Robbers Cave now stands empty as the tomb. 
The winds whistle. The dust blows. 
Jesse James and gangs have vanished and left 
nothing but rumors behind. But today, 
churches camp out here and this area is more 
popular than ever.  Some people have been 
coming back for a lifetime.

Robbers Cave got its name from its alleged association 
with Jesse James and gangs, and Belle Starr, along with 
Cole Younger, and other assorted outlaws. 

Robbers Cave
State Park

© by Lin Stone

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It is a known fact that Belle did live about 20 miles from here and that she was Cole's wife at one time. 

Other than that connection, corroborative evidence is very much like the Bald Eagle... 

  HARD TO FIND 

That's easy to understand; 
Most outlaws liked to keep their hideouts 
A BIG Secret.

Please Note:
This story extends to multiple pages 
where you will find access to 60 BIG pictures of this region!

The park is four miles north of Wilburton on State Highway 2 in the Kiamichi Country of southeastern Oklahoma, just off US 270.  Some visitors I talked to there had been returning frequently since 1930

a well of water springing from the earth to cool their thirst 

Any way you look at it, Robbers Cave would have made an ideal hideout.  8 or 9 outlaws hidden here with their cool spring water supply could get a sudden drop on a dozen posses.  Even an army equipped with Civil War cannon would find it tough going to infiltrate this region. 

 

Just let a lawman try to sneak up on anyone here. His huffing and puffing would be heard 80 feet below.Furthermore, the boulders in this sandstone mountainous area form a natural barrier to human intrusion unless you know the trails.  

They are great for rappelling, especially up near the cave.  The boulders here are sliced off by the wind, gouged out by the rain, and worn away by thick foliage to form jumbled upheavals of pure confusion.  (Mama, Mama. What kind of rock am I?)  

And, speaking of boulders, there are single rocks almost as big as boulders cast up unexpectedly throughout the 8,246 acre State Park.  640 acres is one square mile.  That means that if you square it up, Robbers Cave State Park is close to 13 square miles.  Now just to put that into perspective for you, I have gotten thoroughly lost at night in a 30 acre patch of woods--well actually it is worse than that:  The man who owned the woods was guiding me and HE was thoroughly lost!

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As you swish through the gate the air is clean and the pulse is pounding with excitement as your kids strain at the leash to get out and play like they are outlaws. 

The kids need no urging to cut loose and explore the region so you may want to watch them extra close until you are sure how they will behave when confronted with temptation.  There are caves and openings and slits just about everywhere you look that they can squirm into AND THROUGH.  There are even ledges to peer over and perch precariously from.

Do you see what I mean?  

Since the State Park is about twice as long as it is wide, there are many more miles of scenery to be felt.  Felt?  Yes, even when you close your eyes you can feel the peace and the clean tides of wind rising to greet you.  If you are coming from Wilburton, the road to the hideout cave is the third one on the left after you see the sign that says you are entering the Robbers Cave State Park.  The gate the restricts entrance is closed from dark to dusk.  I had to look it up myself so I'll let you know without having to, dark usually happens shortly after the sun goes down--and dusk is that hazy time of day just before the sun comes up.  If it is too dark to see if the gate is open without using your headlights then the gate is probably closed and locked.

Any weekend holiday, such as Labor Day, you had better plan on making reservations about a year in advance to get yourself a camping space or a cabin to sleep in.  This place is CROWDED.

Robbers Cave Fall Festival
is always the 3rd weekend in October.

 Have you enjoyed Robbers Cave so far?
You're just getting started!

Do you like pictures?  Here are our Slow Loading Robbers Cave Picture Pages: 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 * 8 * 9 * 10 * 11 * 12 * 13 * 14 * 15 *  Please note... You can use these photos to make your own caps, shirts, clocks, etc.  Our FREE Book shows you how.   And don't miss the completely different assortment of pictures in our free ScreenSaver as well  *  There are more than 60 pictures to be seen in the rest of the story.  Don't miss any of them. So, let's get started by Going Over the Edge at Robbers Cave  *  Horses at Robbers Cave  *  Visit the Nature Center at Robbers Cave  *  Read How Churches (and other large groups) camp out at Robbers Cave.  *  Discover the wonderful adventures for families and individuals  *  Climbing to the top of Robbers Cave  *  Return to the Robbers Cave Introduction Page  *  Explore this entire region called Kiamichi Country  *  Learn More About Oklahoma  *  Widen your range and Your Vacation World, and the rest of the world too  

Click HERE to discover the real stories of desperadoes and lawmen of Oklahoma.
Click HERE for the story of "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
Click HERE for chronicles of the Bill Doolin gang.

  Lin Stone is an author, writer and photographer living in Noble Oklahoma   You can have immediate, and free, reading of many more pieces when you send your little surfer scooting to Lin's home page at http://www.talewins.com/StoneSoup.htm where he keeps stirring up more good things for the soul.

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