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:

On The Go Map

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.

Sequoyah State Park: Fossil/Fitness Loop (Blog Hike #945)

Trails: Fossil, Fort Gibson, Fitness Trails
Hike Location: Sequoyah State Park
Geographic Location: east of Wagoner, OK (35.89644, -95.24145)
Length: 1.9 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: April 2023
Overview: A loop hike featuring fossils along and views of Fort Gibson Lake.
Park Information: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/sequoyah-state-park
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of SR 51 and SR 16 on the east side of Wagoner, take SR 51 east 7.2 miles to the entrance for Sequoyah State Park on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and drive the main park road 2.8 miles to the Three Forks Nature Center.  Park in the parking lot across the street from the front of the Nature Center.

The hike: Located on a narrow peninsula jutting south into Fort Gibson Lake, 2200 acre Sequoyah State Park began its life in 1948 as Western Hills State Park.  The park offers fantastic amenities including swimming, fishing, and boating on Fort Gibson Lake, a short 9 hole golf course, a group camp, 10 cabins, and multiple developed campgrounds.  Perhaps the park's best amenity is its Lodge at Sequoyah State Park, which is the largest state park lodge in Oklahoma.

            For hikers, the park offers 12 miles of hiking trails that wind throughout the park.  Many routes long and short through the trail system are possible, but I came here on a Tuesday morning with rain closing in from the west.  Thus, I needed to keep my hike short.  The route described here meets my distance criterion, but it also passes some of the most interesting and scenic points in the trail system.

Start of Fossil Trail near Nature Center

            Start to the left (east) of the Nature Center, where a sign directs you to the Fossil Trail.  Marked with orange rectangular paint blazes, the single-track dirt trail descends to reach an intersection with the Three Forks Trail, which goes left.  Angle right to keep following the Fossil Trail.

Descending on the Fossil Trail

            The Fossil Trail becomes very rocky as it gets close to the shore of Fort Gibson Lake, but these rocks are the ones that contain the fossils.  You will need to look carefully and have some idea what you are looking for in order to find the fossils: they are small, and none of them are specifically marked or labeled.  The rockiness also makes footing difficult, so make sure you watch where you step as you hike and look for fossils.

End of Fossil Trail near lodge

            Keep heading south with the lake on your left, and at 0.6 miles you reach the end of the Fossil Trail.  To continue the hike, turn right, walk through the parking lot in front of the Lodge at Sequoyah State Park, then turn left to walk past the lodge entrance.  Descending slightly on a concrete path called the Fort Gibson Trail brings you to Inspiration Point, which sits on the very southern tip of the peninsula that contains this park.  While the lake views from this Inspiration Point are quite nice, most viewpoints named Inspiration Point offer more to see than just a lake.  I did see many small birds in this area, and some benches and tables here make for nice places to sit, rest, and have a snack near the midpoint of this hike.

Inspiration Point

View from Inspiration Point

            Retrace your steps back past the lodge entrance, then look to the left for the start of the Fitness Trail.  Although the asphalt Fitness Trail does not make for the most inspiring hiking, you have to get back to the Nature Center somehow, and this option beats retracing your steps on the Fossil Trail or walking along the park road.  Some fitness stations challenge you to do more than just hike on this trail, and the gradual uphill might get your heart going as well.  As you pass the golf course on the left, the Nature Center comes into view across the park road to the right, indicating the end of the hike.  If you have more time in this area, check out similarly-named Sequoyah Bay State Park and its 5 Nations Monument across the lake to the west.