My family visited Lake Optima in March 2009. We didn't plan the trip; instead, we went to see relatives in the Texas Panhandle, and while there, we hit geocaching.com and a couple of letterboxing sites to see what we could do for fun up there.

There were a couple in Texas, but the biggest clump of geocaches was located north, in Lake Optima. I was intrigued, since I'd never heard of Lake Optima. My brother-in-law said that it was a failed lake, and had never reached capacity. Sounded interesting, so the next day we packed a lunch, four adults and seven children into two vehicles and headed up the highway.

Follow up:

There were no signs from the highway pointing to Lake Optima, and no businesses nearby to point us in the right direction. Luckily, my brother-in-law knew the way. He led us down a rural road until we came up on this sign...

That sign reads: Attention Visitors...This park is closed, although access will remain open. No services are provided. Please do not litter. To report area abuse call 405-766-2701.

The place was deserted. It was like a ghost town. No services were provided, although we did find some picnic tables that we were able to have our lunch at...until the wasps chased us off.

We also found the bathrooms usable, however, they are a step below port-a-potties...or outhouses. The bathroom doors have no handles, but Okie resourcefulness means that the person in front of you turned the deadbolt into the locked position before letting the door slip back shut, and the sliding part of the lock held the door open just enough to let the next visitor get in. Be kind and leave it like you found it...for the next soul in need. The quality of the bathrooms? My nephew worded it best when he said it was "like using a trash can with a toilet seat on it." Yes. If the trash can had a bottom that opened up into an underground cavern of horrors. But don't get me wrong. It was way better than going outside, at least for me. Probably doesn't need saying, but there is no soap, no water, no toilet paper. We had a baby with us, and we had baby wipes. They were a very good thing to have.

There were a lot of geocaches at Lake Optima, and they were all over the place. We didn't get all them during our visit, but we got some very inventive ones. If you are into geocaching, this is definitely worth the trip alone!

Finding a great view while geocaching at Lake Optima.

Our party geocaches past a fallen street sign.

Birdwatching is also a draw for lake Optima. We saw a lot of birds while we were there, but it's not really our thing, so we didn't focus on that or anything. I found a couple of websites about birds at the lake when I was looking around later. I'll link them at the end of this.

The dam was definitely my favorite sight. It is simply a huge dam, and it is holding back absolutely nothing. There is a castle emblem above the lettering - that's the US Army Corps of Engineers emblem - and it looks strangely out of place in the abandoned setting it's in.

The main area of the dam, with the castle emblem.

The road leading to the main area of the dam, with Lake Optima to the right.

Just another shot of the road and lake Optima.

Another very memorable site at Lake Optima is the boat ramp.

My kid standing on the boat ramp at Lake Optima.

Come prepared for nature. Regardless of the vast number of birds, there were a lot of bugs at Lake Optima. There were also plenty of cactuses and prickly bushes. Also be careful if you like to poke your nose in where it doesn't belong. This is the viewing area.

Near the viewing area, there is a little building. I do not know what the little building is for. I took a picture of a seating area outside the little building though.

Then I walked around the little building, and there I discovered another of our delightful friends, the door that has been propped open by the deadbolt. Curious, I opened the door. There was some kind of machinery inside, and that's when I looked down and saw a huge, absolutely huge snake coiled up and slithering away, approximately two inches from my sandal-clad foot.

I screamed bloody murder, slammed the door shut, and rejoined my party by running around the side of the building, shouting "snake" the whole way. Not one of my prouder moments.

Long story short, watch out for the snakes.

Even with my friend the snake, I cannot recommend Lake Optima enough, and I am planning on going there again in the fall. (I wouldn't want to go in too hot of a weather, since you aren't supposed to get in the water and there's no place around to cool off.) You might want to wear bright colors when you go, like orange, since it's also open for public hunting, and you never know who else is going to be down there. We saw one other car there, but didn't ever see anybody.

Visiting Lake Optima is like stepping back in time. You see all the things they hoped and planned for this little vacation area, and then how they abandoned it when things didn't turn out as expected. Seeing all the empty tables with tumbleweeds blowing by says something about how temporary so many things in life are. Plus, it's just interesting, like visiting an old abandoned house or overgrown cemetery.

Wikipedia entry for Lake Optima
Lake Optima Corps of Engineers site
A birdwatcher's visit to Optima
More birding, with maps of the area