Discover the most magical spots to pitch your tent or park your rig on your next Black Mesa State Park adventure.
The views are great from Oklahoma’s highest point.
Hidden away in the Oklahoma Panhandle, just minutes from the tri-state border of Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, Black Mesa State Park and its adjoining Nature Preserve sit at the wild frontier of the Rocky Mountains and the shortgrass prairie. Big views await at the top of the Mesa, Oklahoma’s highest point (almost 5,000 feet above sea level), but hikers can also explore ancient dinosaur tracks, admire black lava formations, and spot golden eagles, black bear, and bighorn sheep. Black Mesa State Campground has RV sites with full hookups, a group camp, and tent sites, some with lake views. Campers have easy access to Lake Carl Etling, but the big draw of an overnight stay is the excellent stargazing.
Black Mesa State Park is open year-round from 7am through 11pm for day visitors, and the campground stays open through winter. Summer is the most popular time to visit, and stargazers flock to the park in August to watch the annual Perseid meteor shower. Water levels at Lake Carl Etling can get extremely low in summer, so boating and fishing is best in winter and early spring.