Things to do in Hochatown/Broken Bow
Thinking of visiting the Broken Bow/Hochatown area in Oklahoma? I’m sharing details on things to do in Hochatown that include our cabin, restaurants we visited and kid friendly activities!
When we were looking for a place to get away for long weekend, I was craving the mountains or somewhere peaceful. It was during a time that I was feeling worn down from mom life and craved a relaxing and peaceful re-charge. The only thing…we wanted to drive and the mountains for us is a solid 10-11 hour drive. Not appealing for me at the time! So, after seeing several people we know post about vising Broken Bow, OK, I decided to look it up and I’m so glad I did.
For us, it was under a 6 hour drive (5 hour 45 minutes actually) and was a super easy drive!
Where we stayed
There are so many options for Broken Bow rentals. There are small, cozy cabins all the way up to large, luxury cabins that can sleep 20 people. I narrowed it down based on availability and our needs and went with a company called Broken Bow Cabin Lodging. Everything was straightforward, easy to understand, and the cabin was very nice. Overall, we had a great experience with the company, and I would use them again!
Our cabin’s name was Serendipity, and it was so cute! It’s hard to tell where a lot of the cabins are when searching, but we were very pleased with this location. It was in the Hochatown area and tucked away at the end of a gravel road so it gave us great privacy for that peaceful feeling I wanted, but was still roughly 5 minutes from local eateries and other things to do and around 15 minutes to the Beaver’s Bend area.
The cabin had a play set outside, outdoor games, fire pit, and hot tub with Foosball and PAC man stations inside. There was plenty to appeal to all ages. Our kids loved the play set and we – the adults – definitely participated in some games of PAC man! We even saw a deer walking the woods two days in a row!
*Images courtesy of Broken Bow Cabin Lodging website
Where we ate
We love trying local places that we cannot get at home when we travel, so finding good places to eat is always a top priority for us – especially my husband. We did stop at the grocery store on our way in and picked up dinner to do at the cabin the first night since we were arriving a little later and wanted to find our cabin before dark.
Grateful Head Pizza Oven & Tap Room – We first tried Grateful Head Pizza in Hot Springs, AR and loved it. It had a really cool atmosphere, so when we saw they had one here, we knew we wanted to go back. There is indoor seating as well as patio seating at this location and offers a cool atmosphere, as well. Our recommendations are the Cheese Styx for an appetizer and the Dire Wolf and Casey Jones pizzas. Yummm..
The Blue Rooster – Located in the same parking lot at Grateful Head Pizza. The Blue Rooster has more of your home-style food. They have a good selection on the menu to pick from. I got the chicken and dumplings which were really good and also kid approved because my daughter kept eating mine! This is a great casual place to do lunch or dinner.
The Eat Out – If you want a pretty cool atmosphere to enjoy a meal, this is the place! The burgers are very good, too. You order in the front and then walk to the back to a covered patio area that has a bar with swings and regular tables. Further back off the patio is a large green space has several old-school campers that they turned into more seating. You can eat your burgers inside of the campers! When we were there, it was pretty cold that night and they had a massive fire going in the grassy area in the middle of the campers and were inviting everyone to come enjoy the fire and hang out. It seems like a very family-oriented, welcoming place that anyone can go to eat, hang out, and enjoy other company.
Okie Girls Ice Cream & Coffee – Located in a shopping center with a brewery and other restaurants and shops. The ice cream was good with good sized portions. They still had the dining room closed due to Covid even though everywhere else was open. So, you had to eat it outside which only had 1 small table, eat it standing, or take it to-go. We chose to take it to our cabin which luckily was about a 3 minute drive down the road.
What we did
We didn’t do as many activities as we would have liked, but when traveling with kids, we’ve learned to go with the flow and do what we can. We spent a pretty good bit of our time hanging out at the cabin, but we did get out for a few things.
Beavers Bend Depot & Trail Rides
This was a super cute place that we took the kids. The drive to get there took us through portions of Beavers Bend State Park and it was beautiful! At the Depot, they offer a train ride on a 1/3 size replica of the C.P. Huntington S.P. train built in 1863. The ride lasted around 20 minutes and winds it’s way through Beavers Bend State Park. The conductor of the train helped build it with his father and tells the history of the train and area while on the ride. We also saw a lot of deer on the ride! Before you get on, you can purchase corn at the concession stand if you want to throw to the deer along the ride. I would take our kids to do this again!
Also available is horse back riding. The trail ride lasts around an hour and takes you through 2 1/2 miles of scenic terrain. There are options for riding with younger kids that include riding double with a parent. We didn’t participate in this, but I definitely want to go back and do this.
Smore’s and Outdoor Games
Our cabin had a fire pit (as majority of cabins offer), so we picked up some firewood and all the items to make smore’s. Our kids loved eating the marshmallows mostly, but we had fun being together and showing them how to toast the marshmallows.
Side note: there is an add-on option through the cabin rental company for a “smore’s package” if you’d rather.
While we were toasting marshmallows, we enjoyed playing some of the outdoor games that our cabin offered. There was a Jenga set that that the kids loved stacking and my husband set up in large domino form to see if he can get it to fall correctly. Our cabin also provided corn hole. We didn’t end up using it, but that is always a fun game to pass time.
Cedar Creek Golf Course
My husband went golfing one morning and had a great time at this course. If you’re traveling with someone that would like to get a round in, this is a great option. The course is in the foothills of the Kiamichi Mountains and surrounded by pine forests and Broken Bow Lake. Also running through the course is the Cedar Creek which adds beauty and wildlife to the scenery. He saw deer walking and eating along the course. It was easy for him to book a tee-time online and was able to secure a time a couple days in advance.
This is just a small list of the things to do in Hochatown that we researched beforehand. Even though this trip was more low-key, we had a balance of hanging out around our cabin and exploring the area. So, if you are looking for a little of both, this can definitely be a place to do that. We were pleasantly surprised with Hochatown/Broken Bow and want to go back because we would like to explore more. Next time, we want to make it a weekend getaway without kids and do some hiking and other activities.
Have you ever been to Hochatown or Broken Bow? What was your favorite thing you did?
