Best Tent Camping near Nashville, AR

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

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.

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.

Beautiful and for the most part a quiet campground. I was here on a Sunday night and it was fully occupied by 6:00 p.m. This is an Army Corps of Engineers Class D campground. No services, no electric hookups, and no fees charged. I stayed one night but would happily stay longer the next time I am here. My neighbor went paddle boarding in the cove and it’s a great place to go swimming, kayaking or paddle boarding. I could not get a cell signal in the campground but I walked up the hill going back towards the main road and was able to call out. I have AT&T cell phone service.

There’s tent sites on both the open lake side and on the cove side before you get to the boat launch area. I was on the cove side. Road is nice and paved, well lit near the bathrooms which have flush toilets and screen doors. They are rustic and shows signs of age (built in the 70s), being vandalized with spray paint and not regularly maintained but are working. The campground sites have a concrete tent pad, brown site markers, picnic tables and some a grill and round food prep table.

Outside the designated campground there are several more remote sites. I was able to get back there in my small SUV easily since it was very dry and packed but there’s only a couple that I would attempt if I had been in my Class C RV. None of them would I attempt if it’s rained recently as that would be a recipe for disaster and a great reason to have to call a tow truck which is made more difficult by the limited cell phone coverage in the area. All of the roads in to those sites are dirt and deeply rutted. And since you can’t see if they’re occupied or not until you get back there I would walk in and check out before driving my RV in there because if someone is set up there it’s difficult to turn around since these are essentially what appear to be logging roads.

Also if you are in a RV I noticed two sites beside the road where you could essentially parallel park overnight if it is dry conditions and the campground is full.