Oklahoma
How the natural beauty of Oklahoma state parks you enjoy today was preserved decades ago
With nearly 40 state parks in Oklahoma today, there are wonderful places in natural settings where you can still get away and take in the outdoors.
In 1937, Oklahoma was celebrating its eight new state parks, planning guided tours by the state park commission and National Park Service. It would be an introduction for visitors to learn more about each of the parks’ unique features.
Beginning in April that year, there would be a new park featured each weekend, beginning with Beavers Bend State Park, as reported in The Daily Oklahoman:
Scenery such as many Oklahomans do not know exists in the state will be seen when the first April tour is conducted through Beavers Bend park in McCurtain County in extreme southeastern Oklahoma. Wild flowers will be in bloom then.
Specialists in natural history, drawn from the national park service personnel in the Oklahoma City regional office, will serve as guides. They will interpret the various natural features of the parks, identifying species of wildflowers, trees, and geological formations.
The new parks and their locations included Quartz Mountain, Lugert; Boiling Springs, Woodward; Robbers Cave, Wilburton; Beavers Bend, Broken Bow; Roman Nose, Watonga; Spavinaw Hills, Salina; Osage Hills, Pawhuska; and Lake Murray, near Ardmore.
The Daily Oklahoman’s readers were told to watch the newspaper for more details coming soon that would reveal exact dates for each guided tour. But in the meantime, instructions were given that included a glimpse of what people would experience:
Visitors will drive to the parks in their own cars where they will be met by the guides. The picnic facilities include running water, fireplaces, combination table and bench units, comfort stations and parking space for automobiles. The tour through the woodlands, past the waterfalls and over the streams will be on foot.
In March 1937, the complete dates for the “Sunday outings” were announced, beginning with the Beavers Bend tour on April 11 and ending with Spavinaw Hills on May 23:
Covering more than 30,000 acres, these eight parks are situated in the most interesting natural areas in Oklahoma. Set aside for the free use of all the people, the areas are being preserved in their natural state. The civil conservation corps is confining its development to making the parks accessible with roads, trails, picnic facilities, comfort stations, campsite. In several parks facilities for boating, swimming and fishing have been provided.
The conducted tours have been arranged to give Oklahomans an opportunity to become better acquainted with Oklahoma’s wildflowers, birds, trees, small mammals and geological formations.
If you visit Oklahoma’s state parks this spring, take note of your surroundings — the streams, trees, rocks, waterfalls, animals — and how actions taken almost 90 years ago helped preserve the natural experiences you can enjoy today.