Best Cabin Camping near Lone Wolf, OK

Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area, Fort Sill, OK

Cabin 3 (both late June and mid-October)

Lake Elmer Thomas(LETRA) is a 334 acre lake located on Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma. LETRA offers a pretty nice location for recreating. Offering quite a bit for families in a limited space.                                                                                                            •A nice beach and cordoned swim area, complete with restrooms and shower house(11a-7p)…lifeguards                                                                                                          •Sand volleyball court                                                                                                             •Watersport rentals: paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, pontoon boat                                      •Mini golf course                                                                                                                         •Disc golf course                                                                                                                     •RV/Camper area                                                                                                                         •Rustic rental cabins                                                                                                                    •Random primitive tent camping                                                                                        •Fishing                                                                                                                                              •Nearby off-base hiking(Mount Scott and the Medicine Park Wildlife Refuge)              •Bicycling-ample quiet, paved road opportunities but surprisingly limited off road options 

Tent Camping: there are no specifically designated loop or numbered site tent areas. Tenters are permitted to camp all along the lake’s edge in the grassy area. There are a few picnic tables and elevated charcoal grills(no ground fires permitted), so you may have to do without. There are also a few picnic tables under shelters, but half are in a state of disrepair and caution-taped off. Tenters cannot set up tents within the cabin rental inner circle. 

The modern facility restrooms are across from the playground as you enter the cabin rental peninsula. Tent campers are able to utilize the shower house/restrooms in the RV/Camper section, as well as the beach areas during open hours. There is no ground cover to separate one tent from the next…all can be seen and heard. 

RV/Camper Sites: big rigs are lined up side by side in a separate gravel loop immediately to the left of the entrance. Sites have water and electric hookups. The nicest shower house/restroom is located there. There is a small patch of grass between sites, picnic table and elevated charcoal grill. These sites are closest to the entrance, beach area, watersport rental and campground activities. 

Cabin Rentals: log home rentals are on a small peninsula with great views of Mount Scott and Lake Elmer Thomas. At the time of this review, you must bring your own bedding linens/blankets, towels, etc. I would also recommend packing extra eating utensils, condiments and any other items that you would take camping. We rented Cabin 3, which the website says will sleep 4…inaccurate. One full size bed and a small futon will sleep two average-sized adults and one small child in marginal comfort. The table only provides two chairs, not four for two not four. I would subtract 1-2 persons on the cabins unless you count floor space. Cabin 3 was$80 nightly. 

Painted turtles are in abundance around the lake, as are smallish ‘fist-sized’ tarantulas. Bicycling the Artillary Range perimeter roadways on base, coyote dash across in early morning hours. Note: you are on a military base, so there are a number of restrictions that you need to be aware of and abide by. 

Additionally, the campground is positioned along the northern side of the Artillery range. Yes, you will see and hear C-Ram’s lighting up the sky randomly during the day and night hours, as well as other ordinance. I enjoyed the display and out-of-the-ordinary disruption. Think unanticipated fireworks.

This park was turned back over to the state in 2020 and is exactly how I remembered it from the 80’s. Tucked down in southwest Oklahoma in the Wichita Mountains, it’s a small park but has LOTS of options. There are RV and tent Campgrounds, cabins, a very modern lodge with 96 rooms, group pavilions, and a dormitory. There’s a full restaurant, ORV trails, hiking trails, a river and a lake. Something for everyone.

We stayed in the Mountain View campground which has concrete pads and didn’t have to level our rig at all. Electric and water and steps to the flush bathroom that has a shower in it. It backs up to the lake berm and has a view of one of the mountains. Not much cover but we didn’t need it as it was cloudy during our stay. LOTS of stickers. Beware especially if you have long haired dogs.

In our opinion after coming from a really great campground with everything you need, this park didnt really rate too high on our scale. However, others might think differently. It was a great.campground for fishing (we dont fish). There is a store near where we were staying that catered to those fisherman. Also had a kitchen with several items on their menu. Boat rental is available. The pull through site we reserved was not paved. There was a kiddie park right across from our site that had spider webs all over it. A downer for those in tents, you have to pay for showers. There were handicap rv site near restrooms. Some wildlife, bugs (something Ive never seen before flew on me and gave me a nasty bite) the sites are really close together and traffic is heavy. Roads are thin. Picnic tables and fire ring was available at our site. The pier was pretty nice and we enjoyed watching the geese. There is a dump station just outside the exit across the street from park office. No full hook ups on our site. There looked to be some really nice sites right off the water, overlooking the lake. Not much shade where we were at even though I reserved a spot with shade, it only covered about half of our rig.

Military CG on Fort Sill's base. Spent 5 weeks here. Scenery and base is beautiful. It's in the Wichita Mountains near Mt Scott and Medicine Park. Clean lake with paddle boat and kayak rentals. Mini golf, beach and water slides. Nice museum and Indian Cemetaries on base. Saw geese, fox, Coyotes, Buffalo, prairie dogs and rattle snakes. All sites are pull through and fairly level. Full hookups with 30 & 50 amp service. Laundry room with 4 washers & dryers, $1 (when working). There is also a laundrette by the Commissary. Didn't use showers or restroom but checked them out. Ladies room was very dated and needs a really good cleaning.
There are a lot of long term rvs. Some not stayed in by the owners the entire time we were there. We didn't have any issue getting the site we reserved as someone mentioned in a previous review. The staff was nice when we asked to change our site to one with a better view. Biggest con was absolutely no warning on their site that there is training going on all around the CG. If you have a Veteran with PTSD like I do prepare him/her that they shoot howitzer rounds at any given time. We had no clue and the 1st week there was a rough one for my DAV. Do not use Letra Gate. It's closed. Ignore GPS and go to Apache Gate. Better yet set GPS for Apache Gate. It's the quickest route and you won't have to drive through the busy base and narrow roads.

The Wichitas are (in my humble opinion), by far the best place to be in Oklahoma. When my boyfriend took me camping there (he's an OK native), I was pressed to the glass looking at the buffalo. AMAZING. So much wildlife (make sure you stop to see the prairie dogs), and the mountains are amazing. There is no bad place to camp here, just make sure you go for a hike!

We stayed here for one night on our way from Raton, NM to Devil’s Den State Park in AR. The campground was well staffed, clean, and signs clearly marking the entrances to the property and sites by number.

We stayed in pull-in site #59, which is paved. The site was perfectly level left to right and we barely dropped our tongue jack to level front to back. There is a laundry, playground, and dog park where the pups can run free off leash.

The coolest part of the campground is the store / office / bar, called “The Moose Knuckle Tavern” (lol). They have pizza, wings, burgers, a salad, and some apps. Call about 30 minutes ahead so you can place your order and not have to wait for your food. Also, plan your stay around not being here on a Sunday. The campground is in one of only 5 counties in Oklahoma that don’t allow alcohol sales on Sundays...lame.

Let’s face it– there are not a lot of camping options as you traverse your way across Oklahoma! We typically do not enjoy RV parks that are right on the highway and look for any place that might be unique (and quieter). Flying W Guest Ranch fits the bill. It is less than 10 miles off I40 between the small town of Sayre and the slightly larger one of Elk City. The ranch serves as a wedding venue and also, the Sayre Junior and Senior Prom was recently held there. There is a small western-themed town that includes a café. There were horses and I believe you could arrange a horseback ride, but we did not ask as we were passing through. 

There are eight RV sites accessed by a separate entrance about a half-mile walk or drive from the “town”, laid out in typical RV park style and they have water and electric hookups, but the sewer hookups appeared to be disabled. As Harvest Host members, we paid $10 but non-members pay $30. There are also two types of cottages; I did not inquire about them but their website indicates they are $100-$120 per night. An option is a sirloin steak dinner for $25, which my husband enjoyed while I was happy with a baked potato and salad for$5. You need to arrange for this in advance, but a few hours’ notice was sufficient when we were there. 

We were greeted warmly by the staff (Samantha and Burl, the owner). I believe this property is currently for sale and sadly, it is a little worn around the edges. My main reason for three stars instead of four is that the bathhouse did not have running water and it appeared it had not been in use for quite some time. This would make it more suitable for fully contained RVs but it was less optimal for us in our campervan.

 The KOA was easy to find, easy to check in. The cell signal was good (AT&T) and the wi-fi was acceptable - about 8 MB dl speed and 1 MB upload. I was a ways away from the main building - site #52.

 The restaurant / bar closed at 5 pm but it's February, so there's that. If you are looking for easy access and don't mind traffic noise it's fine. The sites aren't very large but plenty for my Jeep and Pop-up camper. They were nice and level.

 The showers / restroom was very clean. I didn't make use of the laundry facility.

Staff is very friendly and quick to help out. Nice pool!

We only spent one night at the Cottonwood Campground here and would go back in a heartbeat.  Sure, the facilities were old and buggy and I didn't even want to shower there, but the park has enough to keep me interested in coming back!

Nice 'heart healthy' trail off of Cottonwood that was about a mile long.  The park is huge and really needed to be explored more. Some great birding!

We stayed on site 7 at “Sandy Beach”

We had fantastic neighbors and a great view of the lake. 

Unfortunately the bathrooms/showers were the worst of our four stops on this journey. They were pretty bad. 

Additionally, our shoreline power went out overnight too. Thus, we leaned on the generator to get us through the 100 degree night.