Best Tent Camping near Alma, AR

Amazing State Park with something for everyone

I have been to Devil's Den State Park twice now and this is my favorite state park in Arkansas. Devil's Den State park has something for every camper, no matter how you prefer to camp. Tent camping, hike in camping, RVs, cabins, they have it all. Want to bring your horse, you can do that as well. Devil's Den has some great hiking and mountain biking trails, from short to long. If you only do one trail be sure that is the Devil's Den Trail, you won't be disappointed on this 1.5 mile trail. If you want a longer trail there is the 15 mile Butterfield Hiking Trail. Devil's Den campground includes 135 campsites ranging from basic tent sites to full hookups for the RV crowed and horse sites. Campground are all paved with paved parking pads. Individual sites have tent pads, picnic tables, fire rings and a first for me, hooks for hanging your lantern. Flush toilets and showers are included. If you like to swim they even have a pool. Park has a store to provide your food needs. Sites all appeared to be well spaced. If you want complete privacy the word is get one of the walk in sites, you will have a bit of a walk but the reward is complete solitude. Lee Creek runs through the park and a 8-acre lake which allows fishing and boating with canoes and pedal boats. You need to reserve your site before hand or at the visitor center. One thing I do like is if you arrive to late to register at the visitor center, then you can just grab an empty site for the night, you just have to register the next day by 10am.

Ranger Review of Banner& Oaks Bull Tan Hat

Got the Bull Tan hat and have been wearing it for about a month now. Hat fits great, looks great. This is a very well made hat with quality materials and made in the U.S.A. It has held up amazing well in all weather conditions, sun, heat, rain and even snow and continues to hold its shape. I have a lot of hats and this one is one of my favorites.

Camped in site #10 in mid-November 2024. Site 10 is non-electric; paid $7.50/night with senior pass. Overall clean campground, well maintained and managed, in pretty hardwood forest. Not busy during my stay. Sites have picnic tables, tent pads and clean metal fire rings. Site 10 was level. The campground includes a clean restroom/shower house, one clean vault toilet at the far end of the campground, trash dumpsters and drinking water; all of these facilities and services were available during my stay in November. Campground can accommodate tents, camper vans, car camping and RVs. Some sites are electric. There are no water and sewer hookups. Campground road is paved as well as Highway 215 from I-40 accessing the campground. Sites are mostly shaded, but there is no privacy between sites. Shores Lake trailhead is located in a parking area in the campground. Day use area nearby with good fishing in Shores Lake. Campground hosts Donna and Eddie were wonderful. I really liked this campground.

We stayed at RV site #3 on Quarry Island. The concrete pad was perfectly level and took no time to set up. There were 5 RV sites with full hook ups on isle, even though #4 and # 5 are so close to each other that slide outs could bump into each other, and 2 very nice RV sites with only water and electric on the isle. There was also a lot of tent camping, flush and vault toilets, dump station, pavilion, 5 cabins, picnic tables with grills, boat ramp and swimming anywhere you wanted except for 150’ of the boat ramp. The ranger station was on the isle, so traffic was high at check in. There were 2 hiking trails that looked very nice, but never hiked because we were kayaking. My parents stayed in cabin #4 on the isle and my brother tent camped at Wister Ridge. The view from both of their places was breathtaking and his tent site was well shaded with maple, oak and pine. Fishing was very good and wasn’t a whole lot of boat traffic. There is also primitive camping which looked very nice, except for a couple of sites where the campers didn’t clean up too well behind themselves.

Pros: Beautiful area and amazing views. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. Plenty of options for accommodations and outdoor activities. The Heavner Ruinstone and Spiral Mounds are close. Tons of wildlife areas and we even spotted a bald eagle. The campgrounds and cabins were very clean.

Cons: RV sites can be very crowded and not well spaced, especially at Victor Landing. The Wards would be the least crowded for RVs. The booking website is not very good and not very accurate. The cabins bed was not very comfortable, the shower was small and flooded the bathroom while using and the kitchen light and living room ceiling fan was on one switch, so there was no way to have the fan going without the light on. Not all RV sites have picnic tables.

A gorgeous park in the Ozarks National Forest close to the civilization in Fayettville Arkansas. This place reminded me of Lake Lure from “Dirty Dancing” with its historical buildings and beautiful lake. Super quiet at night, there were about 18 campsites in the campground (none with electric or hookups), all reservable. This was somewhat a problem as I lacked reservations. While the campground was almost empty (there were only 5 other campers), there were only two sites that were “open” for the night. An impending storm kept many from showing up, and by morning there were only 3 tents still set up. Each site had a nice tent pad that according to the campground host drained well (except for one site on the hill, can't remember which site number, which fortunately wasn’t available), grills, and fire rings. I ended up with site #10 with a great view of the lake. In fact the only thing really separating me from the lake was a nice bit of lawn and the lake trail. The hosts had put up solar lights along the path through the trees to the bathroom, which would have been helpful if not for the relentless rain that kept everyone from wandering about in the dark. In the morning I didn’t have to share the shower house with anyone except the spiders as only 3 other campers stuck it out through the night and their sites were closer to the other shower house. While not modern by any means, the shower house was clean and the water was hot. Just know that you will need to push the water button several times to get a good rinse as it only seemed to run the water for about 2 minutes a push. I didn’t drive over to check out the cabins, but I understand that you can rent a historical cabin if tent camping isn’t your thing.

This review is for the Butterfield Trail in Devils Den. You have to hike in to get to theses spots. If you start at the traditional Devils Den and park at the pedestrian bridge you have a nice challenging hike up to the back country portion of the park. You start hiking along a river and after a mile or so you start your upward journey. The trail is generally in good shape but if it has been raining, beware as some of the trail is also used for horses which makes the trail sometimes tough to make it through as it gets pretty mushy. My favorite spot is about halfway through right on a river that flows a blueish color that doesn't make you want to even filter and drink the water. The spots are level and secluded but you sometimes find trash as people don't abide by the leave no trace principle. I bring all my own water on the trail but there are a few spots you can filter. We have found many snakes here and some are poisonous. BEWARE! The geography has is pretty unique and flash flooding is common. Be very aware of your surroundings and watch the river if you are in a rain storm. You must check in at the ranger's station before you do any back country camping in the park. The trail is a pleasant longer trail in the area and is a must but I would recommend trying this trail in the Spring or late fall.

My best friend and I stayed October 22-25. I was looking for a quiet, small campground with minimal amenities and cool features that was driving distance to good hikes. This was perfect. Only six spots. Fire rings and low to the ground grills. Vault toilets near the entrance. Short walk to the river as it was dry season and lots of beautiful fall leaves. Close to a more developed campground with flush toilets and showers if ya need ‘em. Some noise from the road but pretty minimal compared to other places I’ve stayed. Coyotes passed by close our first night and it was neat to lay in my tent listening to them. Slight struggle with ants but possibly just set up my tent in an unlucky spot. If you prefer your nature with as few humans in it as possible, then I highly recommend this spot.

January 31-Feb 3 2025. White Rock is a great little campground.  With only 8 tent camp sites it is very quaint.  The cabins were packed and there were many people visiting the overlook but my partner and I were the only tent campers. We arrived late, after sunset, and the host recommended tent site #1.  From the pictures we really wanted to set up in #5 but he insisted on #1 and recommended looking around in the morning if we wanted to move.  I'm thankful for his knowledge because sites 5-8 were juicy from the previous days rains. All of the sites are well maintained and within a short walk to the water spigot and vault toilet.  Sites 1-4 are well spaced and have large tent pads.  Sites 5-8 are smaller with smaller tent pads and the view from these sites is AMAZING!  Just know that with the view comes the wind and less space to stretch out.  We ended up staying in site #1 so our old hound dog could saunter around.  

It's a slow, beautiful drive.  The reviews are correct that the last hour of the drive is only 20 miles.  Make sure to stop for gas! It is an unpaved road that in some spots is maybe wide enough for 2 small vehicles to pass each other.  My AWD Mazda made the trip just fine and I saw a Toyota Camry at the overlook. Whenever you feel comfortable going over 15 MPH there will be a heavily rutted 180° hairpin turn.  If you forgot to bring something you'll probably find it or a substitute in the Office/General Store.  

Overall I loved this campground.  I will definitely be back in the spring or fall.