Category Archives: Hiking

Hiking

5 hikes around lake Keystone

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  1. Two Rivers Trail

Just over two miles, this trail has easy parts and difficult parts.

This was one of the more difficult sections.

It is a fun hike though, right on the lake!

2. Ranger Trail ~Keystone State Park

A nice easy loop trail, it is just over a mile long but Keystone State Park is part of the Park pass system so there is a fee.

3. Keystone Mountain Bike Trail

You can do the large loop for over 4 miles or the smaller loop for 2 miles (that is what we did), there are other trails also that can cut it shorter I believe.

I have gotten lost here in the past but this time used the AllTrails app and it worked great! I love hiking here, a nice beautiful hike that still has enough challenges it feels like a hike 😉

This is right across from the Keystone State Park but is not part of the fee area so no charge to park there.

4. Falls Trail ~Keystone Ancient Forest

A difficult trail it is 3.5 miles long but takes around 1.5 miles to get to it from the parking lot.

My youngest had trouble finishing this hike but thankfully her brothers kept her distracted.

I would image that the waterfalls are only really there after some rain, there were not really any falls when we went this time.

Bonus ~ Wilson Hike at Keystone Ancient Forest

It is only 1 mile long but you have to hike on the Frank trail to get to it. The Frank Trail is a moderate hike though and less than a mile to reach the Wilson Trail, the Wilson Trail is difficult but beautiful. They also have other trails there but check to make sure they are open before going. They are usually only open on the weekends.

5. Washington Irving Trail

This is a very easy out and back trail that is just over a mile.

They have signs throughout the trail giving information about the area but some of them are too messed up to read.

We did all of these trails last week while we stayed in our trailer nearby and really enjoyed them!

I would love to live closer to this area to take advantage of all the great hiking every day!

Camping, Hiking, National Forest, National Memorial

The Black Hills of South Dakota

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Thankfully the rest of our trip was not as bumpy as the first part.

Not smooth but definitely not crazy.

We left the Badlands and promptly needed to find somewhere to dump our black tanks. We were dry camping (no water in tanks) but using the bathroom when needed and the last spot had no other bathroom.

Seven people for three days is apparently the max with no other bathroom choice.

And we needed a new tongue jack.

Thankfully we were able to find a place for both of those before heading into the Black Hills.

We stayed at a National Forest Campground and it was beautiful!

And most importantly had a bathroom (just a vault toilet, most places did not have water on).

Tons of wildlife, a lake, and near these guys…

I did not even have to bribe them to get these smiles!

They were surprisingly excited about seeing Mount Rushmore!

I quickly realized that this was a one stop place though. We did everything including watching all the movies on the making of (my daughters favorite part, they loved feeling like they were in a theater, something I avoid doing with them normally) in one visit.

So the next day we did the Little Devil’s Tower hike in Custer State Park.

I thought my kids would like the possible climbing part and foolishly thought I could do “the easy part” and wait for them.

Instead I tried to kill myself to get pictures of the beautiful views.

I stopped to “enjoy” the view often because I could not breathe though.

It started going uphill and then it ended in a scramble to the top.

And I did it because I wanted the shot!

I will forgive all the rest of my family for saying they were not really sore the next day when I could not use my arms or legs without groaning in pain.

This kid in the above pic was the worst, flew up like it was no problem.

But then on the way back down to the vehicle he asked if he could go ahead, I confirmed that he knew the way, reminded myself that he is growing up and said okay stay within hearing.

I did not think much more of it until we were almost back to the vehicle and he runs up from BEHIND us…

I thought he was in the front.

He said he took a wrong turn and had to run to catch up!

Never going to trust the whole he is getting older thing again.

Lies!

He will hold my hand from now on.

Camping, Hiking

Hawthorn bluff Campground ~Oologah Lake

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After spending the week at Washington Irving I decided we should take advantage of already being packed and go to another campground for the weekend 😉 I am sure Nick loves all my ideas like this.

There was actually someone in our spot when we got there but thankfully we talked and they realized they were there on the wrong date.

This site was right next to the water which was beautiful but also it was right next to this cliff which was a bit stressful. ha

It made for beautiful sunrises though.

He wanted me to try his “way down” but I decided against it.

I realized I was not in any pictures from the week so I set my camera on a rock and fixed that while watching the sunrise with the boys.

It really was an amazing view.

The sites are a nice size as well.

There is a nature trail near the campground that is around a mile long for the long loop.

It had beautiful views of the lake!

The trail was also pretty wide so this is the perfect trail for summer hikes to me. I like them to be open to a breeze and not be narrow, it helps with pests not being as bad.

Next we took the Gazebo Trail to the swimming beach, I did not know it went to it so only the boys were ready to swim.

Nick took the girls back so they could get dressed and drove over to meet us.

After the amazing beach we had been at all week this was a bit disappointing but the kids enjoyed cooling off.

We also went to the Rogers County Fair, The Will Rogers Museum, and the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, but I will do a separate post about those so this one is not too long.

I loved to sit here and watch the water.

And make sure my kids did not fall off the cliff.

Need to work on cliff safety with my youngest three.

I made myself get up to watch the full sunrise the next day.

It was a beautiful spot for a weekend.

I am even thinking of staying here for a week like we did at Washington Irving. Maybe a little farther away from the cliff though…