When I came here I had but one reason to check out this area, the abandoned once amazing Monte Ne. As a bit of a novice urban explorer I was intrigued by the history of this once giant which featured the first indoor swimming pool in the state, hosted a presidential function, boasted a gondola to ferry those visiting the facilities and was a part of a man’s manifesto of greatness. Then it fell to hard times and eventually to ruin much like so many other locations.
So what makes this area so intriguing? The ruin is now being slowly swallowed by Beaver Lake and the once grandiose walls are now somewhat of an embraced location for street art.
Rogers has several locations you can camp, but this is the closest to the site itself. I was excited to check it out and as I drifted further and further away from the Rogers city it started to look more and more remote. While there were some homes which scattered along the roadsides there wasn’t much in way of civilization.
Then I happened upon my location of the Monte Ne RV Park, a quaint and secluded space which embraces the peaceful location of Beaver Lake and makes for a perfect idealist setting for relaxing. While it isn’t the most updated campsite I had seen it by far was not the worst and the staff in the front more than made up for any short comings of some weary benches here and there.
The typical person staying here while traveling is enjoying hiking and fishing along with boating and other outdoor based activities. It was a perfect location for access to the lake and though there were several people there, it didn’t seem crowded because the spaces are nice sized. There are more than a few long term campers here as well and much like any campsite which allows long term camping you can tell the difference in the residence spaces as they have skirtings on their RVs and plants outdoors.
I was able to find a tent site and settled in and was very pleased that it was very quiet. I met a couple that was also traveling and had been there a couple nights and they had said they had been out exploring a bit in the area and were quite pleased, even made a couple suggestions for me for my time at the location.
My site was typical in that it had a picnic table and fire ring. It did include electricity, which typically I am not concerned with but it was nice to have so I could charge my devices and edit some video.
Closer to nightfall I noticed several people were outdoors using their grills and moving around because the temperatures were a bit better. It was nice to see the community I was around and again the staff came around to check on everyone which was a very nice touch.
The positives of this campground:
The negatives of this campground:
Slightly outdated, needs some paint and some upgrades on some tables and benches
Trash - unfortunately when I drove in I noticed trash as one of the first things I saw, this looked like it had been tossed by people coming in and out instead of using trashcans
Bumpy Road
Well worth the stop to get to be so close to checking out Monte Ne. If I was to return to Beaver Lake this would for sure be on my list again!!
