Top Tent Camping near Mena, AR

Looking for an adventure where you can explore Mena and then fall asleep in your tent? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Mena, including sites, reviews, and tips. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.

Best Tent Sites Near Mena, AR (30)

Showing results 1-10 of 30 campgrounds

Recent Tent Reviews In Mena

421 Reviews of 30 Mena Campgrounds


  • Camper-submitted photo from Stevens Gap Campground
    September 4, 2024

    Stevens Gap Campground

    Beautiful Campground but Cramped with Too Much Traffic

    We stayed at AD10. It was a back in spot with an extremely high break over angle. The spot itself was fairly level but getting in and out is a pain. I recommend AD12 which is almost a direct back in from the road. The campground itself is very nice, but it is very winding with all the trees and spots slotted together. If you get a spot in the front near the road, there is a lot of through traffic for people going to or leaving the lakeside. The back of the campground was much quieter near the pull through sites. The dump site was directly across the street from the campground but you have to go down the road and either make a tight left turn or go further down and turn around. Bathrooms were not too far away, they were private, clean and AC. Not a lot of street lights throughout the campground made things nice and quiet at night. The site had okay Verizon cell service, around 10-20 mbps. The T-mobile service was much better around 50-60 mbps. Lots of activities to do around the park, there is the lake, plenty of hiking trails. The parking pass situation can get a little confusing at other areas of the park, but basically if you register your vehicle plate when you make the reservation, you are all set for your stay. It's a quick drive to Hochatown where there are things to do but depending on when you go it can be extremely busy. Broken Bow itself was about a 30 minute drive depending on traffic and there were more things to do, eat, and see. The traffic going back and forth between Hochatown and Broken Bow is quite busy and almost makes you not want to go anywhere. It causes a pain point when trying to get from the Stephens Gap area of the park to the main area of Beavers Bend, where you have to leave, hit 3 lights, wait 30 minutes, just to go 5 miles.Overall it’s a good campground but I might recommend staying at the other area of the park just for convenience sake, getting in and getting out.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground
    July 27, 2024

    Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground

    Great full hookup campground

    I keep coming back here to dig for diamonds. There are cheaper campgrounds in the area, but the State Park grounds are top notch. Very level camper pads, stable power and water and everything is well maintained. There are multiple bath “houses” — single shower room style privacy, not a large room with curtains. A playground in the sites for kids to play on also.

    The only downsides that come to mind are the iffy WiFi (the reservation system is pretty accurate on which sites have “good” WiFi and which do not) that is decent for casual web browsing but not likely to be streaming possible. And then a mixed pro/com is that satellite connections (direct or Starlink) is going to be rough due to the wooded aspect of the sites — although the trees do help keep the camper cooler. 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • Camper-submitted photo from Outlet Area
    July 18, 2024

    Outlet Area

    RV and Big Rig Friendly Campground along Petit Jean River

    The Petit Jean River, flowing from an outlet, divides this US Army Corp of Engineers campround into two areas. There are 38 campsites, with electricity and water hookups. This includes three multi-family sites. Fees range from $18 to $40. Reservations are made on recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777. First come, first served sites may be available outside the reservation season. The campground description at recreation.gov indicates that the campground is located on Blue Mountain Lake, but there is no lake access from here. A drive to Waveland Park is required for Blue Mountain Lake recreation. Most sites are waterfront; a few are just a short walk away from the Petit Jean River. Most sites have picnic table shelters. There are 12 sites and a restroom/shower house along the north bank of the river. The remaining campsites, along with a restroom/shower house, are on the south side of the river. The sites on the north side, except site #6, are in a open area offering little shade. The sites on the south side are along a forest and are more shaded. There is no privacy between campsites; several sites, especially on the south side, are close to each other. The north side restroom/shower house was closed. The south side restroom/shower house was very clean. The roads accessing and in the campground are paved. The campground is setup to accommodate RVs and big rigs, although tent camping is possible. Fishing in the river appears to be the main recreation activity. Walking access to the river bank is provided by stairs. Two playgrounds are at the south side camping area.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Girard Rd/Forest Road 20 Dispersed, Ouachita National Forest, AR
    July 17, 2024

    Girard Rd/Forest Road 20 Dispersed, Ouachita National Forest, AR

    Somewhat private dispersed site off of unbusy forest road

    Coordinates: 35.02531, -93.88228. Located just off of Girard Road (Forest Road 20) - a maintained gravel/dirt forest road. This road is mostly a single track - narrow with some minor erosion in a few places. A lifted 4x4 vehicle is NOT needed to drive to the site. The dispersed site is located 1.3 miles south of the turnoff to Jack Creek Recreation Area. This site is set off from the forest road on a narrow undesignated dirt track which is easy to miss. It is a small site with enough room for one vehicle - truck camper size and smaller. The site is mostly level on a dirt surface with a rock fire ring. It is mostly shaded, although solar recharging may be possible during the afternoon with solar panels being placed on the access track in front of the site. Tent and hammock camping are possible. Received a strong T-Mobile 5G signal here. Except for some peace and quiet, there is nothing remarkable about this particular campsite. However, is is located in the Jack Creek area of the Arkansas Ouachitas. This area has a few nice swimming holes and hiking trails which one can drive to. OHV recreation is also possible in the area.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Ashley Creek Recreation Area
    July 17, 2024

    Ashley Creek Recreation Area

    Pretty Location, Free Primitive Camping

    I didn't camp here, but thought I leave an updated review. Previous review still applies. This is a free primitive campground, but a permit is required to camp here; see COE Web site for info. There is a very clean portable john with tp in the campground. It appears that the campsites themselves have not been maintained in a while, although the campgound itself looks nice, with a view of the lake. Some of the sites are close together offering no privacy. I received T-Mobile cell service. Convenient boat ramp nearby. I wouldn't make this campground a multi-day vacation destinition, but it's convenient for an overnight stay and for those using the lake for recreation.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground
    June 21, 2024

    Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground

    Great little state park campground

    This is a quiet campground with plenty of shaded and nearly perfectly level pull ins. Power is consistent. Water pressure fluctuates from good to high — regulator necessary. Wifi is spotty, but the reservation center is pretty accurate on strength of WiFi at various sites. The site we are in right now, WiFi is sketchy.

    In cool weather, a walk to the diamond field would be fine. In hot weather, no way.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pigeon Creek Dispersed
    June 9, 2024

    Pigeon Creek Dispersed

    No access

    We drove slowly back and forth along the road exactly where the coordinates lead us to but there is no vehicle access to the forest there. It’s completely overgrown

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pigeon Creek Dispersed
    May 26, 2024

    Pigeon Creek Dispersed

    Would have been perfect

    The river and creek merging was so beautiful! It was a beautiful drive there. But whoever was there before me trashed it out. It’s sad.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Cedar Lake (Oklahoma) Equestrian Camp
    April 27, 2024

    Cedar Lake (Oklahoma) Equestrian Camp

    Cedar lake for the win!

    Beautiful and lush and QUIET. I love it. Asphalt and gravel sites. Clean bathrooms. Water and electric only. Gorgeous 3 mile hike around the lake. I hear it’s a fishing lake but we don’t fish. Enjoyed the scenery and peace. Would come again and again. Don’t forget the ice, there’s nothing close. Site 33 looks to be my fav.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground
    April 19, 2024

    Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground

    Great Location

    This camp is ideally located in the Crater of Diamonds State Park with easy access to the Visitors Center by foot or car. The campsites are well maintained and adequately situated to afford some privacy. There are 6 individual bathrooms with toilet, sink and shower, in the bathouse nearest to us that are modern and clean. The shower was "almost" hot.

    The only negative is that the adjacent site's fire ring is too close to our back window and the smoke from a fire could enter our window.

    This is our second stay at this park and we would definitely return.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Tompkins Bend
    April 16, 2024

    Tompkins Bend

    Great COE campground

    While Joplin CG a couple of miles down the road has magnificent views, we stayed at Tompkins Bend and not disappointed. Well maintained, clean(including restrooms and showers), and lots of sites with great lake views. Sites 1-16 are least desirable due to noise from COE pump/water facility. Sites 50-77 have great views of sunset. We were at 34-C which was level and ample room, but not the best lake view. Would definitely stay again!

  • Camper-submitted photo from COE Lake Ouachita Joplin Campground
    April 16, 2024

    COE Lake Ouachita Joplin Campground

    Great views ... not all sites are good ... needs maintenance

    The views are great as CG is on narrow peninsula of Lake Ouachita ... but not all sites are created equal.   A few are fantastic.   Some, like 63-D shouldn't be allowed as sites as too small and not remotely level.   Due to bridge weight restrictions, less maintained by COE than other nearby CGs.   We much preferred Tompkins Bend CG which is a couple of miles down the road.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Daisy State Park Campground
    April 15, 2024

    Daisy State Park Campground

    Beautiful, clean and quiet!

    We stayed in Daisy for the Eclipse weekend and expected this place to be crawling with people, so we were so happy to see it was still amazingly clean and quiet.  We stayed in walk-in site #67, which was at the very end of the paved path from the parking lot.  The site had a very level and massive gravel tent pad, as well as firepit, picnic table and lantern post.  The hill in/out is quite steep, but the pavement makes it easy to haul with wagon, and I've rarely seen multiple water spigots in a walk-in area like that.  Our neighbors were a little closer than we're used to for walk-ins, but we had glorious views of the lake and very little traffic walking past our site, which is a blessing when you have two somewhat barky dogs.  The camp store sold firewood, ice and souvenirs and they were super-friendly, and one of the rangers even helped load the firewood in the car for me.  My only complaint is that there's only one hiking trail in the park, and it's just a very short nature trail and doesn't really give you a good view of the lake or anything.  However, there were many beautiful trails to be had within a 30-40 minute drive of the park.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Parker Creek
    April 13, 2024

    Parker Creek

    Great campground

    We went for the 4/8/24 eclipse and really liked this campground. $20 for water, electricity and trash can at every site. According to neighbor, this is usually low use, but it was fully booked for the eclipse. The only downsides were flies and small bathrooms. (2 stalls) But running water and a small shower.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Denby Point
    April 11, 2024

    Denby Point

    Beautiful campground

    We have been coming here for years! Very clean, well maintained, and HUGE sites. We come down every year to go to the Crystal mines. And THIS year we watched the total eclipse as well!!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Jefferson Ridge - Dierks Lake
    April 10, 2024

    Jefferson Ridge - Dierks Lake

    Stayed Here For The Eclipse!

    This campground was fantastic! I jumped on it, it was the last campground with availability in the Path of Totality for the Solar Eclipse. Sites are at perfect price points, you can get water/50a sites for $25/night, pretty darn good. Would stay again

  • Camper-submitted photo from Winding Stair Campground (Ok) — Ouachita National Forest
    February 13, 2024

    Winding Stair Campground (Ok) — Ouachita National Forest

    I did not stay here, just passing through.

    I did not stay at this campground (I was driving the scenic byway), but I stopped for "scouting purposes". It seems very nice, the vault toilet was locked? But otherwise, a well kept dry campground with many sites and good views. Also, the pricing on here is incorrect; USFS website says $8/night for singles, $14/night for doubles (can't beat those prices honestly). Will stay if I pass this way again!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Charlton Campground
    February 13, 2024

    Charlton Campground

    Excellent Campground 20 minutes from historic Hot Springs!

    A very well maintained and enjoyable campground! There are amny sites, ranging from tents to full hookups. Prices range from $15/night (tents) to $45/night (group sites). Despite being close to the main road, it was very quiet. There is no cell signal to speak of in the loop C tent sites, but closer to the front, near the swimming area & pavillion, I got three bars (Verizon). The swimming is great! There is a CCC platform to jump from into the pool. Hot Springs is 20 minutes, and this campground has access to trailheads nearby. Would Stay Again.

    Stayed September 2021.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Stevens Gap Campground
    February 4, 2024

    Stevens Gap Campground

    Quiet, lovely campsite.

    We only stayed one night enroute home to NW Arkansas. We had stayed at one of the sites on the river side of the park, but this was our first on the lake side.

    We had a pull-though site with full hookups. As we were only one of three campers, the campground was very quiet. The pull-through sites are fairly close together and I wonder how noisy they would be during peak season.

    The facilities were nice, but no hot water in the showers...brisk!!

    Lots of deer (friendly...I would guess the guests feed them). We would stay here again as a short term solution...probably not a long-term option for us.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Waveland Park
    December 5, 2023

    Waveland Park

    Quiet and friendly staff

    Can't not beat the price and the spot. Nice views, great place to unwind for a couple days with friendly staff. Bathrooms with showers, with an Access pass it's $10/night with electric and water. WOW! A lot of people seem to be camping here and taking their boats out.

    Level spots with picnic tables and fire pits. Couldn't get our Starlink to work with tree coverage but have reception.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Queen Wilhelmina State Park — Queen Wihelmina State Park
    November 30, 2023

    Queen Wilhelmina State Park — Queen Wihelmina State Park

    Awesome park, small campground

    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.



Guide to Mena

Camping near Mena, Arkansas, is a fantastic way to enjoy the great outdoors. With beautiful landscapes and a variety of campgrounds, there's something for everyone, whether you're into hiking, fishing, or just relaxing by the water.

What to do

  • Hiking and Nature Trails: Many campgrounds offer trails for hiking. At Mount Magazine State Park Campground, one visitor shared, “There are lots of nature trails, but none very long.” This makes it perfect for a quick hike or a leisurely stroll.
  • Fishing and Water Activities: If you love fishing, check out Lake Ouachita State Park Campground. A camper mentioned, “The lake was clean to swim in,” highlighting the great water quality for swimming and fishing.
  • Exploring Local Attractions: Campers at Crater of Diamonds State Park Campground enjoy the unique experience of searching for diamonds. One reviewer noted, “I keep coming back here to dig for diamonds.”

What campers like

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A visitor at Daisy State Park Campground said, “Clean showers and bathrooms!” which is a big plus for many.
  • Spacious Sites: Many campgrounds offer roomy sites. One camper at Denby Point mentioned, “Very clean, well maintained, and HUGE sites.”
  • Friendly Staff: Campers often highlight the helpfulness of campground staff. A visitor at Treasure Isle R.V. Park said, “The Office has been kind and helpful.”

What you should know

  • Road Noise: Some campgrounds are near busy roads. A reviewer at Queen Wilhelmina State Park pointed out, “The sites are right next to each other and have odd configurations,” which can lead to noise from nearby traffic.
  • Limited Amenities: Not all campgrounds have full amenities. For instance, at Springhill, one camper noted, “The restrooms/shower facility was clean, but no laundry room.”
  • Primitive Camping Options: If you’re looking for a more rustic experience, COE Lake Ouachita Crystal Springs Campground offers primitive camping. One camper mentioned, “The bathrooms were very good,” but noted the lack of full hookups.

Tips for camping with families

  • Kid-Friendly Activities: Look for campgrounds with playgrounds and activities for kids. At Lake Ouachita State Park Campground, a reviewer said, “The camp store sold firewood, ice and souvenirs and they were super-friendly.”
  • Plan for Bugs: Some areas can be buggy, especially near water. A camper at Daisy State Park Campground noted, “If you have a boat, jet ski, kayaks it’s a great spot,” but be prepared for bugs.
  • Bring Outdoor Games: Campgrounds often have open spaces for games. One camper at Mount Magazine State Park Campground suggested, “The views are worth the drive!”

Tips from RVers

  • Check Site Size: Make sure your RV fits the site. A reviewer at Treasure Isle R.V. Park mentioned, “The sites are pull through but not paved.”
  • Wi-Fi Availability: Some campgrounds have decent Wi-Fi. A visitor at Queen Wilhelmina State Park said, “The bath house was clean, warm, and had great water pressure.”
  • Be Prepared for Road Noise: If you’re sensitive to noise, consider this before booking. A camper at Springhill mentioned the nearby highway noise.

Camping around Mena, Arkansas, has something for everyone, whether you're a family looking for fun or an RVer seeking a peaceful spot.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular tent campsite near Mena, AR?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Mena, AR is Cossatot Falls Campsites — Cossatot River State Park - Natural Area with a 5-star rating from 12 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find tent camping near Mena, AR?

    TheDyrt.com has all 30 tent camping locations near Mena, AR, with real photos and reviews from campers.