Tenkiller State Park: Whispering Leaves Trail (Blog Hike #946)

Trail: Whispering Leaves Trail
Hike Location: Tenkiller State Park
Geographic Location: northeast of Gore, OK (35.60139, -95.03545)
Length: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: April 2023
Overview: A semiloop on asphalt trail through the park's developed area.
Park Information: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/tenkiller-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=935328
Photo Highlight:

Short Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In eastern Oklahoma, take I-40 to SR 82 (exit 297).  Exit and go north on SR 82.  Drive SR 82 north 9 miles to SR 100 and turn left on SR 100.  Drive SR 100 west 3.4 miles to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and follow signs for the park office.  Park in the parking lot in front of the park office.

The hike: Known officially as Tenkiller Ferry Lake, 12,900 acre Lake Tenkiller was formed in 1952 when the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) completed the Tenkiller Dam on the Illinois River.  The dam was constructed for the purposes of flood control, recreation, water supply, and hydroelectric power generation, and the COE operates several recreation areas on the lake's shore.  The lake is named for the Tenkiller family, a prominent Cherokee family who sold the land and ferry that now lie under the lake.

            Tenkiller State Park is located on the east shore of its namesake lake near the dam.  The park opened in 1953, and it has many nice amenities including a scuba diving area, many athletic fields and courts, the usual aquatic recreation on Tenkiller Ferry Lake, 39 cabins, and a developed campground.  For hikers, the park offers only two short trails, and the one described here is a somewhat unexciting asphalt trail that spends most of its time in the developed area of the park.  That said, there are some interesting things to see on this trail.  Also, the asphalt can be welcome: I had a good hike here at the end of a very wet and rainy day when the other trail was too wet and muddy for pleasant hiking.

Trailhead near park office

            The trail starts at the north side of the parking lot in front of the park office; look for the small white sign that says "Whispering Leaves Trail."  The dirt Lakeview Trail quickly exits left; angle right to stay on the asphalt.  Perhaps surprisingly, the asphalt path curves right and crosses the park road you drove in on before descending slightly into a narrow strip of woods.  After passing behind the park's Nature Center, the trail traces around a sunny mowed grass area with a beautiful stone picnic shelter to the left.  Structures such as this shelter are usually only found in parks dating to the 1930's, so appreciate the existence of this picnic shelter here.

Stone picnic shelter

            Next you pass the east end of the park's cabin area before crossing a small bridge near a small pond.  This pond was nearly empty of water on my visit, and I suspect it completely evaporates during dry spells.  At 0.4 miles, you reach a trail intersection.  We will take the asphalt trail going left eventually, but for now continue straight to head for the overlook area.

Small pond

            The trail curves right and passes through the park's disc golf course before it splits to form its short loop through the overlook area.  I chose to turn right, and I quickly descended to reach a bench that overlooks Tenkiller Dam.  This overlook was becoming quite overgrown on my visit, but I could still see the dam and a cliff on the other side of Tenkiller Ferry Lake.

Tenkiller Dam

            After finishing the loop, retrace your steps to the previous trail intersection and turn right.  After crossing the main park road, you need to angle left and walk a short distance through the grass to get to the campground access road, where the asphalt trail continues.  Next you walk between a basketball court and a volleyball court before starting a short loop through a picnic area.

Approaching the park road

            Upon completing the picnic area loop, walk back to the park office to complete the hike, either by walking around the Nature Center and retracing your steps or by walking along the park road.  While you are here, be sure to check out the scuba diving area.  Not only is a scuba diving area unusual for a land-locked state such as Oklahoma, but it also provides nice views across deep water in Tenkiller Ferry Lake.