A great update by the Oklahoman on this area that is often overlooked in discussions here.

http://newsok.com/multimedia/video/4963622287001

My daughter was at camp this last Saturday so my 13 yr old son and I took her convertible joy riding. We ended up driving around the lake at one point and was shocked at all the activity on the lake. There paddleboards and kayaks everywhere as well as two floating swan boats. This was not only in the area of the riversports but also in another area where it looked like someone was operating a rental business/classes out of his box van.

The west side of the lake was not as active with just a couple of jet skis. They have also built a new play area and park on the north side that looked really nice.

Yes, those paddleboards are rented by an independent company on the north end of the east side of the lake.

The problem with that lake is it's all rocks all the way around, with only one boat ramp that I'm aware of.

It was not made for recreation and what there is now had to be more or less forced in.


It's shows how little the City has ever cared about recreation, as really it was only recently that even Lake Hefner received bike and running paths. I grew up nearby and for decades it was just muddy roads and weeds, right in the middle of what was then the 'best' part of town.

We will be trying to undo the poor planning and cheap decisions of City administration for generations and it's going to cost billions.

Credit where due...the trails draw bikers and walkers from all over and have for some time. Even more since Maps connected to the trail on the east side of the lake and extended it to the south. That new trail parking area off 10th has cars there frequently. Flat Tide is the business doing paddle board and yoga out of a box van. Paddling up Stinchcomb from the 66 bridge (or down the river from Yukon) has become a very big activity but it has a lot more to do with the popularity of kayaking in general, information about where to kayak spread through social media and word of mouth, promotion of kayaking by OKC Kayak including free social events, demo days at Lake Overholser and elsewhere, than anything Riversports has done. Most of the kayaks launched south of the bridge are personal kayaks, not rentals from Riversports. I'm glad Riversports is there. They do have activity going on, have cleaned up the old baithouse and added new activities, but they are not responsible for most of what goes on out there.

Yes, those paddleboards are rented by an independent company on the north end of the east side of the lake.

The problem with that lake is it's all rocks all the way around, with only one boat ramp that I'm aware of.

It was not made for recreation and what there is now had to be more or less forced in.


It's shows how little the City has ever cared about recreation, as really it was only recently that even Lake Hefner received bike and running paths. I grew up nearby and for decades it was just muddy roads and weeds, right in the middle of what was then the 'best' part of town.

We will be trying to undo the poor planning and cheap decisions of City administration for generations and it's going to cost billions.

There are 2 boat ramps, one on the East side near where OCPD has their little hut, and one right by the spillway on the South side. There are also a couple dirt ramps on the West side that I have used before to put a jetski in.

It's shows how little the City has ever cared about recreation, as really it was only recently that even Lake Hefner received bike and running paths.

Pete,
You are showing your age! I drove to work around the South side of Lake Hefner and the golf clubhouse and course and the paths were built in the mid 90's if I'm not mistaken. Of course, I'm old so I could easily be mistaken. Anyway, if I'm correct, they were built about 20 years ago. Twenty years is only "recently" for us old guys!
C. T.

There are 2 boat ramps, one on the East side near where OCPD has their little hut, and one right by the spillway on the South side. There are also a couple dirt ramps on the West side that I have used before to put a jetski in.

Thee used to be a concrete boat ramp on the west side of the lake, south of the fishing pier. Back in the late 80's early 90's, several of my friends who owned Jet Skis jet skis would launch from there. It has since been covered up by the installation of newer rip rap and other work done along the shoreline.

Pete,
You are showing your age! I drove to work around the South side of Lake Hefner and the golf clubhouse and course and the paths were built in the mid 90's if I'm not mistaken. Of course, I'm old so I could easily be mistaken. Anyway, if I'm correct, they were built about 20 years ago. Twenty years is only "recently" for us old guys!
C. T.

CT, this gives a little general information about the history of that area and the first golf course was built in 1951. The north course was built in 1994.

http://lakehefner.org/about-us/lake-hefner-reservation/