Roman Nose State Park

I guess because I went in off season, it wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be. I drove from Edmond to spend a last day with one of my dogs, which was about an hour and a half drive. Lake Watonga was dried up completely the hiking trails weren’t clearly marked, and finding the location of the natural springs seemed almost impossible. I spoke with a local and they said it used to be a much better park when you could access the springs. I also will say that credit where credit was due there are some picturesque things in the area. But the stables for the horses were pretty run down and filled with rocks and anyone with horses knows rocks are a horses worst enemy. The golf course would have been better off as nature preserves. The roads were poorly kept, it is really far out of the way. I also understand with funding for national parks getting cut that there have been sacrifices “needed” to be made, so I also keep that in mind. I would give it 4/10.

This is a very poor campground. Very narrow roads, sites aren't level at all. This campground is more for tent, scamp campers, small travel trailers, etc. The pull thru sites in Canyon Vista and Two Lakes are a joke. The general store was closed and lake was bone dry. Would not recommend this state park.

If you’re a big fan of golfing in the wilderness this is the place for you. If you were expecting a serene forest (by Ok standards) you might get that, the creek that comes out of a concrete hole in the rock; down a concrete path, because the natural route was removed, isn’t as “wilderness” as one would expect. It’s a good area to cruise through, but the golf course at the entrance and golf cart tracks everywhere really ruined the experience for us.

Beaver Dam Campground is nice with clean bathrooms and showers. There are picnic tables, fire rings, and grills. Both lakes at the park are still empty as the construction work continues on the dam. It would be nice if the park's website would provide information on trail closures and the dry lakes, due to construction. They do not provide a timeline for the lakes being reopened. Instead, it just mentions that the lakes are stocked with trout. The paddle boats on the lakeshore by the store are just sitting on dry ground. We even saw someone with a kayak on their vehicle expecting to get on the water, but obviously that wasn't happening. The General Store is open for small gifts, snacks, and toiletry items. The only hiking trail that is open is the ADA trail that leads to the lodge, then continues to Inspiration Point. The trail to the point, from the lodge, has steep ups and downs, we only made it about halfway, then turned back because the trail was too steep. We had perfect camping weather, and did get in 5 miles of hiking. Just wish we had been provided more information on the trail closures and dry lakes before we made reservations.

We made reservations for 3 nights. We get here and can’t find an office to check in at. Find our way to our campsite and start exploring. There is no lake to speak of, water is so low you see the ground and weeds. The beautiful waterfall in the picture, the road going to it has been closed. The pool, #1 you have to pay to use, #2 it is only open on the weekends, we are here mid week. Found the lodge and asked when you check in for camping, she said, oh you’re good. The restaurant wasn’t open either. The shower you have to purchase tokens for, and each token last 3 minutes. To say the least, we are extremely disappointed. The pictures show a beautiful lake, waterfall, pool and restaurant that we will not be able to Partake in. Oh yeah the general store was closed the day we arrived.