“41 miles of shoreline”
Recreational opportunities at Great Salt Plains State Park include boating, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, mountain biking and exploring. The Great Salt Plains Lake is located at the park and covers 8,690 surface acres with 41 miles of shoreline and is a shallow, salty lake with fishing opportunities for catfish, saugeye, sandbass and hybrid striper. Personal watercraft are not recommended. The park has RV and tent sites, comfort stations with showers, cabins, picnic sites, group shelters, swimming beach, playgrounds, boat ramps, fishing dock and equestrian trails. Horse rental is not available. The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge sits adjacent to the park and offers great bird watching and fall foliage viewing opportunities. The refuge is the only spot in the world where crystal enthusiasts can dig for hourglass selenite crystals, a rare and fragile form of selenite, which is a form of gypsum. Digging times are available from April 1 through October 15.
Reviews of Great Salt Plains State Park
3 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
FYI, the salt flats are only accessible through the wildlife preserve. Follow the crystal digging signs. And they are seasonal, they close over the winter due to bird migration.
My husband and I loved this place. It was a perfect place to watch the Perseid meteor shower. There's a little something for everyone. Superb bird watching. Beautiful place to just relax and enjoy nature. You'll definitely want to return as often as you can.
Neat stop! Bring a shovel!
You have to enter the dig site through the city of Cherokee but just follow the signage. The best time to go is after a bit of a rain, you will see plenty of crystals on the surface. Bring your own tools there’s no tool rental because it’s free and be prepared to hike a mile down a salt road path to get to the dig site if it has been raining unless you have 4 wheel drive. The salt plains are beautiful, but if you want to see the picturesque white flats you need to go when it’s dry.
On the north side of the lake by the visitor’s center there’s a short, scenic self- guided auto tour. It’s worth a trip if you want to see birds and animals.
We stopped here in May 2018 while driving through the OK panhandle, searching for a picturesque spot to eat our picnic lunch. We were disappointed when we couldn't find the salt flats, but the lake was still a nice view. We'd stop here again.
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Great Salt Plains State Park
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Wheelchair Accessible
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