Campgrounds and RV parks near Buffalo, OK

The signature activity is a guided cave tour at Alabaster Caverns State Park. Daily guided tours of Alabaster Cavern leave promptly on the hour from 9am to 4pm, a maximum of 30 visitors are allowed on each tour for safety reasons, and no pets are allowed inside the caverns. Experienced cavers can apply for wild-caving permits at the park office, though no permits are issued between October 1 and April 30 to protect hibernating bats, and wild caving is only permitted between 8am and 3pm. At Boiling Springs State Park, RV travelers can swim in the pool, fish the 7-acre spring-fed Shaul Lake, and hike the trail system, which includes five hiking and mountain trails of various lengths that are beginner-friendly. In July, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation runs Selman Bat Watch evenings on Friday and Saturday nights, where visitors watch Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from a nearby maternity cave, with the nightly emergence typically lasting just over one hour.

Spring and fall are the most comfortable windows for RV travel through Harper County. March through May brings mild days and blooming prairie, but it also brings severe weather: Oklahoma sits in the heart of Tornado Alley, and severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are most common from March through May. Travelers should monitor NOAA Weather Radio and know where the nearest shelter is at each campground. Summer is hot and often dry, with afternoon highs regularly in the 90s. It is also the only window for the Selman Bat Watch: viewing opportunities are offered on Friday and Saturday nights in July, with participants selected from a mailed-in registration pool and transported by bus from Alabaster Caverns State Park. Cave tours at Alabaster Caverns run daily year-round, and the cavern holds a steady interior temperature around the mid-50s Fahrenheit. Fall brings cooler nights, lower humidity, and generally the calmest weather for hiking and campfire evenings. Winter is cold and windy on the plains; Boiling Springs State Park is open year round, but some private parks reduce services, and wild caving is closed to protect hibernating bats.

Sites in this part of Oklahoma range from full-hookup gravel pads at private parks in Buffalo to more rustic pull-ins at the state parks. At Boiling Springs, there are 39 RV-friendly sites; ten feature 50/30-amp electrical hookups with pull-through access, the other 29 have 30-amp back-in access, and all sites have water hookups and access to a dump station. Alabaster Caverns is smaller and more basic. The Mesa Campground sits near a comfort station with hot-water pay showers and the park office, with sites 1 through 9 on a tree-lined loop featuring level concrete pads and asphalt approaches. Cell service can drop off between towns, and the nearest full-service grocery is a drive, so it is worth topping off water, propane, and food in Buffalo or Woodward before pulling in. Wildlife, including deer, wild turkey, and raccoons, is common around the state park campgrounds, so food should be stored securely overnight.