Honey Creek State Park, Grove, Oklahoma
Dates we camped there: June 19 – 26, 2020
Website: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/3617
What we Paid: $210.00 for the 7 nights, $30.00 per night. They were water and 50 amp electric.
Reservations: Yes, they take reservations through the State of Oklahoma Website, they accept same day reservations. We booked 30 days in advance.
You pay online at the time of reservations. There are no extra fees for boats or vehicles when you reserve a site. Oklahoma has started a parking pass program as of June 15, 2020, where it costs $10.00 per vehicle per day or $60.00 for the year. We did not need one because one comes with the site for one vehicle. Morgan came with us and she had to buy the parking pass, she bought a $60 pass for the year, it is good for one year from the day you buy it. There are three state parks on the lake; Honey Creek, Bernice and the Cherokee Area. We stayed in Area B at Honey Creek State Park.
Who we went with: 1 other couple: (Lisa and Todd) in their RV. Morgan came and stayed with us for 3 nights as well.
The Drive down: Since Mitch is retired and I am semi-retried we headed out about 2PM on Friday due to the rains that had come in that morning, we had to drive a bit in the rain, but about ½ down the Turner Turnpike it stopped and it was dry the rest of the trip. It took about 3 ½ hours to drive to the park, we took the turnpikes most of the way which cost us at least $40 in turnpike fees each way. We went around Tulsa to avoid the downtown area and drove the route through Jenks and Broken Arrow, it was an easy drive as far as traffic goes. Lisa and Todd were just ahead of us a bit. We took the RV and the boat, so we had a long train to pull.
The Sites: The sites we stayed in were in Area B Site 8 (Fonda & Mitch) and 9 (Todd & Lisa). This sites are backin sites with water and 50AMP on the back side of the RV. Did not need to use any extensions to reach either one. The sites are pretty close together, but still enough room…they back up to the woods, so no neighbors behind you and a beautiful view of the trees and lake. Each site had a picnic table (wooden), Grill and fire pit. If you pulled your RV all the way to the back of Site 9 you would not be able to put out your awning as there was a tree in the way. There was a stump in the way of Site 8, so no extra room to park the boat, the boat had to be parked on Todd and Lisa’s site on Site 9. There were plenty of trees to hang the hammock.
Restrooms/Bathhouses: There were two restrooms with showers within walking distance of the sites. They are a single shower and single toilet in each the men’s and women’s. The showers in the bathrooms closest to the site were not very good, the shower heads were just a gush of water in the women’s and pin pricks in the men’s, however the showers closer to Area A were very nice. We used our outdoor shower on this trip since there were 3 of us and we didn’t have sewer hookup. It worked out nicely, we took all but two showers each outside so we wouldn’t fill up the tanks. Cody and Morgan had bought me a new waterproof lantern for Mother’s Day that worked perfectly in the shower, just enough light to shower but not too much to let others be able to see your outline! We took robes which made it easier to shower outside and then dry off and slip on the robe to go to the trailer. We thought we wouldn’t like the shower being on the front of the trailer (as most we have seen the showers are on the back), but we ended up loving it, felt more private than in someone else’s front yard. Mitch had bought an extra thick door mat to put in the bottom so we would have something to stand on.
Geocaches/Wizards Unite: No geocaches in the park, however there are two green houses for the Wizard Unite game and there were tons of foundables, ingredients and spell energy all over the park.
Swimming: There was no swimming beach in the park as the water front is very rocky and steep, however there is a very nice pool. It was only open Wednesday – Sunday when we were there and due to the COVID they were open for 1 ½ hours then closed for 30 minutes to sanitize three times a day. The times were posted on the pool door. There was not a life guard on duty, you swim at your own risk. There are showers and restrooms in the pool area and an additional set of restrooms outside the pool area. You can easily walk to the pool from anywhere in the park. There is a very nice playground for the kids right next to the pool.
Boating/Fishing: Mitch brought his bass boat and fished with Todd each morning and one evening, they caught one or two each day. On Wednesday they hired a guide and limited out on catfish. There are several guides in the area. The boat ramp was a challenge (watch video for that), it is very steep and drops off in the water. The lake does allow skiing and jet skis. There is a fishing dock in the park and a fish cleaning station.
Wildlife: We saw quite a few squirrels and one raccoon that was tenacious and kept trying to get on the table. There were birds and surprisingly we saw lightening bugs each evening, was quite a treat.
Weather: The weather was very nice, only one day we didn’t have a breeze and it got humid and sticky. The temperature was in the 80’s and low 90’s during the day and 60’s at night. We were able to run both air conditioners and kept it very cold in the RV.
On Saturday, Morgan came down and all 5 of us went to a stained glass window making class at the Har Ber Village, it was a 3 hour class and was very fun, we learned allot and made allot of mistakes, but they turned out beautiful all the same. They have different classes and events, they all looked like fun and were fairly reasonable. Check out their website!
On Sunday, we went to the Har Ber Village Museum (https://har-bervillage.com/), it was probably one of my favorite things. We spent several hours touring, there was a broom maker and blacksmith demonstrations while we were there. I bought a couple of cast iron scrubbers from the broom maker while we were there and the gift shop had some cute things, found some things for the grandkids and a dutch oven cookbook for myself. The museum was mainly outside, it was very well done, in that you had a map and the signage was very good, you would go from one building or log cabin to the next and each had a theme with old things displayed. Example: A Doctor Office, A Seamstress, A family cabin, etc. there were over 100 displays. In addition, it is right on the lake so the view of the lake is beautiful. They have a small café onsite, we ate there, the food was very good and the iced tea hit the spot as it was getting warm by the time we got to lunch. We got there at 9AM when they opened and left around 2PM.
On Monday, we drove around and explored the other parks on the lake and looked at the Dam, it is very impressive. We also drove down to Natural Fall State Park which is about an hour away, mainly because we had heard so much about it and we have reservations for September and wanted to check it out. It is beautiful. The walk to the falls were easy and beautiful. They charged us $5 to go in and checkout the sites and walk to the falls. They had a very nice disc golf course. Can’t wait to go back in September. We ate lunch at Pistol Pat’s Diner in Jay, Oklahoma. We love stopping at little places recommended by Trip Advisor. It didn’t disappoint. Had the Burger and Onion Rings, the burger was very good. The onion rings were not homemade, but were still good. Here is my Review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g51433-d19850842-r757959962-Pistol_Pat_s_Family_Diner-Jay_Oklahoma.html
On Tuesday, we went to play golf at Quail Ridge Golf Course (Previously Cherokee Grove Golf Club) in Grove, Oklahoma. It was a small 9 hole course that had some big terrain changes that were fun. It was in a housing edition, so not ending up in someone’s flower bed or window was a concern. There was no website that we could find, but you can google it and find an address and phone number. No tee times were required, you just showed up. The cost was $15 per person for green fees and $5 per person for cart rental. We got there about 9AM and left about 11:00 AM, we played 9 holes. It was a beautiful course and for the money you couldn’t beat it. We ate lunch at Goodfella’s Pizza (http://goodfellapizza.com/), we ate inside, the pizza was very good, I would recommend eating here.
On Wednesday, Mitch and Todd went fishing with a guide and limited out on catfish. It was a 5 hour fish. 6AM – 11AM. They were able to clean the fish at the fish cleaning station near the boat ramp and fishing dock.
On Thursday, Mitch and Todd fished in the morning and we drove to Miami to go to the Coleman Theatre (http://www.colemantheatre.org/), we had to register for a tour due to the Covid, they were limiting the number in each tour. It was very beautiful and a fascinating tour…learned allot about the Coleman family. While we were close we went to Picher Oklahoma where they had to evacuate due to ground water poisoning. That was a fascinating story as well, here is a link to more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma. We also stopped by Micky Mantel’s boyhood home in Commerce Oklahoma right outside of Miami, it was really nothing, just a locked up house and an old shed that was falling down. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/home-of-mickey-mantle.
Pros about the campsites: They are very shaded, they are 50amp! The pool was amazing, made up for the fact there is no swimming beach. We didn’t have trouble with bugs, we put on bug spray and lit the tiki torches each night and I only ended up with one tick and 1 mosquito bite. The squirrels were fun to watch each morning and evening. There were plenty of trees to hang the hammock. All the trees!! Plenty of shade! It was close to town, like maybe 2 miles to the Walmart.
Cons about the campsites: Because of all the trees, you didn’t get a good view of the lake from the campsites, just a peak through the trees.
Detailed Review of Area B Campsite Video:
Honey Creek State Park Overview Video: