Have You Been to Oklahoma’s Very Last Ecologically Pristine Lake?

Whether you know this or not, Oklahoma is famous for its lakes. Not so much the size or beauty of them... honestly, most of them look like chocolate milk most of the year... but the fact that every single body of water was manmade at some point in our short history, we're famous for that.

Oklahoma was always the land of rivers. Two of the Mississippi River's five big tributaries flow through the Sooner State. And while there has been the occasional oxbow lake created by a river cutting itself off, they never amounted to anything larger than a small pond.

Along with the wilds of river country came the yearly floods. Rivers would spill their banks with regularity, making for fertile agricultural ground, but every once in a while, the floods would mean death and destruction to those within the flood plain. This is why Oklahoma has so many lakes.

In an effort to control the flooding in Oklahoma, the state opted to dam up rivers long ago. They were creating huge reservoirs to hold back the waters and make space available in times of big rains. They also helped bring electricity to the plains.

In the last nearly-hundred years, the lake trend caught on and now there are over one million surface acres of water for us all to enjoy across the state... However, there is only one lake that is still considered pristine within our borders.

Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area

Way down in SWOK, in some of the most inhospitable and rugged terrain between Erick and Vinson, you'll eventually see a sign for the Sandy Sanders WMA - named for Oklahoma restauranteur and politician E.C. Sandy Sanders Jr. It's also one of the newest WMAs in the state and one of the wildest.

Doc Hollis Lake is deep within the refuge and is absolutely pristine. While information about this land and lake are hard to come by, even through Google, it was created when the three creeks in this area were dammed up to create a lake. It's hard to say when, but old-timers in the area remember it being there long ago.

The State of Oklahoma purchased it, rehabilitated it, and opened it up to the public in 2015. Amazingly, it has stayed in this pristine condition for the last ten years, and most likely due to one reason...

People aren't really allowed to use it...

Sure, you can fish there if you like, so long as you do it from the bank. Swimming in the lake is forbidden. On that note, you're not allowed alcohol in the WMA either, so no drinking, no fun explosive stuff, and no watercraft of any kind allowed. Not even kayaks.

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While that sounds like a huge bummer, upholding those rules has created arguably the prettiest body of water in the whole state.

So why mention it?

Well, it's a place in the middle of nowhere that you could experience for the first time.

Pro-Tips - Vehicles with a little ground clearance and horsepower have the easiest time getting around Sandy Sanders. It's located way out in the sticks. It's not paved either, so try to visit when conditions are dry.  It's 100% wild Oklahoma.

There's more to do than just the lake too, it's a Wildlife Management Area with trails around the lake for hiking and light climbing. It's also one of the best places in the state to spot wildlife, popular among birders. And it's one of the most scenic desert-ish drives you can make in the state.