Black Kettle National Grassland
US Forest Service National Grassland, Restored From Dust Bowl Farmland; Administered With The Cibola National Forest · Cheyenne, Oklahoma
About 31,000 acres of recovering short-grass prairie and canyon country in far western Oklahoma and just over the line in Texas, administered by the Forest Service from Cheyenne as part of the Cibola National Forest. It exists because of the Dust Bowl: the federal government bought out failed farms here in the 1930s, replanted the ground and turned it into grassland held in trust, which is why the boundary is a patchwork among private ranches. It covers 30,724 acres in Oklahoma. Small lakes including Skipout and Dead Indian hold bass and catfish, the Black Kettle and Lake Marvin campgrounds have twelve units each, camping is free and first come, first served with no reservations, and dispersed camping is allowed. Everything here is free: the Forest Service lists no entry, day-use or camping fee. Fire danger was rated High in September 2026, with Stage 1 fire restrictions on parts of the Cibola districts, so campfires need checking first. Washita Battlefield National Historic Site lies inside its boundaries, and quail and lesser prairie-chicken country surrounds it, so birders and hunters both come.
Black Kettle National Grassland, US Highway 283 near Cheyenne, Cheyenne, Oklahoma, 73628, United States
All recreation sites are open year-round, 24 hours, free. The district office in Cheyenne opens Monday-Friday 8 AM-4:30 PM Central, closed federal holidays (check fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola or call 580-497-2143).
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