Best Tent Camping near John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake

Tent Camping Reviews near John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake

603 Reviews of 19 John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake Campgrounds

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  Dexter I.

  Legend

  Oct. 7, 2019

  Devil's Den State Park Campground

  Ranger Review of Banner & Oaks Bull Tan Hat at Devil's Den State Park

  Amazing State Park with something for everyone

  I have been to Devil's Den State Park twice now and this is my favorite state park in Arkansas. Devil's Den State park has something for every camper, no matter how you prefer to camp. Tent camping, hike in camping, RVs, cabins, they have it all. Want to bring your horse, you can do that as well. Devil's Den has some great hiking and mountain biking trails, from short to long. If you only do one trail be sure that is the Devil's Den Trail, you won't be disappointed on this 1.5 mile trail. If you want a longer trail there is the 15 mile Butterfield Hiking Trail. Devil's Den campground includes 135 campsites ranging from basic tent sites to full hookups for the RV crowed and horse sites. Campground are all paved with paved parking pads. Individual sites have tent pads, picnic tables, fire rings and a first for me, hooks for hanging your lantern. Flush toilets and showers are included. If you like to swim they even have a pool. Park has a store to provide your food needs. Sites all appeared to be well spaced. If you want complete privacy the word is get one of the walk in sites, you will have a bit of a walk but the reward is complete solitude. Lee Creek runs through the park and a 8-acre lake which allows fishing and boating with canoes and pedal boats. You need to reserve your site before hand or at the visitor center. One thing I do like is if you arrive to late to register at the visitor center, then you can just grab an empty site for the night, you just have to register the next day by 10am.

  Ranger Review of Banner& Oaks Bull Tan Hat

  Got the Bull Tan hat and have been wearing it for about a month now. Hat fits great, looks great. This is a very well made hat with quality materials and made in the U.S.A. It has held up amazing well in all weather conditions, sun, heat, rain and even snow and continues to hold its shape. I have a lot of hats and this one is one of my favorites.

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• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  Nov. 30, 2025

  Winding Stair Campground (Ok) — Ouachita National Forest

  Mountain vista and Fall foliage

  Camped at Site #19 in mid-November, 2025. Paid $4 - senior pass rate; payment envelopes and iron ranger provided. This campground is a good stopover for those those traveling along the Talimena National Scenic Byway (OK Hwy 1) and enjoying vistas in the Ouachita Mountains. This is a great place during the Fall season. Backpackers hiking the Ouachita National Recreation Trail will also find this campground convenient. The Mountain Top Loop Trail in the campround connects to the Ouachita Trail. I arrived and setup camp on a busy Sunday afternoon. The campground was being used by both campers and day use visitors. The two vault toilets were a mess - pretty much unusable. It was so bad, that I set up my own toilet system at my campsite. The bear proof trash containers were packed full. I don't think that this is a reflection on the national forest staff and volunteers; this recreation area is heavily used. After the day-use visitors left, the campground was very peaceful. Road noise from the byway can be heard. The campsite included a picnic table, a cooking table, metal fire ring and two lantern poles. There was also a tent pad on the site. The site was shaded; beautiful Fall colors. The hike on the nearby Ouachita Trail was easy. There is a short path from the campground to the Emerald Vista viewpoint. This was my 2nd time camping here. I enjoyed my stay here.

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• 

  Troy W.

  Legend

  Jun. 26, 2018

  Holson Valley Vista

  Holson Valley Vista Shelter + A Room with a View

  I stayed at this campground shelter while hiking the Ouachita Trail.

  The campground and shelter were built by the Friends of the Ouachita Trail and is located at mile market 16.8 of the trail. While the campground is only a few hundred feet from the Talimena National Scenic Byway it is best reached by hiking the Ouachita Trail.

  The shelter is an open air wooden structure with a raised platform, three walls, roof, open air patio, shelf, wall pegs, fire pit and picnic table. Most campers might pop up their tent or just cowboy camp on the raised platform. Our group hung hammocks from the rafters. There were wall pegs that were convenient for hanging and drying our gear or to keep it away from any little critters (mice) that might visit in the night. There are not many amenities at this campground, but it is a nice resting stop and provides some protection from the elements during inclement weather.

  The shelter is located on a gradual sloping rocky hill and has a dramatic overview of the valley when the weather is clear and the foliage is not heavy. There are no waste facilities nearby so it is good to practice Leave No Trace and pack out whatever you pack in. We found and collected water earlier in the day and carried it into camp.

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• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  Nov. 17, 2024

  Shores Lake

  Quiet stay in a hardwood forest

  Camped in site #10 in mid-November 2024. Site 10 is non-electric; paid $7.50/night with senior pass. Overall clean campground, well maintained and managed, in pretty hardwood forest. Not busy during my stay. Sites have picnic tables, tent pads and clean metal fire rings. Site 10 was level. The campground includes a clean restroom/shower house, one clean vault toilet at the far end of the campground, trash dumpsters and drinking water; all of these facilities and services were available during my stay in November. Campground can accommodate tents, camper vans, car camping and RVs. Some sites are electric. There are no water and sewer hookups. Campground road is paved as well as Highway 215 from I-40 accessing the campground. Sites are mostly shaded, but there is no privacy between sites. Shores Lake trailhead is located in a parking area in the campground. Day use area nearby with good fishing in Shores Lake. Campground hosts Donna and Eddie were wonderful. I really liked this campground.

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• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  May. 18, 2024

  Wolf Pen Recreation Area Campground

  Primitive Camping - Mulberry River, AR Ozarks

  Camped here on Sept 1, 2023. $10 camping fee ($5 with federal pass); pay station. Site sizes are okay; more than enough room for a single rig. The 6 sites are close to the unpaved campground road. Each site has a metal fire ring; most sites have grills. No tables. Campground road end at a loop. Some road noise from highway 215. Access to the Mulberry River for swimming & fishing. No water. Trash dispensers. Vault toilets were pretty dirty during our stay, so we set up our own toilet system at our campsite.

• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  Nov. 30, 2025

  North Shore Campground, Cedar Lake Rec Area

  Wooded campground on beautiful lake

  The Cedar Lake Recreation Area has 4 campgrounds. This review is specifically for the North Shore Campground. Camped at site #56 in mid-November, 2025. Paid $7.50 - senior pass rate; otherwise, the campground fee is $15, and the day use fee is $5. Payment envelopes and iron ranger provided at info station. This campground has individual and group tent sites. Most of the sites are first come, first served and reservations can be made for others on recreation.gov. There are no hook-ups at the campsites. There are common water stations scattered about the campground. Water was turned on during my stay. The are two reatroom/shower houses, but one of them was closed for the winter. Water, flush toilets and a hot shower were available in the other restroom/shower house. The campground road and campsite driveways are paved. My campervan fit okay at the site. Each of the group sites have multiple tent pads and a small parking lot at the site. All sites, group and individual, have tent pads, picnic tables, metal fire rings, grills and lantern polls. My site, #56, was pretty level, and was close to the campground road. This site was next to a 3 tent-pad campsite. I was the only camper in the campground during my stay. There were a few people launching boats at the nearby boat ramp. A friendly national forest campground resident/volunteer stopped by for a visit. There is access to the 3-mile Cedar Lake Loop Trail which takes you around the lake; beautiful views throughout the hike. In addition to the boat ramp, there is a fishing pier at the campground. I loved this campground. Well maintained. Beautiful location in Oklahoma. Very peaceful night. I'm looking forward to returning.

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• 

  Leslie N.

  Guide

  Oct. 13, 2020

  Quarry Island Campground — Lake Wister State Park

  Quiet and Beautiful

  We stayed at RV site #3 on Quarry Island. The concrete pad was perfectly level and took no time to set up. There were 5 RV sites with full hook ups on isle, even though #4 and # 5 are so close to each other that slide outs could bump into each other, and 2 very nice RV sites with only water and electric on the isle. There was also a lot of tent camping, flush and vault toilets, dump station, pavilion, 5 cabins, picnic tables with grills, boat ramp and swimming anywhere you wanted except for 150’ of the boat ramp. The ranger station was on the isle, so traffic was high at check in. There were 2 hiking trails that looked very nice, but never hiked because we were kayaking. My parents stayed in cabin #4 on the isle and my brother tent camped at Wister Ridge. The view from both of their places was breathtaking and his tent site was well shaded with maple, oak and pine. Fishing was very good and wasn’t a whole lot of boat traffic. There is also primitive camping which looked very nice, except for a couple of sites where the campers didn’t clean up too well behind themselves.

  Pros: Beautiful area and amazing views. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. Plenty of options for accommodations and outdoor activities. The Heavner Ruinstone and Spiral Mounds are close. Tons of wildlife areas and we even spotted a bald eagle. The campgrounds and cabins were very clean.

  Cons: RV sites can be very crowded and not well spaced, especially at Victor Landing. The Wards would be the least crowded for RVs. The booking website is not very good and not very accurate. The cabins bed was not very comfortable, the shower was small and flooded the bathroom while using and the kitchen light and living room ceiling fan was on one switch, so there was no way to have the fan going without the light on. Not all RV sites have picnic tables.

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• 

  Ashley W.

  Guide

  May. 1, 2019

  Cedar Lake (Oklahoma)

  My favorite!

  This campground is one of my all time favorites!! It has everything you want in a campground and more. Hiking here is definitely the best, because the views are amazing!! The campground is always really well kept as well which I appreciate. The campsite spots themselves are pretty big in size and are separated by trees and bushes. Feels very private. They do have a quiet hour which is after 10pm. This is nice because there aren’t people partying all night long. There are tent spots and also RV. We camped, so I’m not sure if th RV spots are set up for electricity. The lake nearby is great. We brought our kayaks and had so much fun hitting the lake in the morning. It does get busy as the day goes on, especially in the summer on the weekends. Hiking is great, and there are multiple good spots nearby. Again, go early to beat the crowds! Dogs are welcome but must be on leash. Vaulted toilets on site and a place to fill up your water! Can’t wait to come back.

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• 

  Nancy W.

  Legend

  Apr. 20, 2020

  COE John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake Springhill Campground

  Great COE Park!

  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.

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