Lake Catherine State Park Campground

12 mi off the Interstate. The office is only open until 5 PM. There are toilets next to the tent area, but the showers are over in the RV area. Nice swimming beach. A few hiking trails.

Beautiful park, large sites, good hiking!

Beautiful landscape. The trees are so tall and mature and the sites are all sitting on a serene lake. The spaces are so far apart you can enjoy your own spot without interruption. Bathhouses were super clean with showers. C loop has sewer and B loop doesn’t not much wildlife in the campground but herons and geese on the lake. The power plant across the lake was weird but also quirky. We had fun telling zombie stories about it. Three beautiful hikes right out of the campground. Camp store was well stocked and friendly. Overall fantastic stay and we would DEFINITELY be back. 100%.

I really enjoyed my stay here! I spent a week in an E/W hookup site. The park was clean and quiet (even when full). People were generally kind and respectful. Facilities were well cared for and it was just a generally nice atmosphere. The staff were all very kind and friendly. There are a few close hiking trails with some beautiful views and of course it’s only about a 20 or so minute drive to Hot Springs National Park. The town of Hot Springs is fairly small, but the main drag along bathhouse row has a lot of cool little shops to browse. Cell reception with Verizon was good along with reception for my T-Mobile 5g internet. It worked even better with my booster. I would definitely stay here again. My only complaint was the hot water in the showers…it lasts for about a minute and then the rest of the shower is generally somewhat (not ice) cold. I took some record showers!

Very Clean and well kept campground. We stayed in a full hookup spot near a bathroom. Quiet for how busy the campground was - only heard the geese through the night. Lots of hiking trails from the campground. Would stay again.

We stayed in site 54 (w/e/s) that was right on the lake. We could walk to the dock right behind the site to fish, although did not have very good luck. I’m betting the fishing is better if you have a boat. We did not use the restrooms/bathhouse. This site is smaller but fit our 22’ trailer perfectly. We had our ebikes with us and road around a little, but the campground is not ideally set up for using them like we did at Petit Jean. We did have some pretty tall weeds that we wished would have been taken care of before we arrived, but not a deal breaker for sure. We hiked several trails that were challenging and beautiful. Close proximity to Hot Springs so spent one day there. If I had it to do over again, I would have skipped it. Casino close by for those folks so inclined. Wish we would have brought our kayaks🤨

PROS 

Senior discount 

Reserved on-line 365 days prior to arriving 

Site #68 allowed parking RV 12 feet from water edge which was fabulous 

Totally level site 

Asphalt campsite pad 

Pea gravel and grass around asphalt 

Good night sky viewing 

Squirrels ate from our hand 

Saw ranger patrolling campground frequently 

Waste containers every other campsite 

Metal picnic table on concrete slab 

One hook lantern pole 

Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

Pedestal BBQ grill 

Clean restroom/shower and adequate TP and hand soap. Women had 2 showers, 2 sinks, 3 toilets 

Weekend campground nearly filled to capacity 

4 bars Verizon LTE 

Hike to waterfall a bit tricky, but worth the effort 

Hot Springs National Park 15 miles from campground; nice to watch the crowds from Superior Bathouse Brewery 

Free water from the springs next to the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center- must have your own containers to fill 

Enjoyed Red Oak Fillin’ Station so much we dined there twice 

Diamond Head 19th Hole Restaurant, open to the public and very close to park entrance 

CONS 

Damn Canadian geese crap everywhere 

Fire pit was filled with oversized logs and once removed there was unburned charcoal and lots of ash 

Unable to move picnic table 

Site#68 no shade what so ever 

No privacy from other sites 

Lots of speed boat and jet ski noise, even after sunset 

Morning train noise 

Power plant lights and humming noise 

No security gate closure overnight 

No WIFI

Gorgeous views! The camp site host was a bit rude, be curious how it is in summer. Spent one night in a tent while driving from Texas to Illinois. The geese are vocal.

Close to National Park. Great hiking in park. Nice view of lake!!

I am quite fond of the state parks in Arkansas and this was a clean, quiet, beautiful and safe location near Hot Springs. I was very happy that I could also bring my dog. When I reached my campsite my booking tag was already there and there was some firewood placed on the fire pit for me already. I was only a minute walk from restroom facilities. I also found it was very easy to book last minute after receiving a recommendation from a local barista.

Huge sites Beautiful waterfall Close to downtown Hot Springs

This is a beautiful state park that offers full hook ups. Lots of twists and turns and slow roads to get here, but worth the trip. Bathrooms/showers are clean. No laundry available. No grocery nearby. Spaces are large and somewhat level. Gravel and concrete pad. Beautiful lake sites and lake view sites. Well tree-lined so lots of shade. Nice hiking trails. Office staff very helpful and kind. Be sure to get an exact address to find it with gps.

Both camping or renting a cabin are great choices at this fun lake. The amenities are great, the cabins are very nice, and the lake has places to swim or rent boats.

Great swimming, boating, and hiking. Convenient facilities. Very nice camp sites.

So far so good

This was officially the first campground we stayed at after we bought out Uhaul CT-13. It was perfect for our first camping adventure.  It had great views of the lake from most of the campsites. The only thing I would say we had an issue with was the fact that there wasn't a lot of space between each camping spot. Other than that, the park was great.

This is a great park for RVs and those who love them. Only a few places were issues with our 35 footer. Staff was extremely helpful and we enjoyed the park and trails.

I thought the natural appearance was nice, it was clean but rustic. I really liked the large and wide sites, made getting in and out very easy. Hiking trails and paths were nice, but if you want to see the waterfalls they are seasonal so check before you go ....

Lake Catherine is a simple get away for the day or weekend with nice hiking trails. I advise advance reservation to secure a camping site.

We stayed in a Campsite B, spot 22, and it was awesome!! Our site was huge, with a 30 amp/water hookup, and a huge tent pad. We were a couple hundred yards from the lake and less than a 1/2 mile from a handful of trailheads. We were also really close to a fun little playground for the kids. We did the hike to the waterfall and it was great. It was very easy and had some fun playing around the waterfall. We will absolutely come back!!! The other great thing was no burn ban!!

Gorgeous, clean campground. The lord are spacious (we had a lakefront front view). The park has plenty of hiking trails. Our favorite led to a beautiful waterfall. This was a midpoint stop for us but we’ll definitely be back for an extended stay.

nice trail quiet but very busy lots of people spots are a little tight but not to bad love it here

Paved roads going in to the site. Primitive camped in my van ($15). Working sinks/toilets. Great hike to a cold waterfall which was extremely refreshing. Decent cell service.

I really like this campground. Really pretty location. Great hiking trails, waterfall, a marina where you can rent a paddle board, kayak, canoe or pedal boat. It also has cabins, a camp store and seasonal riding stable so you can take a trail ride. It’s also convenient location to visit Hot Springs.

We just stayed one night but site 27 was a great place to set up Right on the water

My only issue water hookup was a little far from the camper bring a long hose next time

Nice place the only problem was these kids partying till 4 or 5am. Had great hiking trails and a place to cool off. Kayaked Lake Catherine was great.

We only been there for a single night because the rest of the week was fully booked but we already can’t wait to go back there. I loved the way the campground is well organized and feels cosy with all the trees around.

We just had the time to do the trail around the falls : it was packed so we came back early in the morning.

Pleasant hike. Pleasant environment. Pleasant waterfall. I remember this place being rather peaceful!

Its a nice park, i was here for some end of summer camping and even though everyone had the same idea as i did, it was still a nice area. It was crowded but im assuming due to it being a holiday. The hiking and views while hiking are TOP NOTCH, especially the waterfall a cool reprieve on a warm day, however the fishing from the bank is extremely lacking. I expect its due to to such shallow water near shore and im assuming would be better from the boat. All in all, would definitely stay here again just would pick diff time of year

Nice campgrounds. Not my favorite lake to fish but great for family day camping or staying several nights.