR 10 and SR 100 in Gore, take SR 10 north 8.5 miles to the signed entrance for Greenleaf State Park on the right.  Turn right to enter the park and drive the main park road 1.1 miles to the small gravel parking lot for the Greenleaf Lake Hiking Trail on the right.  Park here.

The hike: At first glance 565-acre Greenleaf State Park looks like another state park on another lake, but first looks can be deceiving.  For one, this lake and park were built starting in 1939 by the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and by German prisoners of war.  This history makes this park one of the oldest state parks in Oklahoma.  Also, the park is surrounded by Camp Gruber, a training camp for the Oklahoma National Guard.  The park's 18-mile backpacking trail goes onto adjacent camp land, and the camp insulates the park from the usual development that surrounds many state parks.

            In addition to the backpacking trail, which is one of the few multi-day backpacking options in Oklahoma, the park offers the usual aquatic recreation on Greenleaf Lake, 14 small cabins, multiple developed campgrounds with 158 sites total, and an unusual "cabin on the lake," which was one of the first ADA-accessible cabins in the country.  When I came here on a damp Saturday morning, I only wanted a short hike before I began my long drive east, so I chose to hike the part of the backpacking trail that goes down to the dam and back.  I had a nice hike, and I can see why this park has the high reputation it does.

Main trailhead

            From the signed trailhead and trail register, the single-track dirt trail heads into the woods, which is dominated by oak and hickory trees with a few pines mixed in.  The trail goes first gradually up and then gradually down as the steep hillside persistently rises to the right.  The lake and campground road sit downhill to the left, but they are out of sight through the trees.  Some interesting layered rock outcrops remind you that this land was under a shallow sea many millennia ago.

Rock outcrop

Dam and spillway

            Just shy of 0.5 miles, the trail splits.  The option going right leads to SR 10 and the rest of the backpacking trail, so I turned left to start hiking out the earthen dam.  The dam was somewhat muddy on my visit, and some dense greenery prevented any broad lake views.  Nevertheless, I got some nice partially obstructed views of the interesting spillway at the other side of the dam, and I saw a lot of birds in the spillway area.

Canada geese on Greenleaf Lake

            After enjoying the spillway area, retrace your steps to the trailhead.  On your way back, to add a little variety and get some broad lake views, take a detour into the campground and walk down to the lake's marina area.  Not only did I enjoy the lake views here, but I also saw a Canada goose and her goslings swimming in the shallow area of the lake.