Travel guide listing the best and most popular camping sites in Arkansas.
Arkansas features 51 state parks and museums in the state park system, as well as three national forests and six national parks sites (including Hot Springs National Park and the Buffalo River, the first river designated a national river). Opportunities for camping, hiking, and relaxing in the outdoors abound. Perhaps that's why it's called The Natural State.
Accommodations at Arkansas state parks range from mountain lodges to cabins to primitive campsites without running water (unless the nearby stream counts). Campsites can be found at 28 state parks, ranging from Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only diamond-producing site in the world that is open to the public to the beautiful Mount Magazine State Park, on Arkansas' highest mountain (which is also the high point between the Rockies and the Appalachians), a perfect spot for rock climbing.
Eight state parks offer cabins, including those at Mount Nebo, offering dramatic views of the majestic Arkansas River valley and the quaint cabins of Devil's Den, one of Northwest Arkansas' most popular hiking destinations.
Those traveling to the state in RVs will have 26 choices of places to stay. Most RV sites at the state parks are RV/tent sites offering water and electricity, grills and picnic tables, making your home away from home livable as well as scenic. You can even rent an RV along with your camp site at Bull Shoals state park on the White River (a perfect spot for fishing) or at Cane Creek state park in the state's southern Delta region. The RVs have room for eight, heating and air conditioning, a full kitchen and television and the sites at Cane Creek come with a deck including a table, chairs and a grill.
For group trips to Arkansas state parks, lodges are available at four parks. Don't let the word lodge fool you. The lodge at DeGray Lake in southwest Arkansas offers king size beds, Internet access, cable television and a heated outdoor swimming pool. These rooms are cheaper than you can find at most area hotels, and nicer, too. (Many of the rooms at DeGray Lake have two double beds instead of a king, so ask what you're getting when you make your reservation.) The Ozark Folk Center lodge has rooms with double beds and large windows and doors providing views of the Ozark National Forest. While at the folk center you can watch artisans make old-time crafts, take in a show or travel to nearby Blanchard Springs Caverns, operated by the U.S. Forest Service as a show cave.
For those who want to get away from it all, Petit Jean state park's lodge rooms have satellite television but no telephones. The lodge sits on a beautiful bluff overlooking Cedar Creek Canyon, and the restaurant at the lodge offers good eats and beautiful sunsets. Finally, Queen Wilhemina state park offers the "castle in the clouds" lodge, with a wide variety of rooms with double or queen-sized beds. All have satellite television, mountain views, and the Queen's Room (at $110 a night) has a fireplace.
The state is known for its mountains (Ozarks and Ouachitas) and for the three national forests that take up almost 3 million acres in the state (Ozark, St. Francis and Ouachita). Numerous trails and recreational areas are available in these forests, but reservations are not always taken for campsites so you may have to be flexible on where you want to stay if you don't get to the campground early in the peak seasons.
If you love the outdoors and have plenty of time to explore, Arkansas has a lot to offer. But if you have to stick to one part of the state and don't have a lot of time, pick Northwest Arkansas. From Devil's Den to Withrow Springs (where the Girl Scouts have their summer camp), the Buffalo River and the Ozarks Highlands trail to the White River and Beaver Lake, there are many wonderful opportunities for camping, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting and relaxing in nature. Many of these spots are easily accessible from the region's major cities such as Fayetteville.
In the Arkansas River Valley you can choose to visit Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo, Petit Jean State Park or Lake Dardanelle, as well as many beautiful sites along the river and Lake Fort Smith.
In you find yourself in the Ouachitas or near Hot Springs, you will find numerous sites dominated by lakes, including DeGray Lake, Lake Catherine, Lake Ouachita and Lake Greeson (found in Daisy state park). You will also find the beautiful Queen Wilhemina state park and Pinnacle Mountain, which is for day use only but worth a trip to see the Arkansas Arboretum and the beautiful Arkansas River Valley panoramas.
From Little Rock and points south, great options are Crater of Diamonds state park (where you can dig for diamonds and keep any you find), Millwood Lake, known for great fishing, Moro Bay state park and White Oak Lake state park, near Civil War site Poison Creek.
The Delta region of the state is dominated by Crowley's Ridge, a series of hills named for homesteader Benjamin Crowley. Crowley's Ridge State Park features Civilian Conservation Corps constructed buildings and 26 tent sites. Other scenic areas in this region include Lake Frierson, Lake Pontisett and Village Creek State Park. There are other sites in the Delta region including beautiful Lake Chicot state park, dominated by a 20-mile long oxbow lake that was cut off from the Mississippi River. A great spot for bird watching, this park has 122 campsites and 14 cabins.
Whether you truly want to rough it in the midst of Arkansas' natural beauty or you want to see a great view in a cozy cabin or a lovely lodge, Arkansas has you covered. It's variety of natural features, lakes, rivers, mountains and forests means you're never far from a great place to camp, hike and enjoy the Natural State in all its glory.
