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Headin’ West Interstate 35 bisects the state with a greener, hillier, wetter landscape on the east side and drier, fl atter plains on the west. The four largest lakes in western Oklahoma are Waurika, Foss, Great Salt Plains and Canton. Waurika, the larg- est, offers basic amenities—fi shing, boat ramps, picnic facilities, hiking trails and swimming beach—but no boat rental facilities.


Foss Lake has a state park with 17 miles of multi-purpose trail, boat ramps, camping and RVing spots, boat rental at the marina and a restaurant open dur- ing the busy season. There’s a small herd of buffalo here and the Washita Na- tional Wildlife Refuge provides good bird watching during migration periods. Canton Lake draws visitors from northwest Oklahoma, southwest Okla- homa, south Kansas and the Texas panhandle. One of the big attractions is its annual Walleye Rodeo—this year May 17 – 20. Last year’s largest fi sh—8.03 pounds. The lake’s many sandy beaches also make it popular with swimmers. Salty, shallow Great Salt Plains Lake attracts visitors more for birding than


fi shing. It’s also the site of the best dirty, clean fun around—digging for the unique selenite crystals which “grow” there. Great Salt Plains State Park has facilities for hiking, camping and boating and offers several cabins for rent. The Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area is an often-overlooked resource perfect for a day’s outing. On Fort Sill property, it features the 360-acre lake, a swimming pool with slides, canoe and paddleboat rental and the setting in the Wichita Mountains is picture perfect.


Western Oklahoma may not have the number of big lakes found in eastern Oklahoma, but there’s a surprising number of little lakes, many created by an innovative program born out of Dust Bowl days. According to Robert Toole, director of conservation programs for the Oklahoma Conservation Com- mission, “Oklahoma has 2,107 dams in its Watershed Program—more than any state in the nation. The fi rst fl ood-control dam in the nation was built in 1948 near Cordell and the Sandstone Creek Watershed Project in Roger Mills County was the nation’s fi rst completed project with 24 dams built between 1950 and 1953. Many of these dams impound water year-round and some of them have great fi shing.”


Some of the larger lakes are public—Elk City Lake and Lake Humphreys and Fuqua in Stephens County, for example—but many are on private land. Local conservation offi cers will have information about landowners who allow fi sh- ing on their properties. Whether you enjoy fi shing, boating, skiing or just watching the water, there’s a place in Oklahoma to do it. For more information on Oklahoma lakes, visit http://www.travelok.com/Lakes_and_Boating or the links provided below. We may be a land-locked state, but that doesn’t mean we’re high and dry. For perfect warm-weather fun, let’s go to the lake!


Our success is your success


PATRONAGE OPEN HOUSE April 4, 2012


Collect your Patronage refund check (if you paid us interest in 2011) and join us for refreshments.


Patronage is a key benefi t of doing business with Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma. We share our success because we are a


cooperative owned by our member-borrowers . The better we do, the more our customers benefi t.


Helpful Links:


www.grandlakefun.com www.laketexomaonline.com www.laketenkiller.com


www.visitlakeeufaula.com www.kawlake.com www.travelok.com OL


Ardmore • Broken Arrow • Durant • Idabel Kingfi sher • McAlester • Muskogee Pauls Valley • Poteau • Stillwater • Vinita


Recreational real estate • Farm and ranch land Livestock • Equipment • Operating funds


www.farmcreditecok.com Toll free 1-866-245-3633


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Farm Credit EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA


of Dedicated to being your fi rst choice for farm credit APRIL 2012 19


Patronage


Tiger Mountain Ranch near Henryetta


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