If you want to see new things and try different adventures, why not go somewhere like Heavener in Le Flore County, Oklahoma?
Heavener got its name from Joseph H. Heavener, who set foot in the region in 1877 and became one of the earliest white settlers.
The place has a small population but is rich in history and culture.
What are you waiting for?
Pack up your things and enjoy the eight best things to do in Heavener, OK!
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Heavener Runestone Park is a 55-acre park where you can find an enormous sandstone containing eight runic markings., hence the name.
Historians believe these historical patterns or motifs are perimeter markers the Vikings made around 600 and 800AD.
This amazing park offers visitors roughly two miles of hiking trails with a breathtaking panorama.
The Historic Heavener Runestone Park also has tent camping sites, picnic areas, and a playground for kids and adults to enjoy.
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You can go to a few sites with electrical connections and minimal RV hookups that don’t need electricity.
If you’re up for a different adventure, you can try spending your vacation at secluded or remote campsites or bathing at the seasonal waterfall.
Families and friends can also enjoy buying stunning souvenirs at the gift shop after visiting the event center and amphitheater.
Your dogs can also enjoy the park’s beauty, provided they are always on a leash and owners need to clean up their mess.
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If you love long walks, then you will love the Cedar Lake Trail!
The three-mile trail runs along the Ouachita National Forest, where the different striking spectacles of the lake will mesmerize you.
You’ll have no difficulty following the trail because the path is typically level with a net elevation change of around 80 feet.
The trail itself envelops almost the whole lake, with a span of 86 acres.
Winding Stair Mountain is visible from a distance on the northern parts of the trail.
On the southwest corner, on the other hand, is a footbridge made of wood and metal.
Most of the Cedar Lake Trail is a dirt path.
However, there are paved sections in the camping and day-use spaces.
If you’re a sports fan, don’t miss the various events at the Heavener Ball Park.
For example, the Wolf Pup Football event usually begins in August and until October; third and sixth graders can participate in the exciting games and have fun.
Wolf Pup Basketball is an exciting game for kindergarteners up to third graders, while the Heavener Hometown League usually starts in November up to February.
Heavener Hometown League Season (T-Ball) generally starts on April 18 up to June 2o, with a pre-season and end-of-season tournament.
Boys Coach Pitch and Pee-Wee starts in April.
They usually play every Monday and Thursday night, organized by OK Kids.
The Boys Midget League games also play on Monday and Thursday evenings, likewise organized by OK Kids.
Younger kids can also play at the small park east of the Concession building.
The restroom and equipment storage was recently furnished with central heat and air.
Heavener Ball Park also offers a spacious parking area north of fields 3 and 4, close to the Reader-Thornton Agriplex, south of field 1.
If you’re an animal lover, you might want to stop by the Dale Elliott Deer Park.
Here, you can get up close with a family of deer and feed them, too.
You need to pay for the corn from the dispenser and let the deer eat from your hand.
Kids and adults will have a great time seeing the animals in person.
Take a break and visit Dale Elliott Deer Park in Heavener, OK.
After doing many fun and tiring activities, you might get hungry enough to eat a horse.
Southern Belle Restaurant is at 821 Highway 59 N, Heavener, Oklahoma.
You’ll have the best dining experience at the so-called “Sweetheart of American Trains” because you’ll eat inside a train that conveyed WWII soldiers between New Orleans and Kansas City.
The Southern Belle Restaurant’s bestseller is the Southern Belle chicken, deep-fried golden chicken strips served with a dipping sauce.
You can also satisfy your hunger with their mouth-watering burgers, steaks, sandwiches, fish, and pork chops.
If you love rodeos but don’t want to get kicked by a horse or run over by a bull, then ride a barrel at the Cecil Leachman Arena.
The yearly Heavener round-up club rodeo happens every August, entertaining the whole family.
You will surely love and enjoy the prepared events such as bareback riding, saddle bronc, barrel racing, ranch bronc, and team roping, to name a few.
If you’re brave enough, you can ride a real bull in the area or join the roping events at the Cecil Leachman Arena.
Children can join mutton busting, junior barrel, rodeo paradise, and peewee barrel.
There are 15 cabins you can choose from to stay in for the night after a good swim at Lake Wister State Park.
Stay in a home away from home, and enjoy all the amenities to give you comfort and convenience.
The park offers the best trails – Lighthorseman Trail and Heart Healthy Trail – for hiking, biking, and more.
Enjoy fishing crappies, white and largemouth bass, and channel fish, to name a few, and watch those colorful plumages from various birds.
Lake Wister State Park is an artificial lake that provides several opportunities for you, your family, and friends who love sports and outdoor fun and activities.
You can find this state park in Wister, Oklahoma, 11 minutes from Heavener.
Do you want to go on more adventures in Heavener, Oklahoma?
Don’t worry, because you still have a lot to explore and enjoy in the places near Heavener.
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This route provides visitors with captivating views of the Ouachita Mountains’ east-west ranges.
Anyone driving the Talimena National Scenic Byway will notice the fantastic and beautiful vistas, historical sites, and structures.
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You can go hiking, go on a picnic, and set up camp after those tiring but beautiful activities you can do all year round.
The road stretches 54 miles west across Winding Stair Mountain and Rich Mountain ridge.
In the late 1980s, it became known as the National Scenic Drive, divided into State Route 1 on the Oklahoma side and State Route 88 in Arkansas.
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The scenic drive starts north of Talihina, Oklahoma, adjacent to Talimena State Park, where it got its name from the towns on each end of the drive.
Likewise, the byway is 34 minutes from Heavener.
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Combine sports and leisure at the Wolf Ridge Country Club and spend quality time with your family or friends in this semi-private club.
It has a 20-tee driving range and a community facility.
The golf course’s rating is 72.0, while its slope rating is 119 on Bermuda grass.
Jim Johnson designed this fascinating golf course which opened in 2014, stretching 6,880 yards from the longest tees with 72 par.
This 18-hole championship golf course is the perfect spot to enjoy a friendly game with friends or family.
At the same time, spend a relaxing day for the whole gang as you take selfies with magnificent views of the surrounding areas as your background.
Bring the family to the Wolf Ridge Country Club in Wister, Oklahoma, 18 minutes from Heavener.
Who says you can’t combine business and pleasure?
Of course, you can do that at the Donald W. Reynolds Community Center!
You can set up your next team-building activity at this 37,000 square feet of versatile multipurpose area.
Meet your goals and welcome even the most challenging presentation and communication requisites.
The 12,000-square-foot sub-dividable, multipurpose space can hold concerts, weddings, award ceremonies, theme parties, graduations, corporate events, concerts, receptions, and other important events.
It officially opened to the public in 2011, the biggest convention and meeting rendezvous in LeFlore County.
Art lovers can feast their eyes on several incredible art pieces at the art gallery.
The Donald W. Reynolds Community Center also features a stagecraft area, meeting rooms with advanced audio-visual equipment, and an outdoor amphitheater, to name a few.
Its two loading docks make it easier for you and your team to reach this community center by car, boat, or RV.
You can find this center in Poteau, Oklahoma, 15 minutes from Heavener.
The Ouachita National Scenic Trail is a major hiking trail on Rich Mountain and starts at Talimena State Park to the west of Oklahoma.
This beautiful trail extends 223 miles (359 km) and progresses through the Ouachita mountains.
As you begin the adventurous trek with your family or friends, you will instantly feel the place’s serenity and beauty.
You can’t help but get awestruck at the diverse flora and fauna the trail offers.
You’ll love the fresh air from the majestic trees, such as pine, oak, red cedar, and hickory.
Birds prowl the area, such as eagles, hawks, deer, and squirrels.
On the other hand, you can often spot bears in the western section of the trail throughout the Talimena Scenic drive area during springtime.
By the way, you can take the Ouachita National Scenic Trail on foot or ride a mountain bike and still enjoy the wonders of the surroundings.
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Cavanal Hill is in Poteau, Oklahoma, which saw a historic event for Native Americans and the French.
Known as “The World’s Highest Hill,” it stands at 1,999 feet high, a mecca for mountain bike races, walks/run activities, and the Killer 8k Walk/Run.
When you drive or climb to the top of Cavanal Hill, admire the incredible view of the Poteau River valley and its surrounding area.
When you go hungry after trekking and sightseeing, you and your family or friends can have a snack or meal at the picnic area.
At the same time, you can get a panoramic view of Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Ouachita National Forest, Wister Lake, and the incredible Poteau Mountains.
If you have a penchant for fishing or horseback riding, you must add Long Lake Resort to your places-to-go list.
Even if you don’t have a fishing license, you can still fish in the resort’s two private lakes, where different species of crappies, catfishes, and bass thrive.
You can’t keep the bass since it’s a catch-and-release fish.
However, you can catch up to 30 crappies per day and other species.
You can choose a boat, kayak, or pontoon when you go fishing.
Don’t worry about forgetting your fishing gear because you can rent what you need, such as fishing poles and lures.
If you’re tired of walking, you can ride your bike or saddle up and go on an exciting horseback ride.
You can bring your horse or rent one from the lake resort’s friendly horses, where they also offer arena rides for youngsters and inexperienced adults.
Long Lake Resort also offers boat and golf rentals so you can enjoy the place more without getting too tired when you walk or hike.
If you’re not sure you want to stay in the resort for a few days, take advantage of the Day Pass for a one-of-a-kind experience.
You can also play golf, watch the bison, play with friends and family at the horse pit arena, and rent golf carts to go around the place.
This resort is also in Poteau, nine minutes from Heavener.
Bookworms must drop by the Patrick Lynch Public Library in Poteau, 15 minutes from Heavener.
This library was once the Buckley Public Library; it features a computer lab, a community meeting room, three study rooms, and a discovery zone.
The Patrick Lynch Public Library provides separate rooms for adults and children for reading and offers free Wi-Fi access 24-7.
You will also find the LeFlore County Genealogical Society here.
Reconnect with nature when you explore the Robert S. Kerr Arboretum and Nature Center.
This arboretum and nature preserve has an area of 8,026 acres, sheltering plant communities crucial in their occurrence, location, and variety.
You’ll find this preserve within the Ouachita National Forest, which contains yellow buckeye, grass seeps, dwarf white oaks, and Ouachita indigo.
This nature center is an excellent place for hiking, bird watching, hunting, and taking pictures.
Moreover, there are three unique interpretive trails in the Robert S. Kerr Arboretum and Nature Center.
You can find this place in Hodgen, Oklahoma, 26 minutes from Heavener.
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