A Postcard from the Moss: January 2025

Robbers Cave State Park

I love sending postcards when I travel, so once a month I share photos with a postcard-length blurb about a place I’ve recently visited.

I kicked off 2025 with a last minute road trip to southeastern Oklahoma for a family funeral. Temperatures in Chicago hovered around freezing when I left, so it was a surprise to step out into balmy 54° weather in Wilburton. And with sunset a solid hour later due to being further south and west in the timezone, I told my parents that it felt like we had skipped ahead to mid-April!

Those who have not spent time in this pocket of the country may be surprised that the photos in this postcard were taken in Oklahoma. This is not the Dust Bowl part of the state.¹ Robbers Cave State Park, just a few miles outside of Wilburton, is in the Sans Bois Mountains and the area feels more like the Ozarks than the Great Plains.

This wasn’t my first time at Robbers Cave, but it was my first wintertime visit. My great-grandparents moved to Wilburton in the 1930s when my maternal grandfather was a teenager and the extended family has had a presence there ever since. Our annual family reunion has been held at the park for more than half a century and generations of children from that quadrant of my family tree have cavorted on the rocks around the caves on hot summer days.

However, I now think winter may actually be the best time to explore the park. With significantly fewer people and no leaves on the brush, it was much easier to see and appreciate the details on the rock formations. The landscape was still fairly green—thanks to the moss and conifers—and the daytime temperatures were perfect for hiking with light layers. Since it wasn’t prime tourism season, we were even able to get a room at the lodge with only two days notice. And perhaps the best improvement over summer: no snakes or bugs!

The caves are a big draw, not just for the beautiful geology but because of the lore that outlaws, like Belle Starr, hid out there in the late 1800s. Standing inside the Stone Corral, a natural holding pen once used for the outlaws’ horses, I looked upward and could only see rocks and blue sky. I may not be an outlaw, but I understand what drew them to this remote labyrinth—a place where they could find a moment of rest, alone and apart from the world.

The park also features several examples of CCC built structures, including a grand fireplace² that has been relocated to the back patio of the lodge. Personally, I adore the narrow stone staircases that were built to fit perfectly in the gaps between the rocks. On a previous visit, I took a photo of my favorite one and that print has been hanging on my living room wall for years! Many of the staircases are in need of some rehab and that only makes me love them more, because I can wistfully imagine being part of a stonework crew that is tasked with bringing them back to their former glory.

How to visit:

Robbers Cave State Park is located on the outskirts of Wilburton in the Sans Bois Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. The nearest major airport is two hours away in Tulsa and since I’d have to rent a car anyway, it usually makes sense to just drive the entire way. I find the drive through Missouri and Arkansas to be gorgeous, with outcroppings of rock lining the interstate, though you may not agree if you’re ambivalent about geology. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a free, downloadable PDF about the geology of I-44, including a road log with descriptions of what you are seeing by mile marker.

Though Google Maps would have you avoid Arkansas in order to save ten minutes, the scenery more than makes up for that minimal increase in time. From Chicago, my family’s preferred driving route is I-55 to St. Louis, I-44 from St. Louis to Joplin, I-49 from Joplin to Fort Smith, and then OK-112 and US-270 through Poteau and Red Oak.

Accommodations at Robbers Cave State Park include multiple campgrounds (including one for horses), group camp sites, a lodge³, and various sizes of cabins. There are hotels in Wilburton, but my family prefers staying in the park.

There is a fee for parking that can be paid online in advance or by scanning a sign at the lot. Be aware that cell service can be spotty in the park (and varies wildly based on cell provider), but I’ve always had success getting a signal near the nature center and gift shop at Lake Carlton.

The parking lot for the caves is only open from 8am until dusk and a gate blocks off the road outside of those hours. There are toilets at the cave parking lot, as well as at Lake Carlton. Though the mile loop around the caves is very popular with visitors, there are plenty of quieter hiking trails throughout the park, as well as opportunities for boating and swimming.

1. One of the best books I read last year was about the Dust Bowl—Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb. The history of the book’s publication, which is detailed in a 2024 biography of Babb, is almost as interesting as the novel.

2. The reconstructed CCC fireplace on the patio of the lodge and the accompanying sign:

3. One quirk about the lodge is that the beds only have sheets on them—no blankets or duvets. If you’re used to sleeping with the weight of something more than a top sheet, you may want to bring your own. I would assume the bedding is the same in the cabins, but cannot personally confirm that.