Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Jonesboro, AR

I must make a comment regarding two other reviews. A lake is generally deeper than a pond. You weigh the depth and surface to judge if a body of water is one or the other. In Arkansas you will find a pond on a ranch or a farm. Now in some areas of the United States there are lakes that cover masses of acres and I had to laugh at the fact that Lake Charles was being called a pond. In the south we consider Lake Charles a lake even if it is only 645 acres.  Please don't take offense, I meant none, we just look at things a bit different, we are also very proud of Arkansas and the fact that it is considered "The Natural State."

Folks if you travel to very many state parks or Corp of Engineer COE parks in Arkansas you will encounter another southern foible.  Narrow roads.  Most of Arkansas is rural and you will find that most roads are older, narrow and farm equipment or ranching equipment uses the roads.  That also leads toward the "charm" of Arkansas.  If you stay in the larger towns you will manage to get by fairly well but venture towards the campgrounds and we hope you enjoy the state.  Take your time.

Lake Charles State Park is 1/2 more or less hour from Jonesboro on a quiet country road.  It has a 645 acre lake with bass, crappie, bream and catfish.  This park operates year round.  From March to October to will be able to purchase bait and tackle at the Visitor Center.  There are Class AAA sites to tent sites with many on the lake.  There are yurts available.  From November to February a 3-D Archery range is open.  You will find 4 hiking trails and there are several programs offered by the rangers.  Check on the programs offered through the Arkansas State Parks, find the park you want, and plan your stay.  It will be a learning experience for young and old.  So map out everything you want to do and learn.

Fish, kayak, hike, ranger talks, camping, picnicking, what more can you ask for.  Lake Charles was established in 1963 and was dedicated on May 28, 1967.

Picnic tables, grills, lantern hooks and paved pads are at each campsite.  Restrooms and bathhouses are modern and "air conditioned" which come in handy when you are dealing with Arkansas heat and humidity.  There is a dump stationed and trash area shortly after coming into the park.  All sites may be reserved.  Beautiful shades trees, level sites with some a bit tight.  No waterskiing or tubing is allowed.

Four walking trails with the Cedar Trail being paved.  The Butterflies and Blooms Trail is a short gravel trail and the Native Plant Trail uses plants that will attract butterflies and local wildlife.

Swimming area is free of charge and is located in a day use area.  You will not find life guards so please watch over all.  Alcohol, glass bottles and pets are not allowed.  You will find a gently sloping sandy beach.  

A short distance away from the park is Davidsonville Historic State Park and Powhatan Courthouse State Park.  There is plenty to keep you busy and we hope you enjoy a laid back southern vacation.

Word of warning.  Even a native Arkansan quakes when it come summer time and the dreaded flies and mosquitoes come out to play.  Research, find all kinds of options for keeping them at bay, screens on your doors, campfire smoke, anything just don't let them stop you from enjoying.

Have Fun - Stay Safe   Leave No Trace Better Than You Found It

This place was ok, very small, however more than half the trails and park were closed due to flooding. Lots of construction in progress. There was no sewage hook ups (water electricity only), nearby dump station. Bathroom facilities were very clean. The two trails opened were nice. My kids brought there bikes and enjoyed the one bike trail. I was a little annoyed by the park staff. They came by at least 15 times each day, checking tags, checking fire pits, checking pets, etc. I get it, but it kind of ruins the whole experience when you are relaxing in your camper and see park personnel snooping around constantly. We saw them everywhere. We couldn’t even hike without seeing them. It just felt invasive.

Craighead Forest Park is outside Jonesboro Arkansas and pretty awesome on the recreational side. There are several very cool playgrounds, a paved trail that encompasses the park as well as a dirt trail around the outside.

The campground is small, not many camper sites and the primitive area which is walk in, doesn't have much privacy.

Lake Frierson State Park is a nice stop off on the way to Jonesboro Arkansas.

Nice trails, water recreation and quiet. The campground is small. 7 sites near one of the boat ramps. Your on the road next to the public access so not much privacy at all! There is also a primitive camping area. I guess one plus is it’s not very crowded and if you have enough relatives you can book the whole site for yourself.

PROS 

Senior discount 

No fee assessed to make on-line reservations 

Quiet 

light view of lake from #57 

Site 57 has no site next to it or behind it 

Good distance between campsites 

Dark sky friendly except for sites near toilet/shower facilities where there is an actual street light 

Climate controlled toilet/shower facility in campground B 

Both campground B toilet/shower facilities very clean with ample supply of TP, soap and paper towels 

Wood picnic table (on concrete pad), pedestal BBQ grill, metal fire ring with cooking grate and metal lantern hook 

Wide roadway in campground B 

Small playground 

Access to lake swimming area from campground B 

Trash receptacles at toilet/shower facility 

Lots of deer


Smaller Walmart in Wynne AR 

Pops Grill in Wynne real good

CONS 

County burn ban in place upon arrival but no signage anywhere alerting of ban. We saw the Arkansas burn ban website and inquired upon checkin if it was enforced and park clerk affirmed ban but we saw many campers had a wood fire burning all the time. So without any signage we understand the confusion and noncompliance. Park should at least place burn ban signage at campground entrance. 

Site 57 unlevel side-to-side 

No cell service. 

No public phone in park. 

Parks signage states WiFi at park visitor center could be used to make phone calls. We found this not true with our T-MOBILE service as we purposely went to the visitor center to make a WIFI call. There is WIFI at visitors center but only one bar and too weak to transmit a call. So if there is an emergency after visitor center is closed and you need to make a call, good luck, as there is no public phone nor any camp hosts. We drove approximately 8 miles towards Wynne to get sufficient cell signal to make calls and connect with internet. 

Only free WiFi is at park visitor center. We purchased WiFi from park vendor Viasat $20 unlimited for 3 days for one device. Viasat delivered a good signal within 200 ft of toilet/shower facility so it was useless in our campsite#57. Don’t waste your money! Sewer connection at rear of site pad so bring the looooong stinky slinky! 

Pets not kept on leash 

No security gate closure overnight

Some nice shady spots and quiet. Was there in October and it was nice and quiet. Dogs are allowed. I did not have wifi or cell service (TMobile). But visitors with another service had wifi. There is wifi at the camp store/check in building.

Oh yeah, it’s the lake. Apparently it was drained to repair the dam. Looks like and apocalyptic wasteland where the lake was. Walked out to the middle of it and some Perv was flying a drone over my head. Stayed at the tent campsite which was ok because no one else was there, but you can see the rv site and some dumb buildings and a big streetlight. With the amount of dogs barking it sounds like you are in a neighborhood. It was ok. I guess any state park is better than no state park.

This shot up to a 4 because the had great BBQ pork sandwiches.

Typical KOA, nice pool, laundry facility. The Cafe has breakfast and for dinner pulled pork sandwiches or Pizza not bad.

Workers are very nice and do a great job of keeping everything neat and clean.

Nice kids play area and pool. Dog walk area.

Nice big shade trees. Not all sites have shade but most do.

Give it a 4, we will stay here again. Next time I would like to stay lo get to take the shuttle to Graceland.

Sites are fairly level and gravel.

this is a nice park, with clean restrooms/bath houses. sites are a comfortable distance apart with good hookups, asphalt or concrete parking pads and patios for solid picnic tables as well as well drained gravel under the hookups, pole for lantern or trash, fire pit with grate, and barbecue. The lake is lovely, turning leaves and night sky astounding. the reasons this wasn’t a 5-star review are 1) WAY TOO MANY bees and house flies. Maybe that’s a time of year issue as some of the trees dropped rotting fruit.Flies were not the biting kind, just annoying and bees were, well, bees. i’m Happy to see a healthy army of bees but my dogs were not. 2) The wifi strength was awesome during the day and pitiful after dark. Wifi reception best near the bath houses.

This was our first stay at an AR state park and it will not be the last! Making a reservation was easy, staff were hospitable, and check in was a breeze. We chose to stay in Loop B which offers all concrete pads and both water and sewer hook up. The campsites were very well kept and spaced apart nicely. The bath houses were well maintained. The park is large and offers a number of opportunities for activities but we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out around our site by the lake. Highly recommend this park. We will be back for sure! A few FYIs: park was very dog friendly! Big plus, loop A does not offer sewer hook up and some pads are dirt, loop C is the equestrian loop with stables, pens, etc.

We camped at Village Creek State Park in the Crowley’s Ridge region of Arkansas over Labor Day weekend. We booked two class B RV sites - one for ourselves and one for my husband’s parents - in advance. On our way to camp we got a call informing us that they had accidentally deleted one reservation assuming it was a duplicate (same name), and that there were no longer two sites together in that loop. They offered to re-book us in the only section that still had side-by-side campsites available. Village Creek is a somewhat unique park in that has an Equestrian Camp offering with stables, exercise corrals, water, mounting blocks and the like available for those who would like to travel with their own horses. While it was not what we originally booked, staying in “Horse Camp” was really cool and different - a BIG hit with our kids. The park has over 30 miles of equestrian trails and is a popular destination for horse owners. While all of that made for really cool atmosphere, the sites themselves left a lot to be desired. It almost looks like major erosion has occurred since these sites were first built - at every site in this loop, the picnic table and fire ring are IN the woods, and often partway down a ravine, with lots of brush, branches and vines hanging around them. We tried to use the table and fire ring on our first night and abandoned it for the rest of the trip. Our inlaws’ table was in such a dangerous location that we couldn’t access it at all, and we quickly realized was a cozy home for copperheads. Our water hookup had a wasp nest inside it. All of these details made it hard to relax as we were constantly on our guard with our kids and dog. We checked out the other camping areas and they were in much better shape, recently renovated and with full hookups. The trails at Village Creek were BEAUTIFUL. There is a particularly stunning trail that includes one of the most well-preserved sections of the Trail of Tears. This made for both an lovely hike and a history lesson for our seven year old. The Crowley’s Ridge region of the state is home to unique geological formations, soil and plant life unlike anywhere else in Arkansas. The Big Ben Nature Trail offers a great opportunity to identify these unusual plant species and is a short, easy hike. However, erosion is a big issue on the ridge, and sections were somewhat washed out after recent heavy rains. There are two small lakes that are popular with anglers. A couple of boat ramps are available for fishing boat launch. There is a small swimming area for campers only, but this lake is not great for swimming as it is pretty muddy. Take lots of bug spray in summer, and maybe only consider horse camp if you HAVE a horse. It’s worth a walk through in the morning or late afternoon when riders are tacking up or returning from rides.

Another great Arkansas State Park! The campground is small, but the sites are nice. Arkansas has some of the best bathhouses as well! There is a really nice playground and also a walking trail that you can access from the campground.

The lake has finally been repaired and they have begun the refill process after is has been dry for several years.

The town of Harrisburg is close by in case you need to make a store run or grab some food. There is a small store here at the park, but it was closed while we were here, so I’m not sure how much stuff they have to offer.

Great facilities. First time at an Arkansas state park and impressed.

Wonderful place to visit! We really enjoyed the hiking opportunities this park offers :) The sites were nice, somewhat wooded area. They were not super secluded, but we had enough privacy. The facilities were very clean and near to the sites. So impressed with how Arkansas State Parks are maintained- we were pleased!

There are nearly 100 sites here at Village Creek State Park. They are Spacious, paved and well maintained. The campground is spread out on plenty of land. 2nd largest park in Arkansas in such a tiny town. Many deer walking freely at night. Water and electric hookups, bathrooms and a museum too. They have concerts occasionally here in the big field. Cabins are great too above the rim of the lake. Many hikes to take here and so peaceful. There are stables and horse trails as well as mountain biking. The park is located in Wynne, Arkansas. I have visited here many times camped in RV and stayed in the cabins. The rangers are always friendly and it is close to my relatives in Forrest City.

This was a pretty, uncrowded state park in Arkansas. Nice small pond with a good walking trail around it.  The park was hard to get to, narrow/windy roads. I enjoyed my stay there and its great if its on your way from point A to point B.