COE Campground in OK

Casinojunkie wrote:

tatest wrote:
Tulsa District COE operates three campgrounds on Hugo Lake, just east of Hugo.

You might check COE availability on the National Recreation Reservation System, this is an "iffy" time of year. In northern Oklahoma, most of the COE operated campgrounds on COE projects are closed Nov 1st through March 31st because operation depends on volunteer labor that moves on to warmer places for the winter. If there is a ranger stationed permanently at the facility, one small CG may be open close to the ranger station. But Hugo Lake is just far enough south that the season might be a month or two longer.

This is where it gets tricky. After the closing date, the NRRS will usually show all campsites as "not available" which really means not reservable. If there is a CG that is kept open year round, it will usually be operating non-reservable, so you have to call the project office or the district office to find out whether or not such a CG is open, and whether or not "first-come" sites are available. The latter, only the project office or ranger station might know.

There are often other campgrounds on COE lakes in the Tulsa District, operated by other entities, that stay open year round. Cities, counties, tribes and the state all operate facilities on various lakes in the Tulsa District. In your case, Hugo Lake State Park, on Hugo Lake, offers cabins and tent sites, but operates no RV campground.

Pat Mayes Lake, just east of US-271, just south of the Red River, may have a longer season. Also, there are several low-cost RV parks along US-271 between Powderly and Arthur City, serving overflow for Pat Mayes lake, hunters using the WMA outside the COE camping season, and snowbirds on their way south, as well as a good number of permanent residents (often TDY military families).

There is also RV camping at Cooper Lake State Park, on TX-19 south of Paris, but the one time I tried to pull in there during the winter season, I learned that the campgrounds were open only on weekends. That was probably a February. Check Texas State Parks for availability there.

I used to go through the area several times a year, traveling to and from Houston for medical care.

Thank you for the detailed information.
One question, is there a state fee to use the state CG's, for one night?

Oklahoma state parks (with maybe some resort park exceptions) do not charge entry fees, but there are fees to use the campsites. It varies with the park and the site, I've seen $4 to $18. I've known the rangers or hosts at some campgrounds to allow a senior discount for camping, especially off-season extended stays, but there is no generally policy.

My experience with Texas state parks has been camping fees in the $12 to $20 range for sites with RV facilities, and in that range I've never had a full hookup site. There are daily per-person entry fees at Texas state parks; if I'm going to use them at all, I will buy an annual pass.