Best Tent Camping near Dardanelle, AR

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.

This park is pretty much spotless. I tent camped in the fall and loved it. All the tent sites have a gravel pad, picnic table and fire ring. Lots of trees to set up your hammock. They have a swim beach and small boat rentals in the summer. There’s a nice paved walking trail too. I highly recommend.

Lake is nice. Didn’t catch many fish though. Swim area is very well kept. Adorable pedal boats. Tent camping sites are right at the entrance on the road. You have to park in the parking lot and carry all your stuff to the camp ground. Definitely don’t recommend using a tent site at all. The entire park is very well kept and very clean. Park staff were very nice and helpful. Mountain biking trail is in good condition. North loop was even good for my 8 year old while I did trail running. Cute little state park.

So I was super excited about this campground when I read about it online. It seemed perfect! The drive into the campground is very curvy and has lots of blind spots. When we arrived, there was no one on duty, so we just filled out a card and proceeded into the campground, following the map posted on the official website. That's where we ran into our first issue. The map was all wrong. We spent nearly an hour trying to find our spot. Finally, we asked the volunteer on duty. He showed us an updated map and we found out that our campsite wasn't even where we had picked it based off the old map. The tent sites are walk in only. They have electric but the closest water spigot is at the parking lot. The scenery is nice but the boats are loud, as to be expected of a lakeside campground. The bathrooms aren't very well maintained, the showers are gross, and the park goers tend to be obnoxious, revving their engines and hooping and hollering. We actually ended our trip the next day. Overall not a bad site IF you're here in a camper. Not suggested for tent camping.

Great state park. Checked out Arkansas high point of course. Hike some trails, enjoyed the views and rock formations. Tent camping area was very clean, with nice flat tent pad surface to set up tent on. Also ate a very nice meal on Easter Sunday at the lodge. Saw several deer while we were there. Definitely recommend this state park to others. Hope to go there again some day.

Arkansas’ first and most popular state park. Lake with rental boats, trailer and tent site loops, lodge/hotel/cabins. Outstanding natural features, some of which are easily accessible. Very popular in the fall. Big waterfall with rugged trail to the bottom. Can’t see it all in a weekend!

It's it's a nice place to Camp RV but not for tent camping it would be better if they have places to put up a tent instead of on concrete.

The tent camping is so beautiful right on the lake! Very calm and peaceful. Beautiful scenery and the lake is super nice

We have tent camped there many times. Definitely a favorite place for gorgeous views, good Ranger-led Activities and great hiking. The lodge is amazing.

The Hot Springs NP campground was closed for the season so we stayed at Lake Ouachita SP Campground for 3 nights. We are tent camper and this was the best it gets! The tent sites are well separated from the RVs and generators. The sit right on the lake so they can get windy but are peaceful and beautiful. Each tent site has a level pad for tents, picnics tables, and fire-ring. A small down-side, you have to park and walk your gear to your site but it's not terribly far or a big deal. The lake is beautiful and all tent sites have access to the water. It's a bit of a walk to the bathrooms but they are wonderfully clean (and heated). The camp store had decent wood for sale. The only thing to beware of is the crows. They are relentless and even took a bag of sealed, in it's original container, tortilla chips and tried carrying them away and pecking the bag open. So don't leave anything unsupervised (even in closed container or bags).

Tent camped with a view of the lake. Facilities were well maintained. Hosts were very friendly. Easy to collect firewood. Definitely recommend even if you don’t have a boat.

Great place for hiking and taking in nice variety of views at Arkansas's first state park. Cabins can be rented, RV & tent camping sites available. Modern bath houses with showers and toilets were clean. Cedar Creek flows through this park and Cedar Falls is impressive. We were there in late March and the creek was flowing good after recent rains. But it can be only a trickle during dry periods. Enjoyed the trail along the creek. Another nice view was from a point looking down over the Arkansas River and valley below.

My husband and I tent camped here in November. Pretty cold at night but the weather was perfect for the hikes which were absolutely stunning. We had a delicious breakfast with a view at the lodge. 10 out of 10 would recommend!

I tent camped at site 61 in 2015:

• We were pretty close to all the amenities and the campsite checkin/store
• There is a nice, flat tent pad
• Grill and fire ring were nice
• Paved driveup spot
• It wasn't very crowded; the two sites across from us filled up, but that was about it

I would 100% stay at this site again.

Mount Magazine is a beautiful State Park with great hiking trails. We hiked Signal Hill (highest point in Arkansas) and the North Rim Trail. Both were beautiful. This is a great place for families to camp. There is a welcome center with a small gift shop. Our campsite was spacious with water and electric although we were tent camping. Shower and bathroom facilities were nice and clean. They also had a place to hang glide. We checked out some of the cabins for future options, and they looked amazing with beautiful views.

Located along Forest Road 132 (Winona Scenic Drive) in the Ouachita National Forest, Saline County, Arkansas. Flatside Wilderness Area located across the road from the site. Access to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail located nearby. Free dispersed site, no facilities. Rock fire ring. Should be enough parking for 2 vehicles. Suitable for tent camping, car camping, truck camping & van camping. Mostly level. There was plenty of firewood left by the fire ring. Camped here in February; very quiet. Only 2 vehicles drove by. Had a few bars of T-Mobile service.

I stayed at two different sites for two separate nights in a tent. Both of these sites had minimal space for tent camping and barely fit my tent, but it works. However, it was beautiful because I could sit and look/listen to the creek. The bathrooms were well maintained, landmarks for sites were obvious, and the volunteers that work there were incredibly helpful and nice.

Beautiful, clean, great location. Camped here in Feb 2020, right on the river. Full hookups, mostly back-in but some pull throughs. Paved, level. Tent sites, too. Clean bathrooms, little camp store. Close to town. Would camp again.

We got the prime spot for tent camping. It was a haul to get all our gear to the end but the have carts available to help. Stayed here and then would travel to the hot springs NP. Bathrooms were awesome but a little bit of a hike from where we were.

I've reviewed this state park before but this time we stayed at the walk in tent sites and it was even better. The campsite was perfect. Steps from the water and shaded. The bath houses were nice and clean.