Located on Lake Catherine in Hot Springs, AR. This privately owned campground has it all: level paved camping pads, 30/50 amp electrical hookups, sewer, cable, picnic tables, fire rings and grilling stations. Several sites are located right on the waterfront of Lake Catherine. They have some of the nicest showers/bathrooms I’ve ever seen in a park! Lake access, water toy rentals, swimming pool, and a zip line! Easy access to downtown Hot Springs. Not many mature trees and campsites are close, but large size to accommodate any sized rigs. We enjoyed our stay there.
Good WiFi. Clean facilities. 10 min from everything. We chose this vs the National Park just down the road because of showers for a few $ more… Also, no cell signal at the park, but here it was fine. Great food and beverages in Hot Springs
I arrived at my campground - site 68 in Loop D to realize I booked a site right next to the road. I was the only camper that night so the rangers kindly let me switch to a site that was more secluded. The flush toilets and showers that were well maintained. The showers had spiders in them, as everywhere in the south, but they were a great treat after a very sweaty night of sleep.
The gorgeous lake was a nice walk from my site. There is a roped-off swimming area available. I admittingly swam/floated outside of the roped-off area because it was very small. I noticed volleyball nets near the lake, some chairs, a dock for boats nearby.
Wifi at the ranger station.
site included:
tent pad
picnic table
Hook thing to hand lantern light or whatever you please.
Not a great campground if you’re looking to be in peace and quiet. Very close to the city & very crowded due to convenience of trail heads. Clean bathrooms though 😌
This campground is very big & offer MANY campsites. My personal favorite was #53. Great 180 view of the lake and nice trees to hang a hammock on. Picnic tables, electric & fire ring all at sites. Hot showers are available! The camp staff was VERY polite upon our arrival. The only con was that the sites are very close to each other so if the campground was full it wouldn’t be as private & nice. Overall enjoyed my stay!
After accidentally finding this campground because the popular campgrounds around were booked solid…well we go every year now. It’s a wonderful place to relax and find crystals along the shore line of the lake. The views are beautiful
Pros: This campground has it all- great creek, incredible hiking up and over into Hot Springs, nearby disc golf course that is the best we have seen, close to all the attractions, level asphalt pads, water and power (and i think also sewer?) privacy between sites (trees, bushes) great fire pit/with cooking grate AND a grill at our site (25 is awesome), bath house with sinks and toilets ONLY
Cons: you can’t stay forever, no showers
Pro tip: eat at Superior! Great brewery/restaurant, friendly staff!
This is a great park. Never too crowded and the staff is super friendly. Nice quiet place to relax.
This campground was pretty and it was clean. Arrive early because it is first come first serve and gets full. Sites are close together but overall I have no complaints. Apparently there is $10 primitive camping, but I did not see it and in the office where you pay (by machine) all I saw were $30 flat rate for all sites. So it’s quite expensive to tent camp here. No showers, but a relatively clean bathroom.
Brady mountain campground is a beautiful place on lake Ouachita it has a swim beach and good facilities only downside is no water at RV spots
This is an awesome place to camp and get away without going too far! It is located a little south of central Arkansas so it’s easily accessible to the whole state. It’s also very affordable and has great amenities. The camp sites have good shade and are all close to the water. You can start fires, keep your vehicle right by, and bring your furry friend along too! The float is also so much fun and accessible for all ages! There’s so much to see and the water actually moves instead of you having to paddle the whole way. All the staff is friendly and there’s little stores, ice, and firewood available nearby.
Came into Bar Fifty Ranch for the weekend from Little Rock, and was able to ride horses, go hiking and stay in an air-conditioned cabin. Definitely would come back!
The camp volunteer is very nice and helpful. I always felt safe and the camp wasn’t overcrowded. The lake was gross and there were nasty Canada Geese everywhere, but overall pretty nice.
Winter, Spring and Fall are the best seasons to visit. The diamond field is a large, unshaded field.
Rains cause the soil to cake up on shoes and make it difficult to walk in the field.
I’ve never found a diamond but have seen others find them!
Be prepared for weather and arrive early to get rental gear.
This small but beautiful campground nestled in the Gulpha Gorge sits along a creek with crystal clear water. Fall is probably the best time to visit, the leaves would be amazing!!!
In the summertime, I imagine families cooling off in the stream.
Restrooms are ok, bring your own toilet paper. Some sites are a bit close together for my taste.
Lake Ouachita is the state’s largest lake. This campground has lots of sites that have water views, but not all have easy access to the lake. Swim beach is very nice but crowded in summertime (not surprising!)
Nice bathhouse, boat launch and gorgeous water.
Close access to shopping for those last- minute needs.
It’s a good campground. Great places to go with the family and get away. Campsites are average, access to water is great, swimming is great, shade from the sun is great. Bathrooms are bad, riddled with bugs and spiders and pretty prison like… Other than that they maintain the place well. Nice park and playground for the kids. Very family friendly place. I’d go back again but only for a big family trip not for a true camping trip.
Loved our day trip just me and my daughter so I can’t review camp grounds but I will camp the next round and bring the whole clan. Open fields of dirt to dig in they till up the soil to make digging easier.Take umbrellas and a wagon to pull supplies with ,also to haul dirt to the washing area. Carry drinking water snacks , 5 gallon bucket and garden tools…. have fun get dirty.
Great campground on beautiful Degray Lake near Arkadelphia. 30 & 50 amp sites with electricity and water. Nice clean bath houses.
This site is up quite a bit higher than the river. If you see the main entrance sign it says day use only. We stayed the night and it was amazing. It was the last night of our 3 day paddle of the ouachita river. Great bathrooms. Nice camping sites.
Now a day use only site. The bathroom made it clear that late night partying happens here. We camped because we had just done 14 miles on the river and were exhausted. No one bothered us. Camp ozark is near by and was very loud, as was the bridge next to the camp.
We stopped at this site after several miles in the ouachita river. The nps map still has it listed as a campground, but there was a sign at the main entrance stating day use only. We camped anyways because we felt comfortable there was no flood risk, which is why it was closed. The view was nice, restrooms were nice, and there were even trashcans.
I was pleasantly suprised with our stay at crater of diamonds. We only stayed the weekend but definitely would have been happy with a longer stay. The first day we got there it was pretty late so the kids played at the park beside our campsite whilenwe setup. The bath house was also beside our site as well as a laundromat. The bathrooms and showers were very clean. The next day we went to the diamond mines and dug for diamonds, this was so much fun! We found some small quartz that were very pretty, then we ate at the kimberlite cafe which is right beside the mines. Then to cool off, we spent the rest of the day at the water park which was perfect for my young children. There were slides and waterfalls and the water only goes to 3 ft at the deepest points.
Stopped in while traveling with no reservation on my bike. The campground was full but they did find me a spot for tent camping for the night. The staff went out of their way to assist me with getting a spot, helping me with onsite facilities, and they even made phone calls to assist me with local road closings for my next days route. Very clean bathrooms and shower facilities. The laundry facility was nice and well kept. The park is set up more for RV use but once again they were very accommodating. Although I didn’t use the pool it did look nice a several kids made use of it while I was there. The only downside and only if you’re tent camping there is traffic noise due to being close to the interstate, however it is also convenient if just passing through.
We had a great staybat daisy state park, we swam right at out campsite. The only downfall was that the sites are rather close together and aside from the driveway there was no level spot in the site. We had to set up on the driveway because we are tent campers but it worked out ok. However they did have a very nice playground so that was a plus. The hiking trail was a nice short walk through the woods. My two year old was able to walk the whole trail without assistance.
The facilities here are top notch. There are lots of shady camping spots and several nice public restrooms. The paved walking trail down to the river was a nice surprise. Everything inside the parks is an additional cost so you have to pay to swim or dig for diamonds. Not a big deal, but we were expecting to be able to use the pool and it was a big factor for staying inside the state park. Pool admission is $10 a person which seems a little high.
The times I have been there hasn’t been very many other campers in the area. I went with my in-laws, about 20 of us all together, and we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. There’s not a ton to do there. There is a good size lake for fishing and a short trail for day hiking. Other than that, it’s just sitting around the campfire. Nothing wrong with that, I kinda prefer it that way. Just don’t expect much activity to do other than being a good ole camper. Hope this helps.