Broken Bow: Forest, Water and Wildlife

Discover Broken Bow through its nature, wildlife and culture. When planning your trip, it helps to know that the experiences come in different formats: Beavers Bend State Park offers river rides and a long hiking trail, while museums, animal exhibits and ride options each have their own focus. If you’re looking for a hotel in Broken Bow, these differences can help you plan your trip around the topics that interest you most.

Forest and water at Beavers Bend State Park

Beavers Bend State Park in Broken Bow lies on the shores of Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River. Activities in the park include river rides; it also encompasses the 26-mile David Boren Hiking Trail. The two options offer different experiences: the river ride takes you along the river, while the trail offers an extended route on foot. When choosing, you can first decide between an activity on the water and a long hiking trail.

Observe and learn about animals

The Beavers Bend Wildlife Museum is about native and African animals, presented in different ways. The museum provides information about the natural ranges and eating habits of native animals, features eleven dioramas depicting wildlife habitats, and includes exhibits about African animals. Habitats, ranges and diets are presented alongside other animal exhibits. At the Small Animal Walkabout, visitors can feed selected animals and see animals up close. Here, direct encounters take center stage. The Beavers Bend Safari Park offers a 1.8-mile safari route that visitors drive along by car. The three formats therefore have different emphases: information and exhibits, encounters with animals, or a drive along a safari route.

Culture and forestry

The Forest Heritage Center is a circular museum that displays antique forestry tools. Its architectural design is distinctive in its own right; the tools add historical forestry artifacts to the visit. At the Gardner Mansion & Museum, you can explore local culture. This adds another cultural perspective alongside the Forest Heritage Center’s focus on forestry. The Kiamichi Owa-Chito Festival is an annual event for visitors to Broken Bow. If you’d like to include the festival in your trip, check the dates for your travel year.

Compare a train ride and a horseback ride

Beavers Bend Depot offers rides on a one-third-scale replica of the C.P. Huntington S.P. train built in 1863. The train ride passes through a natural forest area to Wahoo Hill in Beavers Bend State Park. The stables at Beavers Bend Depot also offer a one-hour horseback ride covering 2.5 miles of scenic terrain. Both the duration and distance of the horseback ride are specified, giving you a concrete timeframe and distance to use for comparison. The train ride, by contrast, focuses on the journey through the forest area and its named destination. This makes it easy to compare the options based on their different key details and experiences.

Discover more destinations: Idabel, Valliant

See the overview of destinations in the wider area: McCurtain County.