Celebrate the New Year in Broken Bow

The start of a new year is the perfect time both for reflecting on the year behind and looking forward to the year ahead. It’s a time of fresh starts and new beginnings, of self-discovery and getting back to your roots. 

This year, why not start your year off on a good note with a trip to Broken Bow? If your resolutions involve traveling more, spending more time with friends, or reconnecting with nature, Broken Bow is the place to be this New Year. Whether you want to check out local establishments or just get a little lost in the woods, Broken Bow has everything you could need to start 2025 the right way! 

In this blog, we’ll let you know our best tips for a New Years trip to Broken Bow. Book your cabin with us, read on, and fill out your itinerary for your New Years trip to Broken Bow!

Gather with friends and family in your cabin

Who says you have to be at home to host the perfect New Year’s celebration? 

Take your normal New Year’s gathering to the next level by booking a cabin with your closest friends and family. Our cabins are spacious, cozy, and outfitted with all of the amenities you could ever need for the perfect trip. When you book a stay with Vandell Vacation Rentals, you get to enjoy the comfy-cozy feeling of being in a warm log cabin with all of the modern necessities you could need, such as AC/heating, a full-sized kitchen, and TVs. 

Not only do our cabins have everything you could need, but they also have everything you want for a fun time! All of our cabins come outfitted with a hot tub, a fireplace or fire pit, and other opportunities for recreation without even leaving your cabin! 

If you want to ring in the New Year without leaving your cabin, throw together a little party for your closest friends and family right in your cabin! To make your night one for the books, here are our recommendations:

• Pick up a bottle (or two!) of wine or champagne from a local Broken Bow winery 
• Cater or create a charcuterie board for everyone to snack on
• Plan some sort of game or activity to keep things interesting – for ideas, check out our blog on the perfect night-in at your cabin! 

Check out local Broken Bow businesses

One of the greatest things about the holiday season is the sense of togetherness shared among people everywhere, and New Year’s Eve is the culmination of that feeling. People gather together across different ages, demographics, and backgrounds to reflect on the past year and look forward to the upcoming one. What better way to welcome a new year than by supporting a local business with your patronage?

Don’t let Broken Bow’s small town charm fool you – there are tons of restaurants, breweries, and other establishments where you can grab a bite to eat, have a drink or two, and celebrate the end of 2024 with friends and family. If you want to paint the town red this New Year’s Eve, check out Broken Bow’s local spots! Some of our favorites include: 

• Abendigo’s Grill and Patio 
• Beavers Bend Brewing Company 
• Grateful Head Pizza Oven and Taproom 
• Mountain Fork Brewery
• The Tasting Room 
• Girls Gone Wine 

Visit these local spots and make some new friends this New Year’s Eve! Make sure to check their websites and Facebook pages in the week leading up to New Years Eve to learn more about specials and events. 

Share resolutions around the fire

When you book a luxury cabin with Vandell Vacation Rentals for your trip to Broken Bow, it’s highly likely that your cabin will have an outdoor fire pit, an indoor fireplace, or both. For a more calm and contemplative New Year celebration, have everyone gather around the fire to share their 2025 resolutions, goals, and dreams. 

This is also a great time to reminisce and reflect on the past year! Sharing everyone’s favorite memories from the past year can be a great way to foster togetherness and grow relationships with the people you love the most. 

Want to make things a bit more interesting? Here are some ideas to turn this time into something interactive and fun!

Conversation-Based Games

In recent years, games such as We’re Not Really Strangers and The Hygge Game have risen to popularity for providing easy and fun ways to get to know a group of people better. Play one of these games around the fire – or, better yet, write your own questions and create your own game! 

Empire: Resolution Edition

Have everyone in the group write one resolution, goal, or wish for 2025 on a piece of paper. Fold up the papers and place them in a bowl. Then, one person will read all of the pieces of paper anonymously. Players will then take turns guessing who wrote which resolution. If you guess someone correctly, that person joins your “Empire”, and the winner is the person with the most people on their team at the end of the game.

Read a more detailed description on how to play Empire here! 

Start your year off connecting with nature 

Today’s culture demands so much of your time and energy. The average person works a 9 to 5 job, returns home to binge their favorite shows, and checks their social media timelines plenty of times in between. If you aren’t careful, your life can quickly become a cycle of screens, and you’ll miss out on things that really matter. 

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to spend less time looking at screens, Broken Bow is the place to be! Nestled in the midst of lush forests and at the foothills of the Kiamichi Mountains, Broken Bow is a nature-lover’s paradise. There is no shortage of opportunities for you get back to your roots and get in touch with nature to start your year off right! 

Hiking

Bundle up, visit Beavers Bend State Park, and take a leisurely winter stroll through one of the park’s many trails! The park has plenty of short, easy trails for beginners, so feel free to take your time and enjoy the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. 

While Broken Bow typically experiences fairly mild winters, make sure you pay attention to the weather forecast in case of ice or snow. These conditions can make trails harder to navigate, leading to an increased risk of injury. 

We created a guide for beginner hikers, so make sure to check it out for more information on the trails of Broken Bow! 

Fishing

Like we mentioned earlier, Broken Bow experiences fairly mild winters compared to the rest of the country. For that reason, wintertime is a fantastic time to go fishing! The fish will still be biting, and you’ll get to skip all of the summertime crowds. 

Before you hit the water, make sure you have all of the necessary supplies: 

• A fishing rod and reel
• Fishing line
• Bait/lures
• Proper clothing

If you have never gone fishing before and need a little help, Broken Bow has plenty of experienced, professional fishing guides in the area who will show you the ropes and help you reel in the perfect catch! Check out Mountain Fork Outfitters Trout Fishing Guide, Huffman’s Guide Service, Rudy’s Guide Service, or Beavers Bend Fly Fishing Guide Service for a great time on the waters of Broken Bow! 

Kayaking/Canoeing

Ready to kick things up a notch? Go canoeing or kayaking down the Mountain Fork River! This is a fantastic way for the thrill-seekers out there to enjoy the sights and scenery of Broken Bow while getting their adventure fix. 

For a high-speed ride down the river, we recommend renting a kayak. Kayaks are more narrow, so they ride more quickly through the water. Canoes are wider and larger than kayaks, so will glide more slowly through the water. Either way, taking boats out onto the water can make for an unforgettable experience! 

You can rent a kayak or canoe from Beavers Bend River Floats in Beavers Bend State Park, or you can check out other canoe rental spots in the area. For a comprehensive guide to the waters of Broken Bow, check out our guide all about it! 

Taking a scenic drive

Not feeling up to barring the cold but still want to see everything southeast Oklahoma has to offer? Load up the car with snacks, blankets, and your favorite people, and go for a drive! 

About an hour outside of Broken Bow, you can find the Talimena Scenic Byway, which provides the region’s most gorgeous drives. Take in rushing streams, flowing waterfalls, and lush evergreen pine trees as you make your way through the drive. Stop at various vista points for photos, grab a bite to eat in one of the towns you pass through, and enjoy a simple, quiet day out on the road with the people you love the most. 

Happy New Year!

This New Year, do something with your friends and family that you’ll never forget by booking a trip to Broken Bow! Spend time bonding as you explore nature together, get to know the locals, and enjoy the luxury of staying in a cabin. 

At Vandell Vacation Rentals, we want to help you make unforgettable memories with the people you love. Book a stay at one of our luxury cabins today for the adventure of a lifetime!