We previously did an article on the 2024 solar eclipse for the Oklahoma state parks, and figure that there is an amazing opportunity for mapping those state parks to their Bortle Scale values. With the help of https://www.lightpollutionmap.info, we created the following table to provide information about the entire state parks for Oklahoma in regards to light pollution and astronomy.
Item | How Many |
Number Of State Parks | 39 |
Number of Different Bortle Scales | 6 |
Level 1 Bortle Scale State Parks | 1 |
Level 2 Bortle Scale State Parks | 5 |
Level 3 Bortle Scale State Parks | 9 |
Level 4 Bortle Scale State Parks | 23 |
Level 5 Bortle Scale State Parks | 1 |
Using the 2024 solar eclipse map, we had a great start to knowing the state parks, so we just added in the light pollution information. Here is some camping information for these state parks. The darkest state part is Black Mesa State Park, which is a Bortle Scale 1, some of the darkest skies that one could find.
Park | Number Of Spots | Spot Breakdown |
Spavinaw Area at Grand Lake State Park | 101 sites | 26 spacious semi-modern (30-amp) RV sites and 75 tent sites |
Boiling Springs State Park | Several Spots | Several Tents and Cabins and RV campsites |
Quartz Mountain State Park | ~ 208 spots | nearly 100 primitive and 100 RV sites, and 8 cabins |
Sequoyah Bay State Park | 151 sites | 71 semi-modern RV sites with water and 30 or 50-amp electric hook-ups and 180 regular tent sites |
Salt Plains State Park | 165 sites | 6 cabins, 64 RV sites and 95 tent sites |
Beavers Bend State Park | 490 sites | 47 cabins with kitchenettes, plus 393 campsites and over 50 tent sites, and 40-room Lakeview Lodge |
Foss State Park | 145 sites | 103 tent sites, 45 other, |
Great Plains State Park | 86 sites | 56 RV hookups and 30 tent sites |
Keystone State Park | 176 total sites | 22 cabins and RVs and primitive camping having 154 sites in three campgrounds |
Little Blue Area at Grand Lake State Park | 30 spots | 30 primitive tent camping spots |
Little Sahara State Park | 300 sites | 214 RV sites with water and electric, 3 covered shelter areas with water and electric, and 83 tent sites |
Natural Falls State Park | 66 sites | 5 yurts, 44 RV campsites, and 17 tent sites |
Cherokee Landing State Park | 138 sites | 93 RV campsites, and 45 primitive campsites |
Bernice Area at Grand Lake State Park | 33 sites | 33 RV sites |
Talimena State Park | 17 sites | 10 RV sites, 7 tent campsites, and more. |
Lake Thunderbird State Park | 200+ sites | 200 RV sites and primitive tentsites. |
Tenkiller State Park | 38+ cabins | 38 cabins, RVs, and tentsites. |
Sequoyah State Park | 401 sites | 104 room lodge and 45 cottages. 3 RV campgrounds include 48 sites with water, sewer and electric and 80 sites with water and electric. The Seminole campground offers 20 modern and 20 semi-modern sites. The Choctaw Area has 24 modern sites, and the Cherokee Area has 60 semi-modern sites. |
Alabaster Caverns State Park | 10 sites | 10 campgrounds |
Cherokee Area at Grand Lake State Park | 119 sites | Cherokee Area–>15 RVs Lakeside— 12 RVs, and 15 Tents Grandview—4 RVs and 45 tents Riverside—27 primitive and 1 group shelter |
Fort Cobb State Park | 417 sites | 34 full-hookup RV sites, 5 cabins, 34 full-hookup sites, 245 sites, and 99 tent (primitive) sites |
Lake Eufaula State Park | 96+ yurts. | 3 yurts, 93 tent sites throughout the park, and RVs |
Lake Murray State Park | 577 sites | 32 lakeside guest rooms with private balconies and 56 park cabins, 3 seasonal sites, 321 RV sites, and 165 tent sites |
Arrowhead Area at Lake Eufaula State Park | 111 sites | 91 RV and tent sites, 20 RV sites have full hookups |
Clayton Lake State Park | 90+ sites | 30 reservable RV sites, 60 first come, first serve tent sites spread out between three camping areas, and cabins |
Osage Hills State Park | 51 sites | 20 RV sites, 23 tents, and 8 cabins |
Lake Wister State Park | 153 sites | 118 modern and semi-modern RV campsites, 20 tent sites, and 15 cabins. |
Twin Bridges Area at Grand Lake State Park | 163 sites | 100 regular tent sites and 63 hooks up for RV campers |
McGee Creek State Park | 49 sites | 25 pads, 16 campsites, and 8 lake huts |
Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve | 25+ sites | 25 RV sites with water and electricity, as well as primitive tent campsites |
Lake Texoma State Park | 289 sites | 88 water, sewer and electric (modern) RV sites, and 41 (semi-modern) RV sites with water and electric, and 160 tent sites are available. |
Robbers Cave State Park | 226 sites | 26 non-smoking cabins, 22 RV sites with water, sewer and electric-full hookups (modern) and 92 (semi-modern) sites with water and electric hookups and 86 primitive tent campsites are along secluded trails |
Greenleaf State Park | 216 sites | 16 cabins, 100 RV campsites, and 100 tent campsites |
Honey Creek Area at Grand Lake State Park | 149 sites | 49 RV sites, and 100 tent sites. |
Roman Nose State Park | 101 sites | 12 water, sewer and electric full-hookup (modern) RV sites, 34 (semi-modern) sites with water and electric or 33 tent sites, and 22-room lodge |
Raymond Gary State Park | 119 sites | 10 RV sites with full hookups, 9 sites with water and electric hookups and approximately 100 tent sites. |
Map
Here is a show of the colors of the markers, to know how to read the map.
Color | Bortle Scale |
Black | Level 1 |
Dark Purple | Level 2 |
Blue | Level 3 |
Green | Level 4 |
Yellow | Level 5 |
To learn more about the Bortle Scale, check out this article. The Oklahoma State Parks official website can be found here.
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