Camping near Buffalo National River

100% of Wildlife Management Areas in the state of Arkansas require a Hunting license or WMA camping permit purchased though Arkansas Game and Fish.

WMA Regulations are very easy to find on the AGFC website. Know the seasons and be courteous. There is pretty much at least one open hunting season from September each year through the following May.

There is only a handful of sites spread throughout the WMA and you can only camp in those designated by the game and fish. This isn’t the national forest, you can’t just pull off and camp anywhere you please.

Beautiful park. Bathrooms were clean and my wife even commented on it. Camp hosts were friendly.

Stopped in in the middle of the week, opening week of spring turkey season so expected a few other people there, not a single spot was open, and most looked to have been there longer than 14 days. Had to leave and find somewhere else.

Well maintained installations, friendly and helpful staff, very close to many local attractions. Fair prices and they keep working on improving the facilities. I will definitely recommend you this place, i will gladly come back to this campground. Our side was close to the road, but we didn’t hear a thing at night.

Stayed the night in Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area. Spoke with Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission Ranger. No desersal camping but you can camp in the 2 designated campsites. Well designated, my pis is on the further east site from Carver. Must purchase camping license from Game and Fishing Commission. Can be done online at www.agfc.com (Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission) , for $5. The farther east site is high on a bluff top, the west site is more in a valley. Looks like they might be busy during hunting season. Not bad for secluded camping,but not likely remote during hunting seasons.

Stopped there for a night. Not an unpopular area with locals, I spoke to several over the 24hrs I stayed here. Good pull off area with room for 3-5 "sites. A few established "dispersal" spots to use. Was able to comfortably pull my 4runner in and car camp comfortably for a night right next to the Buffalo river and between 2 fresh water streams feeding into it. Well worth the stop. Beautiful area!

Great little campground. Please read description before coming or don't whine when you get here. No electricity, hot showers and water available close. Quiet and close to the river.

Coordinates: 35.58695,-93.20723. Camped here Dec 29, 2024. Set well off of Meadows Knob Rd. Expect pinstriping along the access track to this secluded dispersed campsite. FR1802A toward the site has some erosion; low clearance vehicles may high center in one or two spots. The main forest road into this part of the Ozark National Forest is okay. The campsite is in open area, located in an old clear cut area. There is a partial view of the distant mountains. The site is a level, dirt surface. Not a large site; okay for one rig. Tent camping possible. No nearby mature trees for hammock camping. The site is overgrown with grass and weeds; a weed whacker is needed to clear the rock fire ring. There is a spot on the ground where a previous campfire was made. Good AT&T and T-Mobile 5G service. No shade; access to Starlink is possible. No hiking trails, although there is a 2-track for hiking that leads down into Graves Creek Canyon and some unnamed waterfalls. The hike along this trck is nice. This is not a pretty dispersed site, but it is well off of the main forest road; very private. Access to the site may be difficult for some vehicles. High clearance 4x4 vehicles should have no problems.

The campground in nestled in the Buffalo National River Wilderness offering many options on the river or hiking the mountains and bluffs.  There are several river access spots throughout the campground. 

There are floating outfitters in the area that will drive you up river to float back down toward the campground.

The bathrooms are on the smaller side, but the showers were clean.

Approach from Cavern Mountain Rd 5, not Madison/404. The final half mile of Madison/404 was too steep and rough to proceed. Cavern Mountain Rd 5 was good. Additionally, Google routed us a bunch of dirt roads to get here. I’d recommend driving around on the highways.

While it was pretty last year (the reason it was my first pick this year) the owner uses Marissa, Jamie and Serena as his own personal shield to avoid taking responsibility for his business, and all of them are rude as all get out. Marissa promised multiple times that the owner would call me, and kept changing when exactly that would be. Two days later, I have NEVER heard from him, despite him being fully aware he needed to contact me. I ended up having the credit card company cancel the charge.

And omg, the shower house. Bring a space heater. It's an open air shed with exposed pvc and no drain. I can't imagine how it operates in the winter.

If you come in October, expect loud screaming, gun shots and chainsaws for THREE HOURS at night from one of their events your probably won't be told about til you arrive. Greg deserves to have this place fail.

Great trip. Beautiful campground. Beautiful scenery

Right on Highway good for campers

Great trip. Beautiful campground. Beautiful scenery

This campground had the potential to be amazing- it's beautiful, is right next to the river with amazing views of the stars, and has several hikes close by. But the camp hosts and rangers don't enforce any sort of quiet time or people capacity rules. So unfortunately my partner and I had a group of probably 20 people camping next to us. They brought in a DJ car(open the trunk and it had huge speakers and running lights) to bump techno music during the day, and at night they set up a movie projector and large screen and watched horror movies late into the night. It's not serene when there are 8 tents, a crowd of people, and horror movie screaming right beside you all day and night. I even went and talked to the camp hosts but nothing was done. So, I don't recommend this place. Usually I camp to unwind and chill, but I left the weekend more frazzled and exhausted than I came.

We loved our stay at Blue Heron. We had a riverfront spot and really just came to chill not fish but it’s a fishing location. White river is trout paradise so if you’re an angler this is where it’s at. Campground was SUPER clean. Best level pads and hookups we’ve ever seen. Firewood and ice for sale. Everything was absolutely perfect except the road noise….which in all fairness we knew about. LOTS of noise. It died down after 8pm and before 8am and we couldn’t hear it in our camper so it’s was ok.

This RV pad is located on a secluded 10 acre Homestead that the owners also rent out the upstairs to their Mediterranean style home on Airbnb. We rented their RV site and was welcomed by the owners upon arrival. Very private & secluded with easy access. Surrounded by trees on 10 acres of land with lots of wildlife. the homesteaders have chickens & a seasonal garden, beautiful fire pit area and plenty of open space to put out your cornhole games and set up your volleyball, badminton nets and whatever activities you have. Centrally located to Branson, Missouri, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Bull Shoals lake and the Buffalo national River.