Best Dog-Friendly Camping near John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake

Springhill Park in Fort Smith is yet another great U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campground and recreation area. We are huge fans of Corps parks for numerous reasons and this one did not disappoint. The campground is set among tall trees adjacent to the John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake and James W. Trimble Lock and Dam of the Arkansas River. The park is located in Barling, Arkansas which is just a short drive from downtown Fort Smith. The area offers plenty of sights to see (especially for history buffs) and interesting things to do. 

The campground is open year-round. Campsites can be booked on-line at recreation.gov except during the off-season (Nov- Feb) when all sites are walk-in. The park has 44 total sites divided into two loops– one with 30 amp electric (A loop) and the other with 50 amp (B loop). Water is available at some sites and at the centrally-located dump station. Finding out which sites have water on recreation.gov is a bit confusing. When looking at the “site list” page you will notice no sites have water listed as an“amenity” but it does list the electric. To find out if a site has water, click on the link for specific details of a particular site and it will indicate if there is water hook ups. 

All sites and roads are paved and easy to navigate in a big rig. Many sites are very long with only eleven sites being less than 45’ in length(and only seven under 40’). One major downside of this park is that only about half the sites(in Loop B) were not flat enough for us to get level without having the wheels off the ground. Smaller RVs or trailers that use blocks instead of automatic leveling jacks should be able to get level. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit. The sites in A Loop(pictured below) have a paved parking space adjacent to the paved RV pad. Campsites are closer together and have fewer trees creating a more open feel than in the B Loop but do back-up to a small pond that makes for a nice view. 

We stayed in site B1 and loved the privacy and tall trees surrounding the site and the large grassy field next to us. Sites B9 and B11 have great views of the water and offer plenty of room between you and your neighbor while others are tucked nicely into the trees. The patios in B Loop(pictured to the right) have a concrete patio on a cement pad. Most of the patios are located at the back of the campsite. We picked up roughly 15 television channels (including the three major networks) with our antenna. Trees may prevent you from getting satellite if your dish is fixed on the roof. 

Located in both loops are a bath/shower building(which were very clean), playground, and pavilion. There are hiking/mountain biking trails that leave from the campground. Mountain biking is a big deal here and there is a 10-mile"fast" trail where experienced bikers race frequently. Other amenities include basketball courts, boat launch and picnic pavilions. 

The park is a few miles from Fort Smith proper and about eight miles to downtown attractions including the National Historical Park. Within two miles are a few restaurants, gas station, and a super Walmart is less than four miles away. The area immediately surrounding the park is a nice part of town that felt safe to us. What we liked was that this park has well-spaced sites, a nice wooded setting and a site with the amenities of electric, water, and a pavement. The location was great to downtown Fort Smith so you didn’t feel isolated if you wanted to go sight-seeing, out to eat, or shopping. Being right on the lake meant we could easily go kayaking or fishing and there were plenty of places to walk throughout the property. Access to the park is easy and manageable for a big-rig towing a car. The price$20/night (or$10 for senior pass holders) is quite the deal. This park is great for dogs with lots of room to walk, trails, and places to swim. 

The only ding was that if this park would have had sewer at the site. But we loved it anyway and would definitely stay here again. The other ding this park gets is the fact that so many sites are unlevel.

We found this quiet spot with a small waterfall on Mountain Fork Creek that has a fairly large (semi-level) gravel parking lot right next to the natural waterfall which gives good noise cover for the road nearby. There are a few small trails along the creek and a few small bluffs with climbing spots for those who like some verticality.

Not great for solar panels but we had a good view of the north sky so Starlink works great here!

Also, a few stray dogs and cats came to see us a couple times.

Devil’s Den is an oasis of trails and amenities. We hiked their awesome namesake trail in about an hour—Interesting paved stairs and pathways lead you to lovely little spots and views including a trio of hidden waterfalls. Bathrooms and sites are roomy at campsite A. BUT STAY ALERT: We had many uninvited visitors including a curious raccoon, a small cat (or panther?), all types of birds, and A BOATLOAD OF BUGS. Candles and sprays couldn’t hold them back. Had to call it an early night and put up the bug nets just to get out of the fray. Packed up early the next morning. Beware of ticks.

I have been to devil's den MANY times. I've always loved it and have never had any issues. I send many, many friends to the park to go camping. We drive nearly 5 hours to go. Well, until my trip this weekend. I'm a covid front lines worker and haven't had a weekend off in far too long, so I brought a friend with me and my dogs to go camping. The campground claims to be dog friendly. Also, quiet time is at 10 pm, which is fine. Long, long after 10 pm there are people up partying, playing loud music, screaming and laughing and walking all around the campground. Each time they'd get near our site, or walk through our site, my dogs would bark....as dogs do. Also, there were at least 4 other sites with dogs that were barking as the parade would walk through as well. The next day, the super trooper park police come by and tell me that there were complaints of dogs barking. I explained the situation and that their barks followed after the late night frat party going on, accompanied along with other dogs. I ask if they're going to talk to the partiers who broke quiet time rules,"well, no. They're allowed to walk around"(completely disregarding the noise part of it). I asked if they're going to talk to other dog owners,"well, we didn't see any other dogs"(mind you, I could see dogs from my site while we were talking). They told me I had to keep my dogs quiet or we were gone. I motioned towards where I had hung up tarps around their kennel, and said this would fix most of it as long as the parade doesn't walk around loudly again. They said if I can't find a solution, we were gone. Two of these super troopers came up while my friend and I were napping, onto our site, one of them towered over me with an attitude and a complete disregard for my personal space, as if he were trying to intimidate me(no masks). The other one was appropriate and kind. This was absolutely ridiculous. They didn't address any of the other problems. They chose our site, 2 young females. Perhaps a course on conflict resolution for the 7 foot super trooper would be in order. I'm beyond disappointed in this experience, and doubt I will be back. NOT a dog friendly park.

The facilities are super clean and well taken care of. Took the teardrop camper. All the camp spots were clean and level. We camped in 29 and had plenty of room for us and the dogs. We will definitely be back.

Really pretty area up in hills/mountains. Park has a lodge, restaurant, mini golf, ice cream shop and a train. Would be a great place for families with kids. Trails are short but have nice views. Forest trail is overgrown once you leave the state park and go into the national forest.

Only downside is the sites are right next to each other and have odd configurations. Our site has a picnic table and grill behind the site and the fire pit in a separate area on the drivers side of the camper. Our next door neighbors fire pit is also right there but closer to our propane tanks (yikes).

Those with dogs should be aware that we found quite a few ticks on our dog, us and in the camper.

Settled right in between grape fields, beautiful manacured grounds with lots of picnic tables and plenty of area to walk dogs or kids. No additional amenities but not needed really with FHU. Owner came by and personally checked on us, booking was easy with a text! Great wines right up the road

There is not a lot to do, and it is pretty far from the city. However, there are big RV sites and amazing sunsets. There is also a lake nearby. 

Dog friendly.

There are lots of nature trails, but none very long.

Lots of ticks, tricky to get good starlink connection.

We absolutely loved our stay in Site #11 in Campground A.  The site was absolutely massive, and turned out to be even better than the one that we had initially picked out, but was already reserved.  We were a little concerned about lack of shade in this site, as it only had one tree in it, but it shaded at least some of the site all day every day, and even provided a nice umbrella to hang out under during the brief bouts of rain.  Hiking was fantastic, with each trail being dramatically different than the one before, and we did at least 7 of them in the 4 full days we were there.

Things I loved:

- no cell signal.  They did offer ViaSat WIFI for a fee, but I love to unplug when I get the chance.

- the quiet natural beauty and dark sky

- very clean bathrooms, which were cleaned daily, even though there might have been a total of 4 sites occupied at any given time during our stay.

- frequent patrols by park rangers

- beautiful trails

Things I was not fond of:

- the park rangers that patrolled did nothing to enforce the rule that dogs must be on-leash, even when we know they saw this multiple times.  Thanks to this, we had two dogs in the  site next door that would randomly wander over to and through our site, much to the consternation of our two on-lead dogs.  Thankfully, this couple left the day after we got there.

- the firewood was soaking wet when we purchased it, even though it was stored in a shed near the visitor's center.  Decent price for the amount, but it was very difficult to start.

- a few more people than I would have expected during the week at this time of year.  I would hate to see it on the weekends.

The campground is small with limited pads. Each site is close to the next and are generally occupied with RVs or camper trailers. I would suggest that this campground is most appropriate for the camper who prefers a more modern feel. There is ample cell phone service, WiFi is nearby, facilities are clean and modern. It is approximately a 15 minute drive into Mena, AR where you can find significant shopping. The campground is also near a large hotel. There are many hiking and mountain bike trails available in the area. A few miles down the road you can find an old fire tower which is interesting and can be accessed if you are daring. This area is dog friendly, dogs can access the trails as well. There are also some very neat driving trails, the bypass is a popular destination for motorcyclists which can offer some noise during the day. The park is also approximately a mile from the Oklahoma state line. This is a nice area for the avid cyclist, hiker, and motorcyslist.

This trip was more of a test trip for our dog so we only stayed one night in the off season. Great campground for families and groups, clean facilities, beautiful views of the lake. No hiking really which is what we love to do but had fun exploring anyway. The Creek area where we stayed is loaded with trees the rest of the park is very open.

I stayed in spot 13 near the boat ramp. Still very quiet! Only noise came from an elderly mans lil yippie dog 😡 which never shut up and shit wherever it felt! Camp host was friendly but husband seemed a bit grumpy perhaps 😉 nonetheless I had an amazing time. Bathrooms could've been cleaned daily instead of weekly and swim beach sucks. We swam on boat ramp side and it was better...I'd still recommend it!!!

As another reviewer mentioned, this is a popular area for rock crawling and 4-wheeling. We were not prepared for that when we visited. If you're into high-octane, loud exhaust, and big tires - have at it. For us, we were looking to enjoy some quiet time by the water.

The park itself is very beautiful and I want to note how exceptionally kind our Ranger was. He visited with us for a while, brought our dogs treats, and was an excellent host.

Although the park was really very pretty and the water was clear, we will likely not be visiting again because of the 4-wheelers - just not our thing.