Adventure abounds 2.5 miles east of I-35 on 15th street in Edmond. Here, the street ends and…read moreArcadia Lake begins. This 194 acre spot is one of the best kept secrets in the OKC metro area. A trip to Lake Arcadia can be a modest affair, staying in the car driving through the park around sunset, maybe walking out on the dock watching the sun fade away for the day, or it can be an all day adventure with boating and picnics and barbecues. Early on in 2020 we realized we needed to renew our park pass for Lake Arcadia as we could see this may be a loooong year (boy, we were right on the money). Eighty dollars will get a vehicle in the park for a year if you are an OKC resident. Edmond residents can buy a year park pass for a 20% discount per year (about $64 dollars). This gets you unlimited entry into the park. I'd highly recommend it. I've always said one of my most favorite parts of living in Oklahoma has been the celebration in the sky at the end of daylight ringing in that night is upon us. I'm not from Oklahoma and I will say that the sunsets here are second to none. This park, especially the dock facing west next to the boat ramp is one of my most favorite places to watch the relay of the daylight sun passing into the Southern Hemisphere. Just as dusk settles in wildlife really begin to peek out from the woods. If you have kiddos and can manage to work in a drive through Arcadia at dusk, they'd love to see all the deer (definitely deer), and maybe turkeys, cranes, eagles, scissor-tailed flycatchers, and hawks that come around when most of the all-day lake goers have left for the day. Treat yourself to a sunset here and learn why it's worth every bit of $80 to get to come here as often as you want. October 2020

I am so glad that Lake Arcadia exists! It serves as a perfect nature getaway for the weekend and…read moreit's practically in OKC's backyard. This particular part of the lake Arcadia park system is to the south west of the lake. Today, my infant son and I enjoyed the relatively new spring creek trail. This trail was so nice! It is a multi-use completely paved trail. It is wide enough for walkers to have their own designated lane as well as cyclists their own. Out and back this trail is a good easy 5 miles. It is amongst the trees with glimpses of the creek every. Ow and then. If you want to be a bit more adventurous, get off the beaten path. Yes, go explore those unpaved wild looking hiking trails that branch off from the path most taken. Although this trail is all I enjoyed today, there are many nice shaded picnic tables and grills that could make a great location for a get together. There is also a disc golf course here, although I'm not sure how often it is used. There were several people fishing in this area too. There are lots of ways this park can help you enjoy nature. What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Businesses like Flat Tide make me proud to be an Oklahoman. How many times have you heard, "there's…read morenothing to do here," from visitors? Now we locals can tell them, you must be thinking of Kansas. We've got Flat Tide! Flat Tide brings their truck of stand up paddle boards (SUP) to Lake Overholser every morning. They provide very cool classes on Intro SUP, Eco Tours, Yoga, and SUP boot camp. I bet you didn't know that Overholser has a network of streams to the north of the lake. There is so much cool stuff to see. It's very cool to go bird watching on a paddle board. The SUP boards are very easy to maneuver. You don't have to get into the water unless you want to. And you may want to! I stuck my legs off the board and splashed myself because it was getting hot doing a work out on the board. Melissa, owner of the Shape Project, taught the boot camp work it class. It was definitely a challenge. Just a warning to those who get motion sickness, you may want to be careful. I was a little dizzy by the time we started doing squats on the boards. You can rent the boards for $15/hour or participate in a class. Families can share boards, which I thought was awesome. You can get a large board and put you and a younger child on the board with you. Or a dog! I think I might bring my dog next time and see how he likes it. Flat Tide also provides life vests that come in fanny packs. (You pull the cord to inflate the vest in an emergency)

Flat Tide Rocks! I came to Flat Tide, having paddleboarded…read morebefore. I was expecting a normal, "Here you go come back in an hour", type of mood from the owners, Jason and Paige. Instead not only did they introduce me to everyone who worked there, they offered tips, instruction and even took me on a tour in the lake. Everyone there was extremely welcoming and friendly. Eric was another great guy who worked their and even gave me tips on how to improve my efficiency and speed when on the board. Not only are they great owners, but they are all genuine friends. If you have not paddle boarded before or just want to have a great time, I highly recommend FLAT TIDE! Also the SUP Yoga class taught by Kerry was FANTASTIC! We were all getting limber, hanging out and goofing off! I thoroughly enjoyed my time hanging out with this incredible group!

Lake Overholser offers a serene escape in Oklahoma City. The loop around the lake provides stunning…read morewater and prairie views, particularly at sunset. Trails are well-kept, shaded, and ideal for easy hikes. Picnic spots abound, and fishing yields decent catches like bass. Boat ramps cater to kayakers, though windy days can be challenging. The Overholser Dam is a highlight for photos. This underrated gem suits families or anyone seeking a peaceful nature outing. Highly recommended!

Love lake Overholser it's a great place to run, bike and walk. It is pretty clean and the views are…read morebeautiful. Very peaceful place to recreate!

The bathrooms are gross. Please at least buy a pressure washer to clean the floors. Reattach the…read moretoilets to the wall. Reinstall the soap dispensers. Refill the toilet paper.

Not everything about the lake is bad. Not everything about it is good either…read more The positives: lots of activities to do, great picnic and camping spots, pretty large in size, free and beautiful The negatives: water looks dirty, dead wildlife which I don't like to see Overall, more positives than negatives

this is a great park. lovely walking loop and well lit at night. nice views around of the city…read morelights.

It's nice having a place downtown where you can just walk around without feeling surrounded by…read moretraffic the whole time. Most evenings I'll do a lap around the lake, cross the Skydance Bridge, then find a bench for a few minutes before heading home. Watching the sunset with the skyline in the background is probably my favorite part.

Beautiful park. Well maintained trails and a great place to get away. Most Oklahoma state parks now…read morecharge fees, though.

Took a ride out here to check out the water levels with all the rain. You could tell where the…read morewater had breached the roads but it was down so all the main roads were passable. Once down to the marina area and several of the parking areas were underwater as were some of the camping areas. There were still people out enjoying things as the sun was out but more rain coming. This is a really nice area when it's full and lush with the water at normal levels.

We had a beautiful day renting a pontoon boat and enjoying the lake. This Marina had all the…read moreamenities and was clean. The boat rental was reasonable and the boat was practically new! We will visit again!

How much fun! Beautiful cove with friendly employees. If you're going to Lake Thunderbird…read moredefinitely stop by. They have pontoons for rent, everything you need in the store for a day at the lake and it's just peaceful there.

There's no fish in this lake ! Tell me I'm wrong. You can't catch a bluegill on a worm much less a…read morebass. STOCK IT WITH FISH PLEASE !!

I was looking for a park to just relax at until I had to go back to the airport to catch my flight…read more I had just stopped at Panera Bread to get some breakfast and I just wanted to sit by the water and enjoy my sandwich and coffee. I kind of got an odd feeling as I approached this park as it's directly across from a salvage/wrecking/towing yard that has a lot of busted vehicles lining the road and then the road leading up to the lake isn't really paved and a bit rocky. It doesn't take a 4-wheel drive or anything but just know there isn't really a road. I thought the road loops around but instead, it breaks off at a Y-intersection. I went to the right part of the Y and creepily enough there was an older model SUV parked at the end of the road blocking the entire roadway. The road ended in a cul-de-sac type grassy turn around area anyway so instead of continuing onward toward the SUV, I made a 3-point turn and headed back to the intersection. The SUV that was blocking the road obviously had camped overnight and had been there for a while. It looked like someone was living inside the SUV. I ventured onto the other side of the Y intersection and there was a lone man out on the dock fishing his heart out in the windy conditions and then another car off by the port-a-potty that also looked like it was being lived in. The lake does look quite beautiful and would probably be amazing on a warmer less windy day. There are signs that you can take out certain types of boats and there appears to be plenty of room to spread out on the docks if you want to fish. I read somewhere that the lake area had recently been cleaned up as a lot of people would go here to dump trash and mattresses or take part in illegal activities. This lake/recreation area didn't give me a positive vibe and I didn't feel quite safe here but maybe the feeling can change over time.