Surratt Campout ’26
THE SURRATT FAMILY CAMPOUT BEAVERS BEND STATE PARK · BROKEN BOW · OKLAHOMA
Five nights under the pines
OCT 13 – 18, 2026
3½ hrs
Drive from DFW
5
Nights camping
$160
Camping — paid ✓
GH025+26
Booked ✓ lakefront
75° / 51°
Typical Oct temps
—
Days until wheels roll
The trail register · write anything, everyone sees it

The Board

Requests, vetoes, hot takes, snack demands — pin it and the whole family sees it. This is how the petting zoo got on the list.

The pick

Why Beavers Bend

Of every state park within striking distance of home — Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana all considered — Beavers Bend won on all three things we wanted: real fishing, real hiking, and a real town to knock around in. It sits in the Ouachita foothills where the Lower Mountain Fork River comes ice-cold out of Broken Bow Lake, which is why trout live there year-round — the only place within a short drive of Dallas where that's true. And after last year's Hot Springs trip, this keeps us in the Ouachitas — same mountains, Oklahoma side, half the drive.

🎣

Trout, stocked weekly

The Lower Mountain Fork is a year-round trout stream — rainbows and browns, stocked regularly by the state, with fishable water right inside the park. Kids 17 and under fish free.

🥾

October woods

Pine ridges, river bluffs, and the start of fall color. Trails run from easy river strolls to the all-day Skyline Trail. Cool mornings, 70s by afternoon.

🍕

Hochatown nearby

Ten minutes from camp: the Hochatown strip — wood-fired pizza, a scenic train depot, ziplines, mini golf, fudge, and a petting zoo. A full "town day" without breaking camp.

Getting there

The Road North

About 190 miles door-to-tent. Northeast out of Dallas, across the Red River at Hugo, into the pines. Leave at 9, make camp by 2:30 with a proper lunch stop in the middle.

  1. DFW → Greenville — US-380 / I-30 E

    Gas up, coffee, road snacks. ~1 hour.

  2. Paris, Texas — lunch stop

    Halfway point. Eat downtown on the square, then the mandatory photo: the 65-foot Eiffel Tower wearing a cowboy hat.

  3. Hugo → Idabel, Oklahoma — US-271 / US-70

    Cross the Red River. Last big grocery run at the Idabel Walmart — ice, firewood-adjacent supplies, anything forgotten.

  4. Broken Bow → Beavers Bend — US-259 N

    Eight miles north of town, then four miles east on 259A down into the river valley. Check-in, claim the site, tent up.

Open route in Google Maps →
Day by day · preliminary v1

The Itinerary

This is the official plan. Anyone can suggest a change under any day — suggestions show up for everyone but nothing changes until Dad approves it. Approved changes appear on the day in green.

Tuesday · October 13 · Travel day

Get there, make camp

  • Leave the house by 9:00 — lunch + Eiffel Tower photo in Paris, TX
  • Idabel Walmart: groceries, ice, licenses if we didn’t buy online
  • Arrive ~2:30, set camp at the lakefront site, dogs on the tie-out, riverbank scout
  • Chili night (made at home, zero effort) + first campfire
Buy firewood in or near the park — don’t haul it from home.
Wednesday · October 14 · River day

Trout school

  • Dawn lines in the water — Evening Hole and Spillway Creek
  • Late morning: Forest Heritage Center museum (free, 8–5)
  • Afternoon: Beavers Bend Depot train ride ($12 each)
  • Golden-hour fishing till dusk, fajita night at camp
Thursday · October 15 · Trail & river day

Boots then boats

  • Morning bluff hike on the David Boren Trail — dogs come (leashed)
  • Afternoon kayak float, 2.5-mi shuttle run (~$65 for the fleet)
  • Trout dinner if the river paid up — brats standing by
Friday · October 16 · Town day

Hochatown spree

  • Dogs to Hidden Paws Ranch daycare by 9 — bring vaccination papers
  • Easy strip morning: Rescue petting zoo ($14 each) + the fudge factory
  • Afternoon: RZR 2–6 block — one parent + all three boys on the mountain trails ($415); other parent gets the shops and the wine tasting
  • Grateful Head pizza for dinner, grab the dogs before daycare closes
Go-karts, axe throwing, and the escape room stay on the menu — pick one if there's energy, don't stack all three. Lobby below to make one official.
Saturday · October 17 · Lake day

Derby & pontoon

  • Slow camp morning — pancakes, hammocks, and the fishing derby opens
  • Early afternoon: pontoon on Broken Bow Lake, 3 hours, dogs aboard (+$50 pet fee)
  • Golden-hour derby finals back at camp
  • Smash-burger finale + S’mores Championship — derby winner picks Sunday breakfast
Slingshot date idea: mom & dad sneak the 9–1 block while the boys run the derby — currently unofficial; lobby below if the votes are there.
Sunday · October 18 · Homeward

Break camp

  • Winner’s breakfast at Stevens Gap (opens 8am Sunday)
  • Camp down and packed by 10:30, one last river look
  • Home by mid-afternoon — showers, laundry, tall tales
Where we sleep

Base Camp

Done deal: two adjacent lakefront tent sites in the Grasshopper loop, on Broken Bow Lake. One tent per site, each with its own table and fire ring, water out the front flap — and plenty of room if the big brother and his girlfriend join (up to 6 people per site).

✓ Booked & paid — July 11, 2026

Sites GH025 + GH026 · Tue Oct 13 → Sun Oct 18, 2026 · 5 nights · $160 total, $0 balance. Both reservations confirmed on ReserveAmerica (confirmation numbers are in Dad's email — not posted here on purpose). Check-in from 5pm; free cancellation until 5 days before arrival. The dogs camp with us, leashed.

Campsite GH025 — lakefront tent site in the Grasshopper loop at Beavers Bend
Site GH025 — parents' tent
Campsite GH026 — lakefront tent site in the Grasshopper loop at Beavers Bend
Site GH026 — the boys' tent
✓ BOOKED · OUR CAMP

Grasshopper 025 + 026

Drive-up lakefront tent sites, side by side on Broken Bow Lake. Big-water sunsets and bank fishing at camp; the trout river is a 10-minute morning drive. One vehicle per site is covered — that's both cars.

STILL TO RESERVE · CHECK THEM OFF

The fill-up-fast list

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Shared — a check here is checked for everyone. Numbers also on the directory.

IF THE CREW GROWS

Big brother + girlfriend

They fit on our two sites (6 people per site allowed) — just add chairs and a tent. He'd need his own fishing license if he wants a line in the water ($26/day).

Manage the reservation ↗ Park info · TravelOK
The main event · full HQ on its own page

Fishing

Playbook № 1 · the river

Trout on the Mountain Fork

Licenses (Dad $81, boys free), the barbless rules, six holes, and rigs that clip on in 30 seconds.

River playbook → Playbook № 2 · pontoon day

Crappie on the lake

Straight-down Crappie 101, live minnows, standing timber, and the sonar that maps the brush piles.

Lake playbook → Know what you caught

The field guide & derby

Twelve fish mugshots with one telltale mark each — plus the Saturday Derby categories.

Field guide →
Trip week outlook

The Weather Desk

Runners-up

If We Pivot

Five researched alternates, each with its own full trip page — drive, campsites, verified availability, day-by-day, and prices.

1.5 hrs · verified open

Dinosaur Valley

Walk in real dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy riverbed, Fossil Rim safari, Glen Rose square.

Full plan → 5–5.5 hrs · the beach trip

Galveston Island

Tents behind the dunes, surf fishing the fall redfish run, Pleasure Pier & Moody Gardens.

Full plan → 4.5–5 hrs · verified open

Lake Ouachita

Peninsula tent sites on a 40,000-acre clear lake, 30 minutes from Hot Springs.

Full plan → 2 hrs · festival week

Tyler + Rose Festival

Camp under the pines, Texas Rose Festival downtown Oct 15–18, parade Saturday.

Full plan → 3 hrs · the bayou

Caddo Lake

Canoe trails through moss-hung cypress, tent-only Mill Pond loop, historic Jefferson.

Full plan →