Best Tent Camping near Bismarck, AR

Tent Camping Reviews near Bismarck, AR

799 Reviews of 36 Bismarck Campgrounds

• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  Jun. 15, 2024

  Fourche Mountain Campground

  Free Overnight Stay in the Ouachita National Forest

  Stayed here on June 11, 2024. Small 5-site primitive campground. No water. No electric. Clean vault toilets with tp, and a trash barrel. Clean campground & campsites. Sites are small with reasonable separation, but no privacy. Sites have clean picnic tables, fire ring/grill. Some have lantern plies. Gravel drive. Sites nearly level. No tent pads, but tents can be set up. Sites may be able to accommodate a truck camper & smaller. Lots of highway noise from nearby Hwy 27, but not too bad overnight. There was logging activity elsewhere in the national forest, so log haulers were driving by during the day. Campground is located at eastbound turnoff onto Forest Road 83W - a well maintained gravel road. Pine & oak trees in the campground. Probably a beautiful view of distant mountains during the winter. This campground is good for an overnight stay when exploring the national forest or passing by on Highway 27. There is no recreation in this recreation area; no water access, no hiking trails. Good T-Mobile cell service. Despite some of the road noise from nearby Highway 27, I really liked this campground.

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• T

  Thad O.

  Traveler

  Jul. 29, 2018

  Lake Catherine State Park Campground

  Small free for all tent sites

  Small open Campground with no specific sites (Tent Only Area). There is a small lot nearby to park then you must walk everything in. This can be anything from right next to your car to a few hundred feet away depending on where you want to set up. Picnic tables, fire rings and campground grills located throughout but again nothing is marketed as far as site numbers. The area allows for up to six camp permits per night. Could be good for smaller groups. It’s up away from the lake unlike the rest of the campgrounds in the park. There are restrooms nearby with flushing toilets and sinks. Also a playground is located close to the campsite. Overall it was clean but felt cramped among other campers and parking away from the tent made for multiple trips back and forth.

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• 

  Richard

  Ranger

  Apr. 12, 2021

  Lake Ouachita State Park Campground

  One of the best in Arkansas

  Definitely my favorite park in Arkansas so far. It’s a really big park at the lake with lots to do. I was there in the fall so I didn’t do any lake stuff but still had a great time tent camping. There’s a nice hiking trail to explore. Also, the bathrooms were the cleanest I’ve ever seen at a state park. All the tent sites have a gravel pad, grill, picnic table and fire ring. There are also walk in tent sites on the peninsula which are nice and quiet. If you get one at the end I’d say it’s probably 200 meters to the parking lot and bathrooms. I peeked into one of the cabins and they look really nice. They also have camper cabins that have heat/air but no bathroom. In all there are 93 RV/tent sites, 8 cabins and 4 camper cabins. The park is also near Hot Springs so there is lots to do.

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• C

  Cat R.

  Traveler

  Jul. 14, 2020

  Big Fir Primitive Camping

  Free and beautiful

  Pit toilets, no water. Only about 6 sites. Fire rings, picnic tables, lantern poles, and standing BBQS. Not many flat sights for tents, but doable. Road in is part gravel and some paved. Only 4 stars because people leave trash on the ground even though there are bins. Trees are plentiful and shady. Many paths down to the river/lake. Boat motor noise, but not too bad.

• 

  Troy W.

  Legend

  May. 31, 2019

  Long Creek Campsite on the Eagle Rock Loop

  Long Creek Campsite on the Eagle Rock Loop + Fish!

  The Long Creek Primitive Campsite is located in the Ouachita National Forest along the Little Missouri Trail on the eastern section of the Eagle Rock Loop. The only way to access this site is by entering at a trailhead and hiking in to the site. The nearest trailhead is at Albert Pike Recreation Area. This is a primitive dispersed campsite, but the ground has been cleared. The site is located alongside a creek.

  On your hike into this site you will be rewarded with beautiful scenery as you walk through majestic forests of oak. You'll also see a variety of plants and forest creatures. The campsite is along Long Creek so you will have access to water. Perhaps 100 feet up river from our campsite I found a nice fishing hole and caught and released 7 trout and 1 sunfish within about 1 hour. 

  There is adequate clear space to set up a tent or numerous trees to string up a hammock. There are no facilities nearby. You can collect and filter water from the river and dig a hole to poop in the woods. Please practice Leave No Trace in this area. 

  Trekking poles are recommended to aid in tackling the various inclines and declines of the trail.

  If you need any supplies before entering the Ouachita National Forest stop off in the town of De Queen where there are various grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. 

  During the spring and summer the insects can be intense. I advise treating clothing and gear with permethrin to prevent ticks and pacaridin for other insects.

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• 

  Napunani

  Legend

  Jun. 26, 2022

  Lake Catherine State Park Campground

  Fabulous Water-Edge Campsite

  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

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• N

  N I.

  Legend

  Nov. 19, 2021

  COE Lake Greeson Star of the West

  Camping

  DATES: MAR 1 TO OCT 31 

  FEE:$8.00 PER NIGHT 

  LIMITS: 14 DAYS 

  ALERT: WATER SUBJECT TO SUDDEN RISE 

  Potable water, pit toilets, trash, picnic table, lantern pole, pedestal grill, fire ring, Campground is right off the highway and the sites right next to the road will be noisy. Drive further in and you will find nice flat sites and they are quieter. Good for tent or small trailer as sites are small. Beautiful shade with mature trees. 

  LNT 

  AIS 

  BTYFI 

  Travel safe

• 

  Crystal C.

  Legend

  Apr. 28, 2021

  Daisy State Park Campground

  Great Lake Activites

  When visiting Arkansas you quickly can get a sense of just what makes the Natural State so spectacular.    But with over 50 state parks each one is very distinct.   Daisy State Park is one which has a large focus on the lake activities.     

  But while the lake might be a large part the camping offered here in the wooded forest areas along with the hiking and biking trails can really set it apart from other camping areas nearby.

  I opted to check out the various camping looking and noticed a few common occrances.   Each is equipped with a picnic table, lantern hook, grill and fire ring.   However there is a vast difference for those who choose to stay in the improved camping loops and the primitive loops.   Improved camping is elevated and includes both electricity and water at the site.  

   Many of these sites still have water access although some of them are a bit more steep.  The primitive sites all are equipped with tent pads which are very large 12x12 elevated gravel pads but they share water spigots with other sites.   These sites are all walk-in and have nice parking only a short distance from the sites.  IN addition they do have Yurts available in one camping area.   These were available for 2 day rentals only at the time of my visit.

  The restrooms at camp are in very good shape and include flush toilets, a full sink and vanity area and well taken care of showers.   Additionally there are water stations at the restrooms which have drinking fountains and bottle fill areas.

  The campground has rental equipment for those looking to enjoy the lake ranging in price from a single hour to a full day of usage, but they also have boat ramps near the campsites with some trailer parking, this could get a bit crowded during summer however.

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• 

  Cheri H.

  Legend

  Jun. 29, 2021

  Lenox Marcus Recreation Area & Campground

  Beautiful quiet evening

  Beautiful and for the most part a quiet campground. I was here on a Sunday night and it was fully occupied by 6:00 p.m. This is an Army Corps of Engineers Class D campground. No services, no electric hookups, and no fees charged. I stayed one night but would happily stay longer the next time I am here. My neighbor went paddle boarding in the cove and it’s a great place to go swimming, kayaking or paddle boarding. I could not get a cell signal in the campground but I walked up the hill going back towards the main road and was able to call out. I have AT&T cell phone service.

  There’s tent sites on both the open lake side and on the cove side before you get to the boat launch area. I was on the cove side. Road is nice and paved, well lit near the bathrooms which have flush toilets and screen doors. They are rustic and shows signs of age (built in the 70s), being vandalized with spray paint and not regularly maintained but are working. The campground sites have a concrete tent pad, brown site markers, picnic tables and some a grill and round food prep table.

  Outside the designated campground there are several more remote sites. I was able to get back there in my small SUV easily since it was very dry and packed but there’s only a couple that I would attempt if I had been in my Class C RV. None of them would I attempt if it’s rained recently as that would be a recipe for disaster and a great reason to have to call a tow truck which is made more difficult by the limited cell phone coverage in the area. All of the roads in to those sites are dirt and deeply rutted. And since you can’t see if they’re occupied or not until you get back there I would walk in and check out before driving my RV in there because if someone is set up there it’s difficult to turn around since these are essentially what appear to be logging roads.

  Also if you are in a RV I noticed two sites beside the road where you could essentially parallel park overnight if it is dry conditions and the campground is full.

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