Students pick up trash for a day during their annual Trash Off. The state park also offers volunteer events for students at the University of Oklahoma. They also hosted their first car show in May and will be celebrating the 80 th anniversary of Oklahoma State Parks by hosting different clinics. The state park hosts their Fall Festival at the lake, where they have different vendors dressed in costume handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. The event gives kids who do not get the privilege of catching a fish an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, he added. In September, the state park hosts Catch a Special Thrill (CAST) for Kids, for kids with disabilities. The state park has several trails for beginners to advanced hikers. The purpose of the hike is to help citizens kickstart their new year’s resolutions to get active. Lake Thunderbird State Park hosts several events throughout the year, kicking off on Jan. “It gives the public a close place to come to recreate. “We offer bow hunting for white tailed deer during designated hunting times,” Johnson said. Visitors can also visit the nature center located at the state park. The state park currently has more than 200 RV sites and 100 designated tent sites. Both marinas have stores for visitors to purchase gasoline and other necessities. Visitors can rent boat slips as well as rent boats at one of the marinas. To enjoy the recreation, there are two marinas at the state park. “Visitors don’t have to drive two or three hours to come out and enjoy the recreation in the park.” “We get a lot of visitors because we are so convenient,” Johnson added. Visitors enjoy boating, skiing and fishing on the 6,000-acre lake. Johnson said the close proximity to Norman city limits has helped the state park see more than a million visitors each year. The survey resulted in a name change to Lake Thunderbird State Park. The survey showed the public did not associate the area as a state park, recognizing it only as Lake Thunderbird, according to the essay. Several buildings were constructed including the park office. “The bird was thought to have carried water in its wings, which sounded like thunder when flapped, and lightning bolts would shoot from its eyes.” “A woman won the contest, basing the name on the Native American legend of the mythological creature, the Thunderbird,” according to the essay. The name “Little River State Park” was proposed in 1965, leading to the development of a committee to decide the name of the lake. The lake has a surface area of 6,070 acres with 86 miles of shoreline, said Sherman Johnson, assistant park manager of Lake Thunderbird State Park. Construction of the dam cost more than $18 million. The project for the dam began in 1962, finishing three years later. Congressional approval of the lake was given 15 years later. Clement proposed the idea of a reservoir to the U.S. The land was used for farming as well as oil and gas production, according to the essay. The Land Run on April 22, 1889, opened the land for settlement, designating the area as Cleveland County a year later. “In 1866, this area was ceded to the United States by the Seminoles, which became known as the Unassigned Territory.” “By 1850, the Creek tribe moved to another part of the Indian Territory, leaving this area to the Seminoles,” according to the essay. The Choctaw Indians were the first to settle into the area, later sharing the land with the Seminole tribe in 1842. In the 1820s and 1830s, the Five Civilized Tribes settled in Indian Territory. to Present.’ “Descriptions of the Little River area given by Irving parallel those of the present in various aspects.”Īccording to the essay, the land was overgrown and rugged and had wildlife including buffalo, bears, elk, deer, wild horses and turkeys. “The purpose of Irving’s tour was to see ‘the last of the redmen and wild game before these things were pushed beyond the reach of civilized man,’” according to the Lake Thunderbird State Park historical essay titled, ‘Lake Thunderbird State Park History, 500 B.C. In 1832, Washington Irving, author of “A Tour of the Prairies” and “The Adventures of Ichabod Crane,” among other explorers, toured the area where the state park sits. Many explorers traveled the land during this time including French explorer Pierre Mallet and American explorer Stephen H. As part of the Louisiana Territory, the territory was eventually awarded to Spain. The recorded history of Lake Thunderbird State Park, located east of Norman, dates to 500 B.C.ĭuring the 18 th century, Spain, France and England clamed Oklahoma. Norman, Okla., may be the home of the University of Oklahoma, but thistown is also home to one of 33 state parks.
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