Camping Elephant Rock Nature Park Oklahoma
Camp Oklahoma: I’m talking with Rod today. He’s going to tell us all about Elephant Rock Nature Park in Oklahoma. Rod, why don’t you get us started by giving us a little bit of background on Elephant Rock Nature Park?
Rod: Great. We started in 1997, so we’ve been doing it for 16 or 17 years. We opened with the introduction of yurts in Oklahoma, which are unique lodging structures that go all the way around and have a domed ceiling with a five-foot glass dome in the center. Ours are a little bit more upscale. They have heating and air conditioning.
Camp Oklahoma: Whoa, nice.
Rod: Running water. Yeah, this is luxury camping basically, but still camping.
Camp Oklahoma: Yeah.

Elephant Rock Kayak Rental in Northeast Oklahoma
Camp Oklahoma: Wow.
Rod: So we can host a pretty good amount of people. However, we also have a little over 200 acres, so it’s not crowded here.
Camp Oklahoma: Nice. Nice. Yeah, the yurts are fantastic. I’ve stayed in those a couple times and they definitely fall under the glamping headline, which seems to be getting a lot more popular.
Rod: Correct. Yes, we do live on-site here and everything. We do tend to have a lot of the float trips.
Camp Oklahoma: Sure.

Camp Oklahoma: Yeah. Where does Elephant Rock Nature Park get its name from?
Rod: There’s actually about a 120-foot ledge and church limestone mix bluff that, as you’re floating in on the river, it jumps out at you and it looks like the profile of an elephant head, and you can see the trunk dipping into the water and the profile of the head. So, it’s pretty massive at 130-feet-tall.
Camp Oklahoma: Yeah, that’s very big. What are some of your other favorite attractions around that area, Rod?
Rod: There’s a lot of great attractions in the area. There’s, the Cherokee Heritage Center, which is the National Museum in a live village of the Cherokee nation. That’s close by, probably 10 or 15 minutes away. It was rated as one of the top 100 places to visit in America. There’s the beautiful lake, river below. So, great trout fishing in the area.
Camp Oklahoma: Cool. Two more questions for you, Rod. If you were going to spend just one hour at Elephant Rock Nature Park, how would you spend your time there?
Rod: I would probably spend it along the bluffs, looking over the river. Again, you’re several hundred feet high. And even in the winter months, it offers just outstanding views and photography opportunities. Many times as you’re watching for bald eagles, you’ll get a bird’s eye view of them as they fly underneath you, and so it’s just a really inspiring and cool place to sit and reflect.
Camp Oklahoma: Yeah, it sounds great. And last question for you: if you were going to spend just one night at Elephant Rock Nature Park, which specific site would you stay at and why?

Camp Oklahoma: All right, perfect. Well, hey Rod, thank you so much for taking some time out of your morning to tell us a little bit about the surrounding area there and to tell us a little bit more about Elephant Rock Nature Park in Oklahoma.
Rod: Well, thank you for calling.