Best Glamping near Marion, AR

Although this is called the Memphis KOA - it is a bit of a hike.  Especially when the bridge (I-40) is out.  

This campground is very typical for a KOA Journey.  Right off the interstate, nice pull-throughs, minimal amenities.  

We stayed here for a couple of weeks while working in Memphis - good/bad comments below:

Good

1. Staff.  Super nice, very helpful.

2. Ease of access to I-55.  

Bad

1. Remote (not in a good way). Kind of far from West Memphis, within 10 minutes to Marion, but nothing is convenient. 

2. Not in Memphis.  Per the name, this is really important to note.  Assume it is 30 minutes to where you are going in Memphis.  45 if the bridge is out.  

3. It floods when it storms.  Like 5 inches standing water.  Should probably be fixed.

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

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.

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.

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

Located just off the freeway the front sites are a bit noisy. One plus was that it was raining so hard the freeway was stopped so we just went to our site but they offer meals delivered to your site! Great meal!

We spent the night while driving north past Memphis. The staff was super helpful. Our site (and the whole campground) was covered in snow and in was cold. Other that that, we had a great experience.

4 stars because it is next to an interstate highway so there is inevitable noise and not much interesting in the way of scenery. Other than that, this is a 5 star place.

We will definitely stay here again.

This place is a dump.  The shoreline is littered with all sorts of debris. The roads and sites are filthy and unmaintained. The laundry room equipment is free, but who knows if they are ever cleaned, and the floors are filthy. Right now, March 21st there is an infestation of lady bugs and stink bugs in the laundry room. It seems that no money is spent on the care of this facility. We stayed in the river side of the "park" so have no knowledge of the other sites. The rest room is a single unisex toilet and stand alone plastic shower. The only appeal is the Mississippi River. Owners: spend some money to fix this mess or sell it!

They knew they had no power and didn’t give us a heads up before showing up. We paid for FHU which means full hook up. No refund and no options to help us. They just told us to deal with it.

We stayed here for a few nights while visiting Memphis. It is a small campground right on the highway with a lot of traffic noise. The campsites were a decent size but the mosquitoes were unbearable. Very few people were spending any time outside due to the bugs.

First time at a KOA, and it was a good experience. Our stay was for 3 nights. Easy check-in and staff were very helpful. They also have a cafe that serves breakfast from Thursday - to Sunday ( due to staffing shortage). Enjoyed Beale Street and of course, toured Elvis's house and complex.

Sites were close together, our pad was part concrete and part gravel, but we were able to level our 5th wheel just fine.

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.

Drove through but wouldn’t stay here! Very uneven sites. Looked sketchy. Not a great neighborhood.

Just a rv park with nothing fancy on the Graceland property.

Staff friendly

They don’t tell you this is predominantly a work camp. The website shows a nice pool, only reason we went there. It does not have a pool.

The management is sorry the do nothing but lie about everything 

They threw us out because my son that is autistic for got to pick up the dog poop .

The place is so run down the don't have anything for kids or anything for the family to do .

They never in the office and they are very rude and if you say anything to them they will throw you out and not give you your money back . 

Please anyone who is reading this for not stay there unless you want to hear gun shots all night long and you have to watch out because we have had a window busted out on are car and they said it's not there fault they let homeless walk through all times throughout the night and day because they never in the office and they have had drug addicts over dose in the park as well

We drove through and did not stay here. Lots of long term renters. Not in a good area of town. Close to Graceland, but there are better places to stay within a 30 minutes drive. No thank you!

This was our first time to ever hook-up our Class A RV and I'm afraid this place may have set the bar HIGH. This place was so clean & quiet, we wished we could have stayed longer. There were several playgrounds my son enjoyed & we had a blast doing the scavenger hunt. We were too early in the season for the blow-up slides but we definitely plan on coming back to enjoy those. They have pedal bikes you can rent (must have closed toed shoes), tetherball, a pavilion, a pond where you can feed the fish... I couldn't get over how clean this place was. The guy at the desk/shop was very friendly. I thought the price was high ($70/night) but when we got there, it made more sense.

Best family friendly campground in the Memphis area. Amazing facilities and amenities. Decently sized lots with trees! Loved our stay here.

We were long term at this campground for 7 months. The staff was outstanding, the park was clean and well-kept, and the monthly rates were reasonable. We loved our stay here! We actually stayed from December 2020-July 2021.