Best Tent Camping near Langley, AR

Stayed here on June 11, 2024. Small 5-site primitive campground. No water. No electric. Clean vault toilets with tp, and a trash barrel. Clean campground & campsites. Sites are small with reasonable separation, but no privacy. Sites have clean picnic tables, fire ring/grill. Some have lantern plies. Gravel drive. Sites nearly level. No tent pads, but tents can be set up. Sites may be able to accommodate a truck camper & smaller. Lots of highway noise from nearby Hwy 27, but not too bad overnight. There was logging activity elsewhere in the national forest, so log haulers were driving by during the day. Campground is located at eastbound turnoff onto Forest Road 83W - a well maintained gravel road. Pine & oak trees in the campground. Probably a beautiful view of distant mountains during the winter. This campground is good for an overnight stay when exploring the national forest or passing by on Highway 27. There is no recreation in this recreation area; no water access, no hiking trails. Good T-Mobile cell service. Despite some of the road noise from nearby Highway 27, I really liked this campground.

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.

The Long Creek Primitive Campsite is located in the Ouachita National Forest along the Little Missouri Trail on the eastern section of the Eagle Rock Loop. The only way to access this site is by entering at a trailhead and hiking in to the site. The nearest trailhead is at Albert Pike Recreation Area. This is a primitive dispersed campsite, but the ground has been cleared. The site is located alongside a creek.

On your hike into this site you will be rewarded with beautiful scenery as you walk through majestic forests of oak. You'll also see a variety of plants and forest creatures. The campsite is along Long Creek so you will have access to water. Perhaps 100 feet up river from our campsite I found a nice fishing hole and caught and released 7 trout and 1 sunfish within about 1 hour. 

There is adequate clear space to set up a tent or numerous trees to string up a hammock. There are no facilities nearby. You can collect and filter water from the river and dig a hole to poop in the woods. Please practice Leave No Trace in this area. 

Trekking poles are recommended to aid in tackling the various inclines and declines of the trail.

If you need any supplies before entering the Ouachita National Forest stop off in the town of De Queen where there are various grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. 

During the spring and summer the insects can be intense. I advise treating clothing and gear with permethrin to prevent ticks and pacaridin for other insects.

1152-1206 

Open: Mar 1- Oct 31 

Limit: 14 days 

Reserve: 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov (must have reservations) Sites: 24 paved 

Camp host on site 

Fee: $12.00 no hookups $15.00 water and electric 

Bath house and flush toilets, playground, beach, boat launch, covered picnic table, fire ring, pedestal grill, trash, lantern pole electric and water hookups This is a small campground but is totally awesome. The road in heads down into the campground and it is a very good paved road. There are several sites on the water. Grab a spot and spend a couple of weeks enjoying life. There are some pull thru's. If you enjoy the quiet and intimate this is for you. 

AIS Clean, drain, dry 

Travel safe

When visiting Arkansas you quickly can get a sense of just what makes the Natural State so spectacular.    But with over 50 state parks each one is very distinct.   Daisy State Park is one which has a large focus on the lake activities.     

But while the lake might be a large part the camping offered here in the wooded forest areas along with the hiking and biking trails can really set it apart from other camping areas nearby.

I opted to check out the various camping looking and noticed a few common occrances.   Each is equipped with a picnic table, lantern hook, grill and fire ring.   However there is a vast difference for those who choose to stay in the improved camping loops and the primitive loops.   Improved camping is elevated and includes both electricity and water at the site.  

 Many of these sites still have water access although some of them are a bit more steep.  The primitive sites all are equipped with tent pads which are very large 12x12 elevated gravel pads but they share water spigots with other sites.   These sites are all walk-in and have nice parking only a short distance from the sites.  IN addition they do have Yurts available in one camping area.   These were available for 2 day rentals only at the time of my visit.

The restrooms at camp are in very good shape and include flush toilets, a full sink and vanity area and well taken care of showers.   Additionally there are water stations at the restrooms which have drinking fountains and bottle fill areas.

The campground has rental equipment for those looking to enjoy the lake ranging in price from a single hour to a full day of usage, but they also have boat ramps near the campsites with some trailer parking, this could get a bit crowded during summer however.