State parks

Hello all

I do a lot of hiking in MO and AR. I would like to head into OK to do some too. I usually carry my .45 or .357 concealed in AR but open in MO. There are some hikes I would like to do in OK but not sure on the state law especially now with open carry.

I would like to check out the greenleaf lake area. I believe this is a state park but I was reading that the military or national guard uses the area too.

I would think that the national parks fall under the concealed carry that got passed a few years ago. I dont know if this allows open carry in the state of OK or not on national parks.

Any help is appreciated.

I live right on the OK AR MO border and work in Oklahoma. I am a missouri resident.

larueman said:

Hello all

I do a lot of hiking in MO and AR. I would like to head into OK to do some too. I usually carry my .45 or .357 concealed in AR but open in MO. There are some hikes I would like to do in OK but not sure on the state law especially now with open carry.

I would like to check out the greenleaf lake area. I believe this is a state park but I was reading that the military or national guard uses the area too.

I would think that the national parks fall under the concealed carry that got passed a few years ago. I dont know if this allows open carry in the state of OK or not on national parks.

Any help is appreciated.

I live right on the OK AR MO border and work in Oklahoma. I am a missouri resident.

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You have a couple different things to worry about here and I'll try and explain them top down so it makes the most sense.

First, the national parks issue. The law that was passed allows carrying in national parks per state law for the state the park is located in. OK, that seems pretty simple in and of itself.

Second, State Parks are exempted from being prohibited places. That also seems pretty simple.

Third, and the confusing part. You have to watch out for land that may be Department of Wildlife land inside a state park, and you also have to watch out for Army Corp of Engineer Land no matter where it is. Even though Department of Wildlife land may be inside the boundaries of a state park, that particular land is paid for by Department of Wildlife and is technically not part of the state park so different rules apply, mainly rules about hunting. The head state park ranger told me about the Department of Wildlife issue when I asked him about this.

In the instance of Greenleaf State Park, Camp Gruber is right next door so you have to be really careful there, some of the hiking trails will lead you on to Gruber (done that by accident).

Thanks for the reply.

Good to know state parks are exempted.

Gruber was what I was worried about. I dont want to break federal law.

larueman said:

Thanks for the reply.

Good to know state parks are exempted.

Gruber was what I was worried about. I dont want to break federal law.

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Just don't forget about the other portions of state law. You still can't going into any building in the state park that does business with the public, like ranger stations, park offices, or visitor centers.