A 77 foot drop into a fern-lined Ozark hollow on the Arkansas line, film set of Where the Red Fern Grows, with observation decks at rim and base.
Year round
Big water window
see the season section
Spring fed
What drives it
a spring-fed branch in the Ozark Highlands
Climatology
Data on this page
a spring-fed branch in the Ozark Highlands is ungauged
Oklahoma State Parks
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Natural Falls, and when
The state's page describes a stunning 77 foot waterfall in a narrow V-shaped valley whose constant moisture grows ferns, mosses and liverworts, which is the tell of dependable groundwater-fed flow with rain surges on top. Late summer thins it; the hollow's microclimate keeps the green.
What the agency itself says
Located near the Oklahoma/Arkansas border in the scenic Ozark Highlands region of northeast Oklahoma, Natural Falls State Park features a stunning 77-foot waterfall cascading through rock formations and creating a hidden, serene atmosphere at the bottom of a narrow V-shaped valley.
Spring-fed water advertises itself: the travertine terraces below Havasu Falls are built by minerals the spring water carries out of the aquifer, and the blue green color holds in every season. “Havasu falls Arizona” — Stolz Gary M, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
A railed platform overlooks the falls from the rim and a second deck with seating sits at the base, per the agency, with the park open year round and trails dawn to dusk; swimming is not allowed in the park.
The state's page describes a stunning 77 foot waterfall in a narrow V-shaped valley whose constant moisture grows ferns, mosses and liverworts, which is the tell of dependable groundwater-fed flow with rain surges on top. Late summer thins it; the hollow's microclimate keeps the green.
a spring-fed branch in the Ozark Highlands has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Natural Falls, and Natural Falls State Park (Oklahoma State Parks) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
It narrows in dry spells but the spring keeps a ribbon alive, and the fern grotto is arguably best in the low-water light.
Natural Falls State Park (Oklahoma State Parks). A railed platform overlooks the falls from the rim and a second deck with seating sits at the base, per the agency, with the park open year round and trails dawn to dusk; swimming is not allowed in the park. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "Although swimming is not allowed in the park, there are several public swimming areas available within a short distance of the park." That sentence is Natural Falls State Park (Oklahoma State Parks)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Oklahoma's claimed largest waterfall, 77 feet of spring-fed Honey Creek over a travertine lip into a swimming hole, in a park the city of Davis has run for a century.
Places to stay