Need info by June 26th about the area

I am a grandmother and trying to plan a week long vacation for my daughter and her two children----a toddler and a 6 year old girl. I have already rented a cabin for the week....but have questions about the area and activities. Could anyone out there answer any of the following questions? I need answers by Thursday evening, June 26th. If you can lend any insight, thank you in advance.

1) I have two grandkids who will want to swim in the lake....a 7 year old and a toddler...looking for a place to swim on the lake. I am confused about swimming on the lake. Are there TWO places...a swimming beach AND a swimming pool? Are these nice places for kids to swim? (I read somwhere that the swimming on the lake is terrible (dirty, unsafe, littered, no place to picnic or play???? I grew up swimming in a lake and hope this is not true.) Can you picnic there (available tables, etc.) Is the water cold at this time of year?

2) Is there any swimming pool for the public anywhere in the area?

3) Recs for restaurants in the area (Beavers Bend, Broken Bow, Idabel?)that you enjoy?

4) Anything of special interest for a 6 year old to do? Stables? Museums? Hiking? Anything else?+

5) What about floating down the lake? Is there some type of group ride with a guide that the 6 year old could go on with her mom? Whom would I contact about this?

6) I know there is a movie theater in Idabel...is there a bowling alley?

7) Are there any special 4th of July activities acheduled in the area?

8) How long would it take to drive from Beavers Bend Park over to Robbers Cave?

9) What is the casino like (obviously not for the grandkids!)?

Again....thanks!

Need info by June 26th about the area

appleannie,

I%26#39;m not very well-qualified to answer most of your questions but I see you were hoping for some kind of response by this evening so I will try to answer a couple of them. We visited Beavers Bend 3 years ago with our then 7 year old daughter and had a wonderful time. My memory has faded some but I can tell you some of the things we did that our 7 year old enjoyed.

We took the short train ride in the park that went through the woods, I remember we liked it and saw some deer. It departs from the same place the trail rides start, which we also did and she enjoyed. We did the ';bumper boats'; as well as the paddle boats. The paddle boat rentals were on the river by the swimming area. The water in the swimming area of the river was cold, too cold for me, and she did it for only a very short time. I don%26#39;t know if there is a swimming area in the lake or not. We did a short hike in the park on a trail called Cedar Bluff Nature Trail, a one mile loop trail that was fine and also interesting for a 7 year old. It goes up to a lookout point with pretty views. I believe we got a list of trails at the tourist center there where the gift shop is. There is also a museum you can go through in there. We did the Beavers Bend Wildlife Museum at the entrance to the park, it was okay. We also did a canoe ride down the river which we loved. It was my husband and I with our daughter in the middle. We did go-carts somewhere, can%26#39;t remember the name of the place, it seems like there was a couple different places to choose from.

Definitely go to the Museum of the Red River in Idabel. We were impressed with its collections and our daughter loved seeing the real dinosaur skeleton. Don%26#39;t miss it!

Hope this helps! Have fun on your trip!

Need info by June 26th about the area

j%26#39;s momtexas:

Thank you so much for your helpful and quick response. We will definitely do many of the things you%26#39;ve suggested. I didn%26#39;t know about the paddle boats so that was good news! We are leaving tomorrow....will post a trip report when we return. Again, thanks you.

Apple Annie

This would be past due for your questions but I would like to clarify something you posted in regard to Broken Bow Lake. It is the pretties and cleanest lake in the state for anyone considering this area in the future.