Cowhide Cove Campground

We booked a site for 1 night only because it was close to the Crater of Diamonds State Park. We were at site 4 on the bottom loop and it was beautiful. We loved watching the sun go down over the lake. Also, we have 3 boys so being close to the play ground was awesome. We will definitely be back!

There's a lower loop near the playground that is perfect for families with kids. The only con is you have to walk up the hill to the bathrooms. You have a perfect line of sight to the large playground from sites 3, 4, and 5. 

The upper loop is a little tight in some spots, as the campground is on a hill, but the views are out of this world. 

I felt extremely safe here. The gates are great, but there are also hosts, and I saw park rangers do some laps and a sheriff's deputy do a lap just waving and nodding to campers. Lots of families with kids riding bikes and retirees getting their steps in. 

Very cool little campground.

Beautiful area, super nice and helpful host! Enjoyed swimming and views. Full hookups easy back in site and very roomy; plenty of move for grand-babies to be play, even setup a little pool.

Old Cowhide Cove campground has 9 sites,  6 are well spaced, level sites spread out along a lake just inside the trees, remainder are placed upon the hill overlooking those sites.  Campground road is paved with gravel parking pads.  Each site has a picnic table, metal fire ring,  BBQ grill and a small table near the BBQ grill.  Plenty of room for a tent on the grass.  Sites have electric and water hook ups.  Cost is $20.  Campground has a restroom but no showers (showers can be found at the more modern New Cowhide Cove campground located on the other side of the lake from old cowhide).  Campground does have trash service and a dump station.  Their is also a small day use area available.

This is to update my previous post. We are now in the Old Cowhide Cove Campground. We have a beautiful spot backed up to the lake with a wonderful view. There are two widely separated camping areas: New Cowhide Cove and Old Cowhide Cove. We ae in OLD Cowhide Cove so this review is specific to that area. Very adequate campsites are well spaced with picnic table, fire ring., 50 amp electric and water. There is a well situated dump station right on the way out. Even though the sites are long enough for most rigs, there is a paved parking area between most sites. Old Cowhide Cove Campground is a small area with only a few sites--a plus for me.

I highly recommend this campground. The unreasonably late check-in time is a responsibility of the COE. There was no one to check us in which was no problem for us as we had advanced reservations and an assigned site which was easy to find and presented no difficulty in backing in.

I will be visiting this campground in a few days and will post a more complete review, but I ran into a problem even before I have arrived.

My reservation confirmation indicates a check-in time of 6:00 pm (almost dark) after a check-out time of 4:00 pm.  These are most awkward times for arrival and departure. I am more accustomed to check-out around 11:00 am and check in around 1:00 pm. I don't know what I can do about this -- if anything.

Rustic camping near Crater of Diamonds Park. Camping spaces are tight