Buck Creek, OK

Buck Creek

Buck Creek
Photo of Terry DeMoe by David McDonald taken 7-14-2007 @ Medium High

River Description

Buck Creek is is a long creek with a large watershed, so will run for a few days after a big rain event. There’s little gradient, and no whitewater, until it approaches the put-in listed here. The run is short, just over three miles, but it’s pretty much non-stop right from the put-in. At lower levels, you’ll find yourself maneuvering to pick your route through the shoals, and at high water, you’ll find a lot of energy in the big pushy waves.

Most of the run is characterized by almost continuous, steepish shoal-type rapids.

Access: Like the other runs in the area, Buck runs near and through private land and has quite a few residences near the creek and its access points. Please be friendly and respectful of the land and local residents.

Take-out:
(34.347567/95.650235) From the intersection of Hwy's 2&3 just east of Antlers, go about 7.3 miles north on 2 'till you see the Buck Creek Bridge. Just south of the bridge , take the dirt road to the west that runs upstream along the creek. Go about 7/10ths of a mile, and just before the road crosses a small low-water bridge, there’s a park-like area on the right with a gravel circle drive.

Private Land!
At this writing, it is okay to park here, but please check in with Mr. Duncan, the landowner who lives in the wood house across the low-water bridge at the takeout (upon arrival - and before doing anything else), and let him know you’re paddling and want to park there. If he's not there - leave a note! He’s fine with it as long as he knows what you’re up to. Just be sure to keep vehicles on the gravel and don’t drive down to the creek’s edge.Stay on the road or circular gravel drive and all times and off the grass! When boating, just pull in to the mouth of this little creek and carry up to your vehicle. One other thing, and it's a really big thing to the landowner. If you feel like "popping a top" at the end of the run, make sure you're off this land before you do it. If he sees anyone drinking on his land, it might be the last time we get to use it. Be especially courteous and respectful here.

Put-in:
(34.368675/95.674100) From the take-out, go back to Highway 2, turn left and go just under a mile and turn left toward the Kiamichi Wilderness community on Murell Loop Rd. Road forks a little ways up; bear left and stay on the asphalt road. (WW II AT-6 Monument Signs point the way) Stay on this road until the pavement ends (5.3 miles from highway). From here, the road turns to dirt. Stay on this for a little over a mile and a half. After crossing a low-water bridge, continue up the hill to the volunteer fire department building and turn left on Buck Creek Road immediately past the firehouse. Turn left again at the T and follow the road down to the creek. You’ll want a good clearance vehicle and/or 4WD to get down the hill, or find a place to park higher up and carry your boat down. Again, be respectful of the locals, and ask permission where appropriate. Special thanks to Randy Jackson for checking everything out and providing the beta for this run. 

Please Note: The putin location listed here is on private land as well. The property owner has been good enough to allow us to access the creek at this location. Try to park with the little turn out next to the creek there, if possible (if it's not too wet.) Please be aware that these roads are used to access private homes and don't block them at any time. Also, the entire Kiamichi Wilderness subdivision is private land and all the roads that run through it are private as well; maintained by the Kiamichi Wilderness Homeowner's Association. Keep your speed to the posted limit, (20 - 30mph, I think) and show lots of respect when meeting vehicles on the road and when passing homes. Access here is definitely a privilege and not a right. Make sure you don't leave any trash laying around and it's never a bad idea to pick up any that may have been left by others. "LNT" Although most kayakers don't even need to be told these things - we can't  stress the importance of this enough. Kayaking is a new thing to this area, and we definitely want to make the best impression possible on the folks who live around here. Continued access depends upon it.