Pettit Bay
October 2026
About
Overview
Pettit Bay Campground on Tenkiller Ferry Lake is a recreational paradise for visitors looking for a well-kept waterfront facility, which offers convenient access for boating, swimming and wildlife viewing. It is located near the historic town of Tahlequah and attracts many campers who return year after year.
Recreation
Boating, fishing, water skiing, hiking, and swimming are some of the activities enjoyed by visitors. Prevailing winds and secluded coves create an ideal environment for sailing. Scuba divers enjoy the lake's clear waters and high visibility. Fishing is good for black bass, white bass, striped bass, crappie and catfish. The trout stream below the dam is one of only two year-round trout fisheries in Oklahoma, and is regularly stocked with rainbow trout. Hunting is also permitted in parts of the lake area, in accordance with federal and state laws.
Facilities
The campground has sites with electric hookups, and some sites are non-electric. The park has flush toilets, hot showers, water hydrants, a swim beach, playground, dump station, and boat ramps with courtesy docks. A marina with concessions is adjacent to the campground. Of the ten marinas with concessions located on the lake, most offer boat and jet-ski rentals, and several have floating restaurants.
Natural Features
Tenkiller Ferry Lake is often referred to as "Oklahoma's clear water paradise." The 12,500 acre lake is sourced by the Illinois River and the Baron Fork, which are both designated as Oklahoma Scenic Rivers. It is nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in the northeastern part of the state. This area, known as Green Country, is surrounded by dense oak-hickory forests, tall bluffs, and rolling hills. The lake has 130 miles of shoreline with plenty of wildlife such as deer and turkey. It serves as one of the flyways of migratory birds, including bald eagles, common loons, and white pelicans.
Nearby Attractions
Visit the Tenkiller State Park for its nature center and scuba diving park, the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge near Vian, or the historic city of Tahlequah - the capital of the Cherokee Nation. The scenic upper Illinois River near Tahlequah is great for canoeing and rafting, and the lower Illinois River near Gore offers prime trout fishing.
Amenities
Phone: 918-487-5252
Is PETTIT BAY fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches PETTIT BAY in Gore, OK for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching PETTIT BAY for cancellations is the paid part.