Lake Texoma State Park (Blog Hike #1004)

Trail: (unnamed)
Hike Location: Lake Texoma State Park
Geographic Location: west of Durant, OK (33.98322, -96.62811)
Length: 1.7 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2024
Overview: An out-and-back along the shore of Lake Texoma.
Park Information: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/lake-texoma-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=956922
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming March 4, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: From Durant, take US 70 west 14.7 miles to the state park entrance, which is reached just after crossing an arm of Lake Texoma on a narrow bridge.  Turn left to enter the park, then immediately turn right to head for Ben's Campground.  Trailhead parking is at the south side of Ben's Campground; follow signs for "Hiking Trail."

The hike: With a surface area of 89,000 acres, Lake Texoma is the 12th largest reservoir built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.  The lake was formed in 1944 with the construction of the Dennison Dam on the Red River.  As its name implies, the lake straddles the Texas/Oklahoma state line, and more than 6 million visitors flock here each year for aquatic recreation.

            Consisting of 1882 acres, Lake Texoma State Park is the main recreation destination on the Oklahoma side of Lake Texoma.  The park used to be a great destination for fishing, swimming, and camping with some excellent trails, but these days the park seems rather neglected.  Several buildings lie vacant, many of the roads need resurfaced, and only 1 trail remains open to hikers.  That trail starts at Ben's Campground and ends in the middle of nowhere, and I chose to hike it mainly because it is the park's only real hiking option.

Ben's Campground trailhead

            At the south end of Ben's Campground, pick up the concrete trail that heads south with the lake on your left.  Signs tell you that this trail is this park's Heart Healthy Trail, and 0.2 miles of it are concrete and ADA-accessible.  At 0.1 miles, the single-track dirt hiking trail exits right.  The rest of the concrete trail leads to a nice view of Lake Texoma featuring Ben Campground's boat ramp, so you will want to hike the entire concrete trail either now or on your way back.

Lake Texoma view

            The dirt trail continues south, undulating slightly with the lake still on your left.  The forest goes back and forth between sunny, grassy savannahs and dense but stunted oak trees, so it is the typical scenery you would expect for the cross-timbers.  At 0.5 miles, you pass the south end of Lake Texoma's inlet and cross a creek on a nice wooden footbridge.

Crossing a creek

            Next comes the steepest climb on this hike, but the elevation gain is less than 100 vertical feet.  At 0.65 miles, I reached a point where the trail was blocked by orange tape.  Knowing the park boundary is nearby, I turned around here and retraced my steps to Ben's Campground.  Make sure you hike the rest of the concrete trail to the best lake view if you did not do so on your way out.