🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Oklahoma City, OK
Lake Murray & the Arbuckle Foothills
Two days on Oklahoma's oldest and largest state park, tucked into the rolling southern edge of the Arbuckle uplift near Ardmore. Lake Murray is a clear, cove-fingered reservoir ringed by wooded hills, and its centerpiece is Tucker Tower — a castle-like stone observation tower on a granite point, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and now housing a small nature center. Day one is all lake: climbing the tower for the sweeping view, walking the shoreline trails, and swimming or paddling from a quiet cove. Day two swings through the historic railroad city of Ardmore and up into the ancient, rounded Arbuckle foothills — some of the oldest exposed rock on the continent — with an overlook toward the Lake of the Arbuckles before the drive home. A night at the lakeside Lake Murray Lodge anchors the trip. It is a relaxed, water-and-hills weekend that skips the crowds of Turner Falls entirely.
Day 1 — Tucker Tower & Lake Murray's coves and trailsDay 2 — Ardmore & the Arbuckle foothills overlook
Day 1 — Lake Murray State Park, OK
Day 1 — Lake Murray State Park, OK
🚗 1 hr 50 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Oklahoma City, OK → Lake Murray State Park
1 hr 50 min8:00 AM → 9:50 AM
Tucker Tower Nature Center
★ 4.8Tucker Tower is the icon of Lake Murray — a squat, castle-like observation tower of native granite perched on a rocky point above the water, begun in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a would-be governor's retreat and finished as a public lookout. Inside is a small nature center with exhibits on the lake, local geology, and a chunk of the Lake Murray meteorite; a climb to the top rewards you with a sweeping view down the length of the reservoir and across the wooded Arbuckle foothills. It is the perfect orientation stop to start the trip and a good place to pick up trail and swimming-cove information from park staff. The point around the tower is also a fine spot to stretch your legs on the rocks above the water.
9:50 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Lake Murray Lodge Restaurant
★ 4.5The restaurant at Lake Murray Lodge offers a comfortable sit-down lunch with big windows over the water — a relaxed spot for burgers, catfish, and other Oklahoma lake-country standards before an afternoon on the trails. It is the most convenient full-service option inside the park, saving the drive into Ardmore. Sitting on the lodge grounds also lets you scope out where you'll be staying tonight and check in early if your room is ready.
10:50 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
Lake Murray Shoreline Trails & Swimming Cove
★ 4.6Lake Murray's 12,500-acre park is laced with shoreline and woodland trails that thread among the coves, and the afternoon is best spent walking a stretch of shoreline and cooling off in the clear water. The Buzzard's Roost and Anadarche trails offer easy-to-moderate walking through blackjack-oak woods with repeated lake views, while sandy swimming coves and the park marina let you swim, rent a kayak or paddleboard, or simply wade. The water is unusually clear for an Oklahoma lake, and quiet fingers of the reservoir are easy to find away from the busier day-use beaches. Bring water shoes for the rocky entries and keep an eye out for the park's roaming buffalo and longhorn near the tower road.
12:00 PM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🛏️
Lake Murray Lodge & Cabins
Lake Murray Lodge sits directly on the water within the state park and is the obvious base for the night, with lodge rooms, freestanding cabins, and an on-site restaurant. Booking here puts you on the lake for a sunset walk and an early start tomorrow without any driving. Cabins with lake views book up fast on summer weekends, so reserve ahead; if the lodge is full, the city of Ardmore fifteen minutes away has the usual range of chain hotels. Spend the evening on the lodge grounds watching the light fade over the reservoir.
Day 2 — Ardmore & the Arbuckle Foothills, OK
Day 2 — Ardmore & the Arbuckle Foothills, OK
🚗 2 hr 30 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Lake Murray State Park → Downtown Ardmore, OK
15 min8:00 AM → 8:15 AM
Historic Downtown Ardmore & Depot
★ 5Ardmore grew up as a Santa Fe Railway town, and its walkable historic downtown still centers on the restored 1917 Santa Fe depot and a strip of early-1900s brick storefronts now filled with coffee shops, antique stores, and small museums. It is a pleasant, low-key morning stroll — the Greater Southwest Historical Museum and the depot's railroad displays tell the story of the cotton, cattle, and oil booms that built the town. Grab a coffee, wander the blocks, and stretch your legs on pavement before heading up into the foothills. The downtown also has good bakeries and cafes for a light breakfast if you didn't eat at the lodge.
8:15 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
🚗
Drive
Ardmore, OK → Arbuckle Foothills / Lake of the Arbuckles area
35 min9:15 AM → 9:50 AM
🍽️ Lunch9:50 AM
🍽️
Roosevelt's, Ardmore
Before heading into the hills, grab a proper midday meal at one of Ardmore's well-regarded independent restaurants — a relaxed spot for a burger, salad, or plate lunch with local character rather than a highway chain. It is the last full-service option before the foothills, where dining thins to nothing, so eat well here. Ardmore's food scene punches above its size for a town this small, a legacy of its railroad and oil prosperity. Fill your water bottles for the afternoon overlook walk.
2 options · tap to switch
☀️
Afternoon
Lake of the Arbuckles Overlook & Foothills Walk
★ 4.6North of Ardmore the road climbs into the Arbuckle Mountains, an ancient, deeply eroded range whose rounded gray-and-tan ridges expose some of the oldest rock in North America — folded and tilted strata half a billion years old. An overlook toward the Lake of the Arbuckles, a clear reservoir cradled in the folds of the hills, gives a fine view over the foothills country, and short walks along the ridges pass tilted limestone outcrops and hardy blackjack oak. It is a quiet, geologically fascinating counterpoint to the busy waterfalls elsewhere in the range, with far fewer visitors. Watch your footing on the tilted rock ledges and carry water; there is no shade or services out here. This is the turnaround point before starting home.
12:00 PM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Arbuckle Foothills, OK → Oklahoma City, OK
1 hr 40 min5:00 PM → 6:40 PM
Plan your own escapeExplore more trips →