The gatehouse on the Overholser Dam still has its decorative wheels. For about a century, those wheels and the gates beneath them did a job most of West OKC never thinks about. The dam is not a flood-control structure. It sits off to the side of the North Canadian River, and closing its river gates backs the river up to fill the lake. Backing up the river that way is also how Lake Hefner gets filled, and Hefner supplies much of the city's drinking water.
That same dam is also one of the best places in the city to watch fall migration, but mainly before lunch. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation says American white pelicans move south through Oklahoma in large flocks from early September through November, so the season is underway right now. Your time of day decides which side of the lake gives you the better view, and the morning side is the one scheduled for a major rebuild.
Mornings Belong to the Dam and the North Shore
The Oklahoma City Audubon Society's guide to Lake Overholser describes the lake as running from NW 39th Street on the north to NW 10th on the south, with Council Road on the east and roughly Sara Road on the west. For birds on or over the water, the guide's advice depends on the light. In the morning, it recommends the dam, the island, the north shore and the coffer dam.
If you're there for songbirds and other land birds, the same guide points to these spots:
- The woods below the dam
- The coffer dam
- The pullouts along the north shore
- The park-like areas on the east side of the lake
The dam shows up on both lists. A morning visit that starts at the dam and works north toward the coffer dam covers most of what the Audubon guide recommends for the first half of the day. The east-shore Overholser Trail helps too. The City lists it at 3.2 miles, linking NW 39th Street and Overholser Drive with Overholser Park at NW 10th. The longer Hefner–Overholser Trail runs 7.8 miles if you want to make a full morning of it.
Audubon is clear about what to expect. It calls fall migration at Overholser "less productive than spring," with "a few surprises." On a slower morning, the dam and the coffer dam give you the widest view across the water.
Afternoons Shift to the West Side
After midday, the guide sends you to the other side of the lake: the west-side road, the newer park at NW 23rd on the west side, and the west end of the dam. The west end of the dam appears on both lists, which makes it the easiest place to switch from your morning route to your afternoon one.
The NW 23rd park has a second, less predictable payoff. Audubon notes that shorebirding at Overholser is usually not great unless the lake level drops. When the fields west of the lake hold standing water, though, shorebirds can be abundant near that park and along NW 23rd. After a wet stretch, that's the first place to check.
Route 66 Park is on this side too, and Audubon lists it as one of its marked locations on the lake. The roughly 600-foot wetlands boardwalk west of Lake Overholser was rebuilt and reopened in December 2024 after a three-year safety closure. Visit OKC lists the park's watchtower, shelter, amphitheater, fishing wetlands and a walkable stretch of Route 66. The 2024 reopening is the most recent official update we found on the boardwalk, so plan on what you see when you get there.
If your afternoon runs long, Lakeview Market sits at 9025 N Overholser Drive, along historic Route 66 near the lake. Oklahoma's tourism site describes fall pumpkin patch and corn maze offerings there. The market's own site lists daily hours of 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and we didn't find 2026 dates for the patch or maze, so call ahead before you plan around them.
What October Adds to the Water
Pelicans get the attention, but the Audubon fall list for Overholser is longer than that. Here's what its guides describe for this time of year:
- Pelicans, grebes, egrets and herons, along with Snow Geese, ducks, Osprey, Swainson's Hawks and White-faced Ibis
- Franklin's Gulls, which Audubon's guide to Hefner and Overholser says are present in very large numbers during the spring and fall migrations
- Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, which the same guide names as the grebes Overholser is good for; it describes Horned Grebes as dependable from about November 1 to May 1
- Less common finds, including bitterns, night herons, rails, Marsh Wrens and Yellow-headed Blackbirds
These are seasonal possibilities, not a sightings report. If pelicans are the main reason you're going, check recent local reports before you head out. The species also overlap. Pelicans can still be passing through in early November, the same time Audubon's Horned Grebe window opens, so a morning on the dam that week covers more than one migration at a time.
Stinchcomb Is the Lake's Quiet North End
North of the open water, Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge sits at NW 51st and N Stinchcomb Avenue. Visit OKC describes it as a 1,000-acre spot for walking, biking, birding and paddling.
If you paddle, know the setup before you load the kayak. The City says there are no ramps inside the refuge's gated area, and water access is only from Lake Overholser. You put in on the lake and paddle north to reach the refuge from the water.
The Dam in Your Morning Photos Has a Rebuild Coming
The structure at the center of the morning route is old. KOSU reported in May 2025 that the dam was built in 1918 and rebuilt after a 1923 flood. It was originally expected to last 30 years. It had nearly two dozen gates run by a single engine, and moving that engine from one gate to the next took about a day. State and federal dam rules had also changed since then.
The proposed fix replaces those gates with a labyrinth weir, a fixed zigzag concrete overflow with no moving parts. In 2025, the project was expected to cost more than $50 million. It's funded through existing water rates, and officials said no rate increase was planned. Officials also said they hoped to put the construction contract out for bid in early 2026, with about two years of work to follow. The goal is to add 50 years to the dam's design life. The gatehouse and its decorative wheels stay, though the wheels will no longer operate anything.
Those were plans and estimates as of 2025. We haven't found a public construction start date for the dam itself. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board's September 2026 board packet includes a statement from the engineering firm FNI saying it is designing Phase I of the rehabilitation and helped the City obtain FEMA grant funding and OWRB funding for Phase I construction. The most recent statement from the City that we found came in May 2026, when Oklahoma City Utilities told KFOR:
"In 2027, the Utilities Department will initiate a long-term project to reconstruct a portion of the roadway between the Overholser Dam and NW 23rd."
That stretch connects the two halves of the Audubon routine, from the dam in the morning to the NW 23rd park in the afternoon. The same statement said the road work is part of the larger dam rehabilitation and will consider added traffic-calming features and stronger safety barriers at key entry points around the lake. Utilities and Public Works engineers were also evaluating speed cushions and more guardrails along Overholser Drive and nearby roads.
Lake Hours for Early Starts
The best water views here come early in the day, so it helps to know when the lake is open. Under City ordinance, lake hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., except for permitted activities such as fishing or boating. Oklahoma City Utilities recommends that drivers use extreme caution near any of its water supply reservoirs. A sunrise visit to the dam fits those hours, as long as you stay on the road until it's light.
If you live near Overholser and the 2027 road work or the dam rebuild has you wondering what it means for your street, your commute or a future sale, LW Realty Group keeps up with these West OKC projects as they move forward. Call Lana, Your Friend in Real Estate. She's happy to talk through what's been announced and what's still in planning.
