Government Shutdown Shutters Federal Parks and Campsites in Oklahoma

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

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Lake Eufaula visitors swim at a beach near Texanna, Okla.

Thousands of federal workers in Oklahoma face the prospect of furloughs and U.S. government services have been limited by the shutdown that began at midnight Oct. 1.

The shutdown also means national parks and many recreation areas at federally run lakes are closed. That means no camping, fishing, boating or swimming, at least at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facilities around lakes like Eufaula, Texoma and Tenkiller.

State and private campgrounds and parks are not impacted by the shutdown and are not closed.

But visitors will be turned away from federal controlled areas, according to the Corps, which released a statement explaining the situation.

Beginning Oct. 1, and continuing through the end of the shutdown … no new visitors will be allowed into, or reservations accepted for, Corps recreation facilities. Campers who are on site prior to the shutdown going into effect will be required to vacate campgrounds not later than 8 p.m. on Oct. 2.

Basically, pack out your trash and leave. That goes for anyone at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, too, and any other Corps operated park, recreation area, or wildlife refuge. Craig Day reports on NewsOn6.com visitors will be “told to leave immediately and entrances will be closed.”

Day spoke to Bill and Elaine Chaney, who visit Fort Gibson Lake often for extended stays. Bill says he’s too old to worry about Washington:

“…I don’t want to miss out on the fun, I’d come out here if I had to sneak in,” he said, laughing. “…I’m just about to turn 74 next week, I don’t have time to mess with those people in the White House.”

Elaine says a lot of full-time RVers like her and her husband won’t have anywhere to go. While that shouldn’t have a major impact on local economies in the short term, if the shutdown lasts for weeks or longer, communities that depend on tourism — especially in eastern Oklahoma could start to feel the impact.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story implied Oklahoma lakes controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were completely closed. In fact, these lakes can be accessed through the state and private parks and facilities surrounding them, which will not close.

The Oklahoma lakes run by the U.S. Corps of Engineers include:

• Arcadia Lake
• Arkansas River – Chouteau Lock and Dam
• Arkansas River – Newt Graham Pool
• Arkansas River – Robert S. Kerr Pool
• Arkansas River – W.D. Mayo Pool
• Arkansas River – Webbers Falls Pool
• Birch Lake
• Broken Bow Lake
• Canton Lake
• Copan Lake
• Eufaula Lake
• Fort Gibson Lake
• Fort Supply Lake
•  Great Salt Plains Lake
• Heyburn Lake
• Hugo Lake
• Hulah Lake
• John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake
• Kaw Lake
• Keystone Lake
• Lake Texoma
• Oologah Lake
• Optima Lake
• Pine Creek Lake
• Sardis Lake
• Skiatook Lake
• Tenkiller Ferry Lake
• Waurika Lake
• Wister Lake