Best Glamping near Bismarck, AR

Daisy SP is a fantastic SP located in the southwest corner of Arkansas.  The Camper and RV sites are level and big for any size vehicle.  The walk in tent sites are some of the best in the Midwest.  The sites are located right on the lake.  The sites have a framed out, level area big enough for am 8 person tent.  Each site has a light pole, fire pit and table and easy access to the parking lot in case you forget something.  The shower facilities are clean and modern.  There is plenty at Daisy from fishing to boating to a big playground for the kids.  The park staff are helpful and friendly.  It was not busy during out visit but I can see this park filling up in the spring and fall quickly, so reservations are recommended.

This state park sits on one of the prettiest and clearest lakes in the state of Arkansas. The area that I will be focusing on is the primitive tent sites. There is a loop on a peninsula that are reserved for walking in your gear to a tent site. These sites have GREAT views of the lake. A few of the sites even have access to the water for swimming, fishing, or putting in your kayak. 

The sites are pretty close together and not very level. The more level sites are in the loop nearest the parking area. There are two shared water spigots. One near the parking area and one near the end of the peninsula. There is no electricity at these sites. The two best sites, in my opinion, are sites 7, 8, and 9. They have great access to the water and wonderful views of the lake. If you decide to camp here be warned that the sites are not very large. We typically bring a canopy for our outdoor kitchen, these sites are not large enough for a big canopy. Also, this lake tends to be very windy. There are trees around the sites, but the fire pits on sites 7-9 are very exposed. This poses are problem when trying to build a fire. 

There are plenty of activities to do while visiting this SP. Some of the activities may still be suspended due to Covid 19. In July they have a boat tour that costs $10 per person. They take you out to "Bird Island" to see the purple martins. It's a neat tour. There are also plenty of hiking trails, swimming, fishing, and other typical state park activities. You can't go wrong with the views here, but there are some things to consider.

Wow!!! What a magical experience! We arrived at EponaPlace and Rene was incredibly welcoming and introduced us to the farm dogs that keep guests and horses safe and sound! There are several parking options, and we opted to park up by the house so we could enjoy the tent glampers'"secret trail" every chance we got. 

Enjoy packing light when visiting Epona- the bed is comfortable, the pillows are snuggable, and there is plenty of space to spread out. There is a bug net around the bed as well for an extra layer of security and luxury. There are fairy lights inside the tent that you can turn on at night so you can forgo the indoor headlamp too. There is definitely wildlife outside the tent at night, and it was very nice feeling safe and secure in the tent. 

The commons area is very cute and well stocked. Possibly the most luxurious bath house I've ever encountered- it's air conditioned, has plumbing, and running hot water! There is also a mini fridge, a coffee maker, and tea to share. Outside, there is a grill, comfortable cushions, and crystals plucked from the land everywhere. If you enjoy porch-sittin', this is the perfect porch. After all, this is the south. 

Just beyond the commons, through Hummingbird Way(yes, we saw hummingbirds!!), Rene has an extensive collection of ball gowns in a small cottage. You could spend hours picking out and trying gowns and flower crowns before a sunset encounter with a unicorn! There are also knight and dragon costumes, if sparkly dresses aren't your thing:) While this isn't a place suited for young children, the unicorn experience is so completely magical. My ten year old daughter gasped when Rene led out a real-life unicorn at sunset. Rene was incredibly patient and warm, and led both princess and unicorn through the process of meeting each other and posing for photos. It's worth every penny! I'll definitely be back sans kid to get the princess/unicorn experience myself! 

You can spend the day crystal hunting on property(no digging!), or ask Rene for directions to the nearest free crystal mine! We picked up a few chunks of quartz to bring home with us- a lovely keepsake of our stay at EponaPlace. There is lots of room to explore on property, and the farm dogs are sure to accompany you on your adventure. Don't worry, they are as sweet as pie and are such good company.

Camping in the state park of lake ouachita in a tent. never. been. better. was on site T04 for tents and basically sites t01-t11(maybe 12) are on a small peninsula with the lake on both sides. you can go swimming in the lake right off the back of your campsite. they have charcoal grills at each site as well as a fire pit that has a grill over itnfor cooking things over the fire. there is a concrete pad with a picnic table as well as a separate pad on compacted dirt for your tent and then plenty of space in your campsite for other things. you can’t beat the views. the bathrooms are the cleanest an moat upsated Ive seen in a camp ground (and I’ve worked in one) and the showers are great. never felt afraid of wild animals roaming the sites while walking to the bathroom in the dark or anything. the staff in the office is friendly. they offer boat rentals for cheap as well as expeditions to partake in. theres also camper and rv sites and cabIns available, a marina to bring your boat, and fun activities for kids! theres a few different trails to hike around the campground. we went on a moderate 4 mile hike and walked to the trailhead from the campsIte. a great hike with awesome views of the lake and you dont have to drive to the trailhead! couldn’t recommend this place enough!

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

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle.

Search Area Conditions

The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area. The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field.

Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep.

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark.

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle. Search Area Conditions The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area.

The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field. Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep. 

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark. 

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com