Red Rock Canyon State Park, Hinton, Oklahoma

If you have done any extensive research on Red Rock Canyon State Park in Hinton, Oklahoma, you may have found a few posts about the steep and windy road going in and out of the park. I had booked our stay before coming across these posts and only found out the road after searching further about the campground's amenities on our drive to the park. With only a few hours until our arrival, I stumbled across blog posts in various RV forums that warned RVers (especially those over 30 feet) of the road with hairpin turns, S turns, steep grades, and tight curves. I began to panic. I found a couple of video posts on YouTube. After watching the first post, I thought, "These people are over exaggerating." After the second video post, I was a wreck. I warned my hubby that maybe we should reconsider and go to our beloved RV park that we have visited many times in Oklahoma City, Twin Fountains RV Resort. He however reminded me that if the state park website had no warnings about the road and the campground accommodates 40+ foot rigs, then there was nothing to worry about. Well,
we pressed on. Upon our arrival, I went into the park office. My concerns were only half out of my mouth when the helpful woman behind the counter assured me that we would be fine in our 35 footer. She also informed me that a forty footer had just made the descent. So, armed with such words of encouragement, we carefully approached the rim, only glancing at the warning signs of the steep and curvy road ahead. DO NOT LET THIS ROAD DETER YOU FROM STAYING AT THIS PARK! No sooner had we made it through the two curves, and we were at the bottom of the canyon. The road itself is S shaped and is steep, but it is definitely manageable as long as you go slowly and cautiously. At the bottom of the canyon you will find yourself driving along beautiful red sandstone walls of the canyon. Rappelling is popular here and you might be lucky enough to find yourself admiring the skills of those brave enough to go up or down the 200 foot cliffs. The campground is broken into three smaller campground loops. All three are along the canyon, offer beautiful views, and are fairly lush considering you are in Oklahoma. All sites pads are either grass, gravel, or cement. Sites are mostly back in with a few pull thrus in the California Road section, and have picnic tables and fire rings. If rappelling is not your style, a swimming pool is available during summer months to stay cool. During the fall, the canyon's trees turn golden. There are two campgrounds, group camps, picnic shelters, a fishing pond, and several hiking trails. We hiked the California Trail, which is a section of the actual California Trail that pioneers drove their wagons on to head west. Pioneer wagon ruts are still visible on some sections of the trail. Pioneer travelers used the canyon as a respite from the all too familiar winds of the Oklahoma plains and a place to get water and rest for a few days. Summer temperatures here are hot, but fortunately electric and water hookups at all RV sites help keep you cool and hydrated.

Location
Best Sites: Walnut Grove sites
Poor Sites: None
Hookups: Electric & Water
Potable Water: Yes
Dump Within Facility: Yes