Best Glamping near Mena, AR

The views are beautiful. The campsites are very well maintained and very level. Limited activities for younger children, but we enjoyed the hiking trails. We also went on to Mena for a day and rented UTVs at Wolf Pen Gap.

This campground is located right off of Hwy 71 for easy access. Plenty of room for big rigs. Just a short ride to the Wolf Pen Gap trail system. Located in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains, 7 miles south of Mena. 

After hours checkin is still by the honor system!!

This park is huge! It has great spots for RV's and a wonderful walk in area for tents. We stayed in the walk in site by the lake and were treated to an amazing sunset every night! We were amazed at all there is to do on the lake and in the campground. You can even stay in a Yurt here! We enjoyed this campground. The bathrooms were even good quality.

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.

I some other reviews that described it as more like a small RV park. That’s unfair in my opinion.

I’ve been stuck using a couple of RV parks out west and they packed us in tight.

These spots aren’t super roomy, but you aren’t bumper to bumper either.

The spots are paved and all seemed pretty level. Spots 1-35 back up to the forest. Higher numbers back up to an open field.

Restrooms and showers were spectacular. Everything was clean and well kept.

The lodge is a pretty short walk up hill. It has a restaurant and small gift shop. It also has a lookout, and two trailheads. The lobby is spacious with a great view.

One of the trails connects to Ouachita trail. The drive in from Oklahoma is stunning and the drive to Mena, AR is only about 20 minutes. Several shops and restaurants and a Walmart.

There is a mini golf course, ice cream shop and train ride - but they said it’s only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and they haven’t gotten word of it will open for 2021.

Also has a playground and an Old Steam Train to explore.

This park is awesome for multiple reasons. The lodge is fantastic, great food and great views with a friendly welcoming staff. The views (worthy of mention again) are top notch, with some incredible sunsets. The mini train and mini golf were closed for the season but it looked like a great time. The bath house was clean, warm (it was cold AF outside), and had great water pressure. The town of Mena was a short scenic drive away, with a brewery and a couple restaurants worth checking out.

Now, the reason for the downgrade to 4 stars. The campsite layout is…weird. It’s like most of the sites were designed for a motorcoach to drive into, not for a travel trailer to back into. For example most of the camp amenities are on the utility side of the trailer when backed in, as opposed to the party side. Some of the sites are reeeeeally close together, as others have mentioned. I might even go so far as to say that if we would have kept our original site it might have garnered a 3 star review. The back rows have the amenities on the rear of the rv, which I actually kinda liked. Yes there is no sewer…but it’s a state park that’s expected.

Driving through this part of Arkansas you can quickly get taken aback by the winding roads the ample beauty, but until you visit the campground and park you will only have a portion of the beauty of the region. High atop the mountain, with a near perfect view, you can see for miles and miles. 

I visited this park arriving late in the evening, in perfect timing for a sunset which painted the sky with colors that filtered down onto the mountainside below. A dense fog began to roll in and it seemed magical. 

Typically I am not as taken aback as I was by this park but its views and shaded campsites complimented each other so well it made for the perfect evening. 

Not needing for electricity I opted for one of the tent sites, which includes a large tent pad, large parking space and standard amenities such as picnic table, lantern hook, fire ring and grill. However unlike many primitive sites, this site did also include water. Site pricing was about $20. 

Bear warnings abound, but there are no bear boxes, and upon checking in the desk attendant mentioned that they don’t often see them but to proceed with caution in regards to food. She also noted that in her lifetime she had never encountered a bear on the trails and would instead be aware of snakes. 

The campground is only one of the many features with others including a lodge with a restaurant open each evening until 9 p.m. A narrow gauge train, large enough for the entire family to ride on the 2 mile track and mini golf are available seasonally. Plenty of hiking is available both in park, where there are 3 trails, and just outside where you can find the much larger trail system which runs for some 200 miles through Oklahoma and Arkansas. 

Cell Signal With AT&T- 1 Bar at campsites but 2 bars in lobby area if you are in need of making a call in case of an emergency. 

All in all I would put this campground on the top of my Arkansas list for the beauty of drive and sunset location, however the sites themselves despite being very nice were average for a state park in the region.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is a place where you literally play the fun and exciting game of“finders, keepers.” The prize here being diamonds! In the middle of nowhere Arkansas(a.k.a. the town of Murfreesboro) is a field of 37 acres where for $10/day you can dig to your hearts’ content looking for diamonds making this the only diamond mine in the world open to the public. And don’t think this is a gimmick. Over 75,000 diamonds have been found in the“Crater” with an average of 600/year. The largest diamond found in North America was found at Crater of Diamonds topping out at 40.23 carats. In 1998, the Strawn-Wagner Diamond weighing 1.09 carats was graded by the American Gem Society as a 0/0/0“D” Flawless perfect diamond– a“one in a billion diamond”– and found right here in Arkansas. 

The park was established in 1972 “to responsibly manage and interpret this unique site and to provide a meaningful diamond mining experience for all guests and future generations.” We find that pretty funny because we have never come across a state park whose intent is to provide a meaningful diamond mining experience mission. All the more reason we wanted to go! The parks campground is set among beautiful pine trees and offers full hook-up sites large enough to fit our 45’ RV without a problem. The campground has 47 nicely shaded RV sites with water/electric/sewer hookup(many of which have tent pads and five walk-in tent sites. The campground has two modern bathhouse with hot showers; one bathhouse includes a laundry and both were very clean and cared for all day long. If you need a dump station one is conveniently located as you leave the campground. There is also free Wi-Fi in the campground. There is a nice hiking trail that leaves from the campground and loops back around after venturing through the forest and along a river. It is not a long trail but a nice walk and we never saw anybody on it while we were there. Now back to diamond hunting. The“crater” is essentially a plowed field that is the eroded surface of a volcanic crater containing a variety of rocks, crystals, and gemstones. The field is plowed periodically to expose underlying layers of dirt and gems. The visitor center has interactive exhibits highlighting the unique history of the park and geology of Arkansas diamonds. They also tempt you with pictures of diamonds that have been found in the park. At the Diamond Discovery Center visitors learn about diamonds, but more importantly, techniques on how to find them. 

Once you have rented (or brought your own) diamond digging equipment like trowels, shovels, buckets, sifting screens, etc. then it is time to head out into the crater. The techniques vary widely from walking along looking for smooth shiny diamonds (because dirt and mud don’t stick to the smooth surface of diamonds) to digging up a bucket full of dirt and sifting through water like gold mining. We talked to one man who uses a paint brush to lightly brush away loose dirt to reveal the diamonds. Diamonds come in a rainbow of colors but the predominant colors found here are white, brown, and yellow. If you think you found a precious stone, staff is on hand to positively identify it for you. And if you want it, you keep it! No matter what it is.

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle.

Search Area Conditions

The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area. The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field.

Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep.

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark.

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle. Search Area Conditions The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area.

The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field. Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep. 

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark. 

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com

This place would have gotten a full 5 stars, but there is a very unpredictable side to this campground. What is that you ask? Well, it isn’t large and that makes for some difficult reservations a times.

I had come through this area during a weekend and checked into a site well in advance only to discover that it was booked already. I had let a friend know about the site when they were traveling through and also the same results when looking almost a month in advance. But on a third attempt to book on a weekend it was as though all sites were nearly empty only a week out for the weekend ahead. So this site isn’t really consistent on being able to book in advance.

So what is the allure of this site in particular? THE DIAMOND MINE!! Yep, I said it, DIAMONDS!

For only a small fee you can go inside and hunt for your next big come up and even name your find, should you uncover one. And don’t think this is just some random tourist trap, because several diamonds are in fact found regularly there (most are not large). It is something the entire family can do together or you can do on your own.

But the mine, while the biggest attraction, is not alone. There is also a children’s waterpark area, hiking trails and many other fun things within a short drive back into town.

There are only about 5 primitive tent sites and around 40 RV or improved sites. So there it is the big kicker!

Now with that said, what does this campground look like that it would rate 5 stars if it wasn’t so stinking challenging to get into?

It is nice, the facilities are well maintained, the roads are smooth, the trees are abundant and it is a quiet despite the traffic that flows in daily for the mine. Each campsite is large enough to not feel piled on top of your neighbor and has the typical amenities of a picnic table and fire ring.

It seemed when I was there it had been updated fairly recently in several aspects and perhaps it was because it was busy season but it was very well maintained in the restroom facilities.

I have stayed at a number of state parks in Arkansas and I am overall very pleased on how they are spending that little extra tax dollar to allow everyone to truly enjoy “The Natural State.”

TIPS:

• Bring old clothes for digging. You will best enjoy the mining experience if you aren’t worried about what you are wearing so you can really get in there and get dirty.
• Try wet sifting instead of just dry sifting it will bring the experience at the mine to life.
• Check out the things to do in town as well. This campsite is close to the town of Murfreesboro which has so many strange little interesting things. While there you can check out all there is to offer just off the beaten path.

Camped here in a tent off my motorcycle. Site was awesome. Bathrooms and showers are spotless. The staff is extremely kind and helpful.

Me, my wife and lil dog, drove into the campground to find out more information to stay the night. We met an employee who was on a golf cart. He (Mike) was super friendly and informative. He directed us to go find a comfortable tent spot, set it up and they would get with us later on the payment. He stressed there was no urgency, which was very appreciated! We set up near the multiple shower room and toilets on a hill near the facility. Unfortunately we got rained out hours later. The manager (John) even wanted us to stay in a storm shelter room if the rain got worse. Nonetheless, we left due to the rain, but will definitely go back if we could! Thankyou staff for being so courteous!

I drive truck, always have a hard time getting in/out of places with a semi and usually end up not getting to camp. The main pavilion in the center of the grounds is HUGE! theres INSTANT hot water, no waiting for 10 minutes for luke warm water. About a dozen of each... toilets, showers, urinals. 2 or more great big handicap accessible showers. Quite a few cabins. The few people we encountered were super cool and eager to see if we needed help or had questions. 4 stars because there's no lake.

Always go to the CMA rally's but have stayed offsite usually, we rented a bunk cabin for the USCA rally and I loved it price was right  accommodations perfect BUT IF YOU HAVE CEDAR OR PINE ALLERGIES be warned, my wife couldn't  as it made it most unpleasant for her.

 I LOVED IT nice quiet relaxing  as another person stated I dont know why its not packed

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.

We just stayed 3 nights in space 23. Level asphalt lots but spaced kinda wonky. Shady. I wish it had sewer. We also looked for a nearby lake to fish or kayak but nothing unless you go to Iron Fork Lake which is down the mountain.

The lodge and restaurant were nice. We hiked the Lover’s Leap trail which was one mile and moderate with a nice lookout.

Overall it is beautiful and had a nice breeze but just had a lot to do on top of the mountain.

The lodge is incredible, rv sites have no sewer and are close together. Not a bad campground just small