Heavener Runestone Park

My wife and i were traveling on a rainy Sunday morning from Ft.Smith to Texarkana. Along the way we saw a sign for Heavener Runestone Park. We had previously visited Sweden and Norway and explored dozens of runestone sites. But here! In Oklahoma! We had to check it out. The park is a short drive off the highway. The park was empty probably from the pouring rain. We had raingear and headed for the well maintaines paved trail to the runestone. The trail is moderately steep and caution should be used for those with mobility or low vision problems when the trail is wet and has low light. The trail wanders through oak, maples and hickories and on this day the forest was heavily laden with the scent of musty leavesthat added to the experience. The trail ends in a gazebo where the runestone is encased in glass along with information about the research conducted on the runestone. The runestone is a giant slab of sandstonethat contains 8 markings believed to have been a boundary markercreated by Vikings ibetween 600 and 800 AD.The premise is that the Vikings sailed around the southern tip of Florida to the Mississippi River where they sailed up river to where the Arkansas River meets the Mississippi.

Saw this from our local News 9 from OKC and had to visit! The lady in the gift shop was very knowledgeable and friendly! Great gifts there too! After you see the Runestone, make sure you go to the end of the park to see a nice view of Heavener!

Really neat site to visit if you are into history and/or Viking culture. I lucked out and had the place to myself (visited second week of December, so probably off season?) which was really nice. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area or want to take a day trip. There is also camping around the site and a small gift shop selling firewood, souvenirs, etc.

Absolutely amazing experience here. Very well maintained park with incredible scenery. The Runestone is well preserved. Wonderful pathways that are well taken care of. The gift shop is very nice and stocked with plenty of Norse Rune related things. The staff is very professional, knowledgeable, accommodating, and friendly. Hope to return again with the love of my life.

We happened upon this on a road trip. We weren't prepared for the climb back up the stairs, so just be ready. Do not forget to check out the scenic overlook up the hill from the stone.

This place is AMAZING i cant believe ive never come before ive lived in leflore county 90% of my life we will come back again we are already making plans to do so

Sept. 2023
The staff we encountered over two different visits was very nice. I called previous to the trip and again the staff was helpful and nice.

We hiked the Red blazed trail and one of the Blue blazed trails. I absolutely love the rocky rugged terrain. There were many rock shelves to walk out on and lots of shear drop-offs to walk up to the edge.

Since it was bone dry when we hiked there was no flowing water. That being said there are countless little waterfalls and streams that would be magnificent during the rainy time of year.

The Runestone was neat, but I hate that a building is built around it. Unfortunately we have to protect our 'gems' from 'stupid'.

This is a great place to spend a ½ day chasing out the trails and learning the history of such a unique find in our state.

The park was very clean everywhere we drove and walked.

There is no entrance fee, but I encourage you to leave a donation to maintain access for those who follow after us.

Interesting park. It is free and has a couple short trails with the main one leading to the Rune stone. They have a gift shop and clean bathrooms.

Amazing place and only minutes from highway. Very interesting and majestic place. Makes you wonder why sites like these are not explored and researched further.

My wife kid and I Had an amazing time especially with the lady currently at the gift shop; very knowledgeable, very kind, and courteous I hope she's able to stay with them for a long time. It would be a shame to lose her. I hope they're able to get the funding and help that they actually need
my working class budget appreciated the prices of the souvenirs in the gift shop hope they don't raise the prices on anything by the next time I get to come again

The park was previously a state park. The state pulled the funding for it a few years ago. While being a private owned place, it still is maintained very well. The stone it self was pretty cool. The history behind the area is really cool. Worth the trip if your headed down that way. The gift shop/office had a pretty good selection of gifts, things for kids. Snacks and cold drinks seemed to be priced well. The lady who was there(didn't get her name) was super helpful. We were chatting with her and she offered for us to stay the night for free since we had had a bad night the night before(at another park close by because of our drunk neighbor playing loud music and talking on the phone super loud). Would recommend it.

This is a very interesting place. I went to this place in the early 1960. They have built a building around the Runestone. That part is makes it nice on a sunny day to have a shade. There is a walk to get to the Runestone. But I thought the area getting there was very pretty.

Neat place to visit. Great trails hard to see them in the fall. When the leaves are on the ground

Love it. Beautiful trails. Best visit during the fall. Has lots of amenities, gift shop, restrooms, paths, covered eating areas, fire pits, playground, open air amphitheater.

Volunteers are great, hiking trails are in good shape. Great photos ops, Slab walls and of course the runes. Historically impressive, lots of signs and information for history buffs as well as replicas from other locations.

Beautiful little spot for a hike and great views

Really neat. Vikings! The path there isn't long but there are a bunch of stairs. Still easy for my young kids to make it. Tons of history. Beautiful scenery.

Beautiful park! The trails were very well maintained. There are a lot of stairs and elevation change, but it was a fairly easy hike to the runestone. They do a good job of posting signs with the history of the area and the stone. It was a quiet place and we enjoyed our short visit. Will definitely be back when we can spend some more time and hike some different trails.

Been passing through for 30yrs or more always stopped to feed the deer, but never knew about this place. It's amazing and worth the stop. Great view from top parking lot!

Really cool history on the Runestone, and the trails are well kept. It is also free to visit and cheap to go camping.

We only walked the loop to the runestone. Super cool. However lots of stairs! Wasn't too bad but gets steep.