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Join Us For A Day Of Looking Back and Having Fun! Activities run the gamut from outhouse relay races to a period-style fashion show, and cheap eats are a big part of the day. 15 minutes East of McAlester on HWY 270.
Housed in a natural stone bathhouse built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the nature center offers living displays of native animals and a schedule of activities. Whether it's listening to legends of Native Americans in the area, taking foliage walks or building a birdhouse, there is always plenty going on. The park's naturalist is an excellent guide for haunted cave tours, interpretive hikes and many other fun-filled programs. Also located in the building is the gift shop which is well-supplied with books and pamphlets on area history and legends, nature guides, tee-shirts and trinkets.
Trails which lead through the short-leaf pine forest appeal to birders and other nature lovers. Robbers Cave is home to cardinals, chickadees, titmice, bluejays and other Oklahoma songbirds. Careful observers may catch a glimpse of the park's most unusual avian inhabitant, the pileated woodpecker. Larger birds include wild turkeys, black and turkey vultures, and occasionally, bad eagles. White-tailed deer also inhabit the woods, along with squirrels, raccoons, opossum, foxes, and coyotes. More illusive species like the bobcat and black bear are rarely seen, but live as secretly as the old outlaws.
For those who want to explore on horseback, Robbers Cave State Park has nearly 50 miles of marked trails. The equestrian campground offers riders a place to camp and tie their horses after a day of trailriding. Starr D Outfitters and Riding Stables, located in the park, has horses for rent and organizes outings including trail rides, chuckwagon rides, and overnight camping trips.
Campers have many facilities from which to choose. There are five campgrounds with 122 sites ranging from modern with pull-throughs to unimproved. Riders can take advantage of the special accommodation in the equestrian campground. For those who really like to rough it, there are three primitive camps. For large groups, there are two groups camps housing 160 and 250 people respectively. The group camps are open from April 1 until October 31. Each camp has a fully-equipped central kitchen and comfort stations with shower facilities. Reservations for modern and semi-modern RV spaces and group camps can be made up to one year in advance.
Tucked into the woods at Robber's Cave State Park are 26 rustic cabins. 19 are designed to sleep four people. Eight of these cabins are duplexes (two connecting), making them handy for larger families or groups. There are seven cabins with two bedrooms which will accommodate six apiece. Each has a fully furnished kitchen and woodburning fireplace and air conditioning. Alarm clock, coffee maker, cooking utensils, and linens are provided.
Once the home of prehistoric tribal groups, the area later became the hunting ground for Caddo and Osage Indians who then traded with the French fur trappers that began making their way through the area. Outlaw legends began to grow around a robbers' cave during the Civil War when deserters from both Union and Confederate forces used it. After the war, guerilla bands and gangs of robbers made it a rendezvous between raids. Down nearby Fourche Maline river ran what came to be known as "Robbers' Trail" - associated with such names as the Youngers, Frank and Jesse James, and Belle Starr (who had a cabin 20 miles to the north). The cave's secluded and rugged location and general proximity to the Texas and California Roads and the old Butterfield Stage Line, made it an ideal outlaw hideout for many years. 
Fishing is popular in the park's three lakes - Lake Carlton, Lake Wayne Wallace, and Coon Creek Lake. Catches include largemouth bass, black and white crappie, perch, bluegill, sunfish, and catfish. The record fish is a 12 pound, five ounce largemouth bass caught in 1997. From November 1 until March 15, trout fishermen head for Fourche Mailine Creek to vie for rainbows. Oklahoma fishing licenses and trout stamps are available at the park grocery. Small boats are allowed on all three lakes, with boat ramps on Lake Carlton and Lake Wayne Wallace. During the summer season, canoes for fishing or boating, yakanoes and paddleboats can be rented.
There are many ideal rock climbing/rappelling areas at Robber's Cave State Park along with hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding trails. The adjoining wildlife area contains over 25 miles of trails (many are closed during hunting seasons).