Cherokee Area at Grand Lake State Park, Oklahoma, United States

2Geem F 5:00 PM Apr 10, 2022

Another great recreational area ruined by noise on weekends from March through September
This is a beautiful river area just below the Pensacola Dam at the south end of Grand Lake of the Cherokees. Unfortunately, the weekend experience is pretty much ruined by the noise of "rock crawlers" and Razrs and large pickup trucks revving their engines and blasting through the area at all hours of the night. The posted quiet hours begin at 11 PM but there is no respite from sunset until sunrise (which is when the next round of boats and fishermen - who pay nothing for use of the park - will arrive and make more noise). I cannot recommend the area at all for tent campers for that reason. There are also a lot of people fishing there who don't have to pay for "day" use of the park. They show up before dawn and only leave when the park service forces them to do so. They will walk through your campsite with impunity, park in the obvious spot for your coma-ground, and will utilize the campsites if nobody is already there. If forced to leave by the park service, they are still allowed to use a fishing area next to the campsites. They go away for a half hour and return as soon as the park employee is gone. The river itself is beautiful when fishermen aren't blasting through it with their 250hp outboards. My advice: Go Monday through Thursday if you want to camp overnight between February and October. Avoid holidays and the Big Meat Run which is a rock crawler festival in late March. Or just go during the day and kayak in the small river branch on the south side of the Riverside campground. Better yet, find another park somewhere else without the noise and obnoxious "day" visitors.