Lake Ouachita State Park Campground

The Hot Springs NP campground was closed for the season so we stayed at Lake Ouachita SP Campground for 3 nights. We are tent camper and this was the best it gets! The tent sites are well separated from the RVs and generators. The sit right on the lake so they can get windy but are peaceful and beautiful. Each tent site has a level pad for tents, picnics tables, and fire-ring. A small down-side, you have to park and walk your gear to your site but it's not terribly far or a big deal. The lake is beautiful and all tent sites have access to the water. It's a bit of a walk to the bathrooms but they are wonderfully clean (and heated). The camp store had decent wood for sale. The only thing to beware of is the crows. They are relentless and even took a bag of sealed, in it's original container, tortilla chips and tried carrying them away and pecking the bag open. So don't leave anything unsupervised (even in closed container or bags).

We visited the walk-in tent sites for 5 days in late June and had a wonderful time. These sites are out on a peninsula and although the weather brought us 104° for a few days in a row, with the breeze on the peninsula and the lake water, it was manageable and even pleasant. All of the sites are beautiful and there is a cart provided to transport your gear from vehicle to your reserved spot. All sites appeared to gave direct lake access, some with a little steeper hill, but all manageable. The lake is a rock bottom entry so I'd highly advise to bring water shoes. Entering the area, on the right, the sites are on the no wake zone but I felt comfortable with the kids swimming on either side safely. The marina has kayak rentals and also canoes, boat rides, pedal boats, etc. Restrooms/bathhouse is a short walk with the parking lot in between the campsites and building. Each were clean and individual with a toilet, shower, sink combo in each. The camp hosts were so nice and friendly and the rangers were super helpful. The water was clear and you could see small fish swimming below. Firewood, ice, snacks, and bait could all be purchased from the check-in or marina. Hot Spring is a short maybe 15 min drive. Definitely check out Bathhouse Row, the national hot spring park and if you are into Star Wars, get tickets for a VIP tour of Galaxy Connections. Back at Lake Ouachita is the Three Sisters Springs which is a super cool little quick visit and you can fill up your own water bottles or jugs straight from the cold springs. We loved every minute at Lake Ouachita and were so sad to leave.

Gorgeous lake front sites! This place is really popular in gluten summer time, so expect to book a year in advance. There are a couple of coves with waterfront sites that also have full hook ups. It was worth the year long wait!

The water is crystal clear and we could swim right from our campsites! We also took a Ranger led sunset cruise on the water. Excellent $10 excursion! We normally like the hike the trails, but it was too hot for hiking during our visit.

The also have cute camper cabins, an awesome walk in tent site area and clean bathrooms.