Best RV Parks & Resorts near Gillham Lake

OPEN: Year round

Sites: 5 paved sites 

Fees: $13.00 (Mar-Oct) Sites with no hookups $10.00 (Mar-Oct) 

Limit: 14 days Day use fee:$5.00 Sitting below the dam is a tiny well maintained campground. Heavily wooded across the site. Picnic table, fish cleaning table, trash, toilets, playground, fire pit, pedestal grill, water and electric hookups. Pads are back in hard surface. Nice space between sites with medium amount of trees and shade. Sites 1 and 2 are like double sites you have shower access and a dump station one mile north at Beards Bluff Park. Beards Lake is an oxbow lake and is one of the top fishing lakes in the country. Area surrounding the recreation area is open fields, swampy grasslands and heavy hardwood forest. 

AIS Clean Drain & Dry 

LNT

Travel safe

We only stayed one night enroute home to NW Arkansas. We had stayed at one of the sites on the river side of the park, but this was our first on the lake side.

We had a pull-though site with full hookups. As we were only one of three campers, the campground was very quiet. The pull-through sites are fairly close together and I wonder how noisy they would be during peak season.

The facilities were nice, but no hot water in the showers...brisk!!

Lots of deer (friendly...I would guess the guests feed them). We would stay here again as a short term solution...probably not a long-term option for us.

This is to update my previous post. We are now in the Old Cowhide Cove Campground. We have a beautiful spot backed up to the lake with a wonderful view. There are two widely separated camping areas: New Cowhide Cove and Old Cowhide Cove. We ae in OLD Cowhide Cove so this review is specific to that area. Very adequate campsites are well spaced with picnic table, fire ring., 50 amp electric and water. There is a well situated dump station right on the way out. Even though the sites are long enough for most rigs, there is a paved parking area between most sites. Old Cowhide Cove Campground is a small area with only a few sites--a plus for me.

I highly recommend this campground. The unreasonably late check-in time is a responsibility of the COE. There was no one to check us in which was no problem for us as we had advanced reservations and an assigned site which was easy to find and presented no difficulty in backing in.

This campground has a great small lake. Right now parts of the park is flooded due to so much rain. There are no site with sewer. The do have sites with 30 amp and 50 amp and water. The concert pads in loop O are very level. Loop N has asphalt pads they are very level as well. Loop N the sites are more narrow. The park was very clean and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Make sure to bring everything with you because the closest store is about 10 miles. The cell service was ok for ATT, had a hard time picking up Wi-Fi with hot spot. If you are looking for a place to camp that is super quiet and peaceful this is the place to go!

When searching for a unique camping experience you might check out something a little bit outside of the box. Offering tent sites and RV sites Tiny Town might seem normal on paper but when you were arrive they have a lot of options which might be considered a little bit different. 

I pulled into Tiny Town I noticed right away the unique experience which they offer. Though RVs were parked in the front and on the right I noticed a community of tiny homes just beyond the bounds. Many tiny homes were under construction however a few options were already up and running in a variety of floor plans ideal for any traveler visiting the area. 

The property it’s self is small but does offer a few amenities including a restroom and laundry as well as a small play facility. The big draw to this area is the quick and easy access to beavers Bend State Park and other attractions around the Broken Bow area. 

The offering of cabin rentals varies from humble three person dwellings all the way up to a 20 person“Deck-A-Saurus”. Cabins are all equipped with standard furniture including couches and beds, making it ideal for those who just want to pullin and immediately jump into comfort. The RV area it’s self accommodate 17 spaces in three various sizes. Each side includes full hook ups, and barbecue pits. The larger areas have private fire pits as well as picnic tables. 

When I visited I noticed that the area was a little void of large trees. However the area is currently working to re-landscape and provide better shade accommodations along the perimeter’s which would be very beneficial to tent campers. While they do not market the smaller sites as tent only facilities I did notice there were several people staying in vans or tents in these sites along the outer border. 

The facility itself is very clean and well-maintained. You can really tell there is attention to detail at this location and that as it continues to grow and be developed that this will be a continued point of interest. 

Standard nightly rates run between $30 and $45 depending on the site for RV or tent camping. They do also offer both weekly and monthly rates but do impose strict guidelines for those who are staying long-term to keep the facility clean and not looking unkept. 

The Broken Bow Area offers beautiful unique attractions. If you like fishing, hiking,canoeing or trying something a little new this area is perfect. This park offers easy access to not only the outdoor features but also the nice Intown features such as restaurants making it a perfect place to stop if you’re in the area.

The only downside I could see to this campsite is that it is not as remote as some.    While it does provide great amenities and access points to everything around with easy pull ins for RV traffic, it does lack that in the woods feel that many other campsites provide.   You will be a little close to your neighbors here.

Old Cowhide Cove campground has 9 sites,  6 are well spaced, level sites spread out along a lake just inside the trees, remainder are placed upon the hill overlooking those sites.  Campground road is paved with gravel parking pads.  Each site has a picnic table, metal fire ring,  BBQ grill and a small table near the BBQ grill.  Plenty of room for a tent on the grass.  Sites have electric and water hook ups.  Cost is $20.  Campground has a restroom but no showers (showers can be found at the more modern New Cowhide Cove campground located on the other side of the lake from old cowhide).  Campground does have trash service and a dump station.  Their is also a small day use area available.

We are from TX and came to Arkansas for a wedding. This was my first out of state, state park so keep that in mind. The sites are clean and well cared for. There is exactly ONE pull through site that we were fortunate enough to get. The rest are on a tight road. The highway runs right by the pull through site so the road noise can be loud at times. I recommend staying by the lake if you don’t need a pull through site. There are 2 walking trails and a few playgrounds. No fishing off the pier. The lake is BEAUTIFUL, we saw an alligator (I was quite excited about that). The dump station is a pretty tight squeeze but doable if your site doesn’t have a dump (ours did). ATT cell service SUUUUCKS here. I repeat, it suuuuuucks lol! Picked up 4 TV channels on the 1 rainy day we had. All in all, I would stay here again, just wouldn’t compare it to TX State Parks, because well…. I learned this weekend everything is indeed bigger in Texas.