Best Campgrounds near Clarksville, AR

Camped here on May 1, 2025. This is one of my favorite state parks in the USA. Lots to do here. Fantastic hiking trails - rated from easy to difficult. Since I live only 45 minutes from this park, I normally come here for the day for hiking. This time, I got around to trying out the park's campground. This popular campround is divided into 4 areas - A through D. There are a total of 125 campsites, including 26 pull-through sites. Thirty-five of the sites are Class AAA sites which have 50 amp electrical, water, and sewer hookups. There are 90 Class B sites offering 30 amp electrical and water hookups. All sites are reservable. Tent and hammock camping is possible depending on the sites. I camped at site 103 in Area D. The staff at the office helped me pick this site for my campervan. The site had water and 30amp service. The restroom/shower house was clean and well maintained. The campsite itself was dated but clean. The site was large and had trees around it offering a little bit of privacy. The pull-thru drieway was close to the campground road. The site included a picnic table, tent pad, lantern pole, metal fire ring, and grill. Solar charging and Starlink connectivity may not be possible at this site; Area C has an open sky above it. There was some road noise from vehicles driving on Petit Jean Mountain Road which is behind the site. Received good AT&T 5G cell service, but little to no T-Mobile 2G service.  Areas C and D are in the woods. Most of the sites in these areas are on the small size but should easily accomodate a truck camper and smaller. Not all sites are level. Areas A and B can accomodate large rigs and towables.

100% of Wildlife Management Areas in the state of Arkansas require a Hunting license or WMA camping permit purchased though Arkansas Game and Fish.

WMA Regulations are very easy to find on the AGFC website. Know the seasons and be courteous. There is pretty much at least one open hunting season from September each year through the following May.

There is only a handful of sites spread throughout the WMA and you can only camp in those designated by the game and fish. This isn’t the national forest, you can’t just pull off and camp anywhere you please.

A downed tree blocks part of the view, but still has a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. The disbursed sight is large, but only part of it is level enough to camp on in my opinion. Spy Rock overlook is down the road and the view is spectacular. There are also nearby waterfalls to hike to.. The road was well maintained upon our arrival, but the frequent off-road vehicle traffic of the four wheelers and side-by-side that go by constantly have combined with the recent rains to degrade it over the past couple of days. Even with the traffic, we did find some time to listen to the birds and sit in silence under the dark skies. T-Mobile has anywhere from one bar LTE to three bars of 5G extended to 2 bars 5G here. I was able to stream video on my phone before bedtime each night and use my phone to plan for the following day. There are too many trees to use Starlink so this was very helpful.

Stayed the night in Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area. Spoke with Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission Ranger. No desersal camping but you can camp in the 2 designated campsites. Well designated, my pis is on the further east site from Carver. Must purchase camping license from Game and Fishing Commission. Can be done online at www.agfc.com (Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission) , for $5. The farther east site is high on a bluff top, the west site is more in a valley. Looks like they might be busy during hunting season. Not bad for secluded camping,but not likely remote during hunting seasons.