Lake Camping in Arkansas: 10 Sites With Real Water Access

Somebody called the desk last spring wanting to know where in Arkansas a feller could pitch a tent close enough to the water that his kid could fish from the picnic table. Fair question. My sister lives down in Hot Springs and I've spent enough weeks visiting to have opinions, so here they are without me pretending Arkansas is my home country.

The trick with lake camping down there isn't finding a lake — the state's got hundreds. It's finding a site where you actually see the water from the tent, not through a curtain of RVs and a paved loop road. Some of these are Corps of Engineers, some are Arkansas State Parks, one or two are Forest Service. All of them, I've either camped at, walked through on a friend's rec, or heard about from crew who did details down there.

Sadie the border collie came along for a couple of these trips and she's got opinions too, mostly about squirrels.

What I mean by "real water access"

Every campground on a lake claims lake access. What you sometimes find is a quarter-mile walk down a paved cart path to a public swim beach shared with 400 other folks. That's fine for some. Its not what I'm talking about here.

Real water access, to me, means you can walk from your tent to the shoreline in less than two minutes without crossing a road. Bonus points if you can tie a canoe up within sight. A lot of the sites below have that. A few dont — I'll say so when it's the case, because there's other reasons to camp there.

The Ouachitas and Hot Springs country

This is where I'd start most folks. The water is clear, the country is rumpled and green, and the campgrounds are close enough to Hot Springs that you can drive in for a burger without making a day of it.

Lake Ouachita State Park (near Mountain Pine) is the one I'd send my own family to. It's on the east end of the biggest lake wholly inside Arkansas, and the tent sites on the water-side loops put you right on the shore. Marina, launch, decent trails. It gets busy in summer — used to be quieter, internet found it — but shoulder season is still real nice. You can book through Arkansas State Parks.

Lake Catherine State Park (near Hot Springs) is smaller and, to my eye, prettier in a tight-canyon way. Falls Branch Trail runs to a waterfall and the campground has sites that back onto coves. Good place for a canoe. The rental cabins here are the kind of thing that make me suspicious but the tent loops are honest.

DeGray Lake Resort State Park (near Bismarck) — and here's where I'll be straight with you — is a resort park, which means there's a lodge and a golf course and yeah, a gift shop. The campground itself is separated from all that though, and Shouse Ford across the lake is a Corps of Engineers area with better tent sites if you want less pavement. DeGray water is clear and deep, one of the cleanest lakes in the state.

Ozarks and the northern reservoirs

Up in the Ozarks the lakes are big Corps of Engineers reservoirs — Bull Shoals, Beaver, Greers Ferry, Norfork. The Corps runs a lot of campgrounds around them and most of them are better than the state park equivalents for actually being on the water. Reserve through Recreation.gov, and do it early — Corps sites on these lakes fill up months out for prime weekends.

Bull Shoals-White River State Park (near Lakeview) straddles both the lake and the tailwater of the White River. Trout fishing below the dam is a thing of beauty in the fall. The Lakeside campground area has waterfront tent spots that are worth the drive.

Devil's Fork on Greers Ferry Lake (near Greers Ferry) is a Corps park and it's the one I'd pick over the state park at Greers Ferry every time. Sites on loops A and B put you right on the coves. Little Red River nearby if you want to trout fish.

Horseshoe Bend on Beaver Lake (near Rogers) — big campground, easy to get lost in, but the tent-only sites on the peninsula are legit lakeside. Bentonville and the museums are 20 minutes off if you get rained out.

River valley and Boston Mountains

Lake Fort Smith State Park (near Mountainburg) sits in the Boston Mountains and the lake is the water supply for Fort Smith, so no gas motors. That alone makes it worth a visit. Quiet water, good paddling, and the Ozark Highlands Trail terminus is right there if you want to string together some hiking with your camp days.

Cove Lake (near Paris) is a Forest Service campground at the base of Mount Magazine, which is the highest point in the state. Small lake, no big motors, and the campground has sites right on the shore. You can drive up to Mount Magazine State Park for the view and come back down to swim. Ouachita National Forest runs this one.

Petit Jean State Park / Lake Bailey (near Morrilton) — I'll be honest, Petit Jean is more of a bluff-and-waterfall park than a lake destination. But Lake Bailey is right there, you can rent a rowboat, and the campground is one of the prettier ones in the state system. Cedar Falls trail is worth every step. Include it because if you're already in the neighborhood, you'd be a fool not to.

Delta and the southeast

Now here's where Arkansas gets weird and interesting. The southeast corner is flat delta country, cypress swamps, oxbow lakes. Different animal entirely from the Ozarks. Fewer people. Hotter in summer than the surface of the sun. But in October and November it's some of the best country in the state.

Lake Chicot State Park (near Lake Village) is on the largest oxbow lake in North America — a cutoff bend of the Mississippi. Cypress trees standing in the water, alligator gar rolling, the whole business. Sites on the water are unlike anything else on this list. Bring bug dope in warm months. Alot of bug dope.

Millwood State Park (near Ashdown) down in the southwest is famous for bass fishing and birds — over 300 species logged. The tent loop has sites near the water and the lake itself is full of standing timber, which is great for fish and rough on boat props.

Cane Creek State Park (near Star City) is one hardly anyone talks about, which is exactly why I'm putting it on here. Sits where the delta meets the Gulf Coastal Plain, so you get both worlds. Waterfront tent sites, kayak rentals, and the kind of quiet you dont get at Ouachita on a Saturday.

Reservations, seasons, and the gotchas

Arkansas has three different reservation systems and it'll drive you sideways if you're not ready for it. State parks book through the Arkansas State Parks site. Corps of Engineers campgrounds (most of the Bull Shoals, Beaver, Greers Ferry, DeGray, Ouachita sites that aren't state park) go through Recreation.gov. Forest Service ditto. A few first-come first-served sites still exist but they're vanishing.

Here's what I'd actually flag before you drive down there:

• Summer heat and humidity in Arkansas is no joke. Bring a tent with real ventilation, not a three-season mountain rig.
• Ticks and chiggers. Permethrin your clothes before the trip, not during.
• Corps sites often have a 14-day stay limit and enforce it. State parks vary.
• Water levels on the big Corps lakes fluctuate — a site that's waterfront in April may have 30 yards of mud in August.
• Cottonmouths exist. So do copperheads. Watch your step around the boat ramps and rocky shoreline. In 40 years I've seen exactly two people bit and both were messing with the snake.
• Booking window for Recreation.gov Corps sites is typically six months out — check the specific park because it varies.
• Generator hours in most of these campgrounds are 8am to 10pm-ish. Don't be that guy.
• Alcohol rules differ between state parks and Corps parks. Read the sign at the gate.
• A lightweight stove beats a fire on hot nights when a burn ban is on, which happens often in late summer.

One more thing on gear — if you're coming from up north like I do, don't bring your heavy sleeping bag. Even in April you'll cook. A 50-degree bag is plenty for most of the season down there. Full gear list if you're starting from scratch.

What I'd actually do

If it was me and a week of vacation, I'd book four nights at Lake Ouachita State Park and three at Devil's Fork on Greers Ferry, and I'd drive the back roads between. That gives you the two best lakes in the state, both with real waterfront tent sites, and enough shoulder time to hit Hot Springs and eat something fried. If it was fall and I wanted quiet, I'd swap one of those for Cane Creek or Lake Chicot and see the delta while the weather is decent.

Sadie votes for Lake Ouachita — she likes the shoreline pebbles. Take that for what its worth. More lake and river trails and general parks notes on the site if you want to keep poking around.