Lake Charles State Park and Village Creek State Park house upscale glamping accommodations within eastern Arkansas wilderness settings. Lake Charles features lakeside yurts with modern amenities including electricity, comfortable furnishings, and climate control systems that provide a resort-style camping experience without sacrificing comfort. "We stayed during spring break 2023 and the campground was about 3/4 full. The bathhouses were clean and the staff was super friendly," noted one recent visitor. Village Creek State Park offers premium glamping options with full hookups, picnic tables, and fire pits surrounded by natural forest landscapes. Both parks maintain well-kept grounds with paved pads and patios, ensuring glamping guests enjoy a clean, comfortable outdoor experience with the convenience of nearby bathhouses and shower facilities.
Extensive trail networks surround these glamping destinations, connecting guests to fishing spots, swimming areas, and wildlife viewing opportunities. Lake Charles provides direct lake access from many glamping sites, with a sandy beach area that's popular during summer months. One visitor highlighted, "Kayaking and fishing was great! Beautiful place to stay!" The parks offer seasonal programming led by park rangers, including guided nature walks and educational presentations about local ecology. Village Creek glampers can explore nearly 100 acres of parkland containing diverse habitats and abundant wildlife, particularly deer that frequently appear near glamping accommodations at dusk. Winter glamping is available year-round at both parks, with Lake Frierson State Park offering additional yurt accommodations for those seeking to explore northeastern Arkansas from a luxurious base camp.
"Lake Charles was established in 1963 and was dedicated on May 28, 1967. Picnic tables, grills, lantern hooks and paved pads are at each campsite. "
"this is a nice park, with clean restrooms/bath houses. sites are a comfortable distance apart with good hookups, asphalt or concrete parking pads and patios for solid picnic tables as well as well drained"
from $36 / night
"I called ahead and arrived after hours. It was as easy as it gets. They said to just pick an open site and register in the am."
"Village Creek has nearly 7,000 acres of forest hills, 33 miles of multi-use trails, playground for children, 2 lakes, Andy Dye designed 27 hole golf course, & visitor center & gift shop."
from $25 / night
"We stayed in Site# 2 💦🔌💩 Amazing campground for a pass through campground(the lack of laundry/bathhouse held us back from 5)
WiFi-✔️▫️Streaming- from phone Cell Service AT&T Verizon"
"As others have said here, the park is right off the freeway, within walking distance of several restaurants, a grocery store, and Walmart. I did hear some traffic but it was huge noise to me."
from $40 - $42 / night
"Lake Frierson State Park is a nice stop off on the way to Jonesboro Arkansas. Nice trails, water recreation and quiet. The campground is small. 7 sites near one of the boat ramps."
"The sites are nice and have great views of the lake. For those of you with RV’s beware that there is no sewer dump station here."
"This campground is right around the corner from Greers Ferry Dam. Our family enjoyed several days and made countless memories here."
"This is such a beautiful campground with great fishing and floating nearby. The campground sits on the tail waters of Beaver Lake and is gorgeous!!"
"went here on a fishing trip, and i pulled out so many rainbow trouts from this lake!"
GuideGreat big sites. The biggest I’ve seen for a state park in a while. Very quiet. Great Lake to fish and swim. Clean bath houses. The power did flicker a few times. Overall a nice place.
TravelerSpacious sites, also has horse camp. Electricity. Racoon issues not under control. Dumpsters near bathroom contained racoons that also went into folks' camps. No cell signal. Bathrooms woefully neglected as far as cleanliness. Old is one thing, but nasty is another.
GuideWe enjoyed this campsite. I think some of the sites are farther from the lake, but we were in 46 and it was super convenient. We enjoyed some good fishing
GuideOne of the largest campgrounds in the state. weekends fill up fast with local families, enjoying the campground with their kids and dogs. Lots of bike riding trails as well as trails for people that bring their horses for the horse camp section. Sites are fairly close together. Camp is well maintained and has a great visitors center with friendly staff.
GuideOnly 7 sites no sewer, very clean and spacious
TravelerThis place is very beautiful and DEEP into to woods. The sites are very spread out with privacy though and we loved that!
We arrived after hours and our site had a pamphlet with our name and some basic information for our stay.
In the morning, the spot was very beautiful and tucked away in the woods with visibility to the lake down the hill.
It rained briefly and our spot was down a slight hill so there was a bit of concern with puddling, but there was proper drainage and the site didn’t puddle as much as we would’ve thought! The site was very leveled!
We lost service about 5/10 minutes out from the park with Verizon so if there are things you need to search before do that!
When we left we stopped by the visitor center that had a pretty wide range of things to do with a gift store. The staff and rangers were very nice!
We would visit again!
GuideSmall, tight campground that has no amenities at all, but is priced accordingly. This campground has full hookups at every site, the sites are tight enough together that opposing slides wouldn’t fit, there are no bathrooms, laundry facilities, etc. It is conveniently located very close to I40 and is minutes from shopping and restaurants.
Added bonus……the WiFi is rock solid. I didn’t bother using my Starlink as I was able to stream from the campgrounds wifi.
LegendWe have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and stayed in site 50 for 1 night in mid September. The CG is clean, well maintained. The CG roads are paved, as are the sites. The sites themselves all seemed pretty level. The CG was very quiet and peaceful and about half full while we were there. Our site, 50, was a pull-through, as were several, but most were back in. There is some shade depending on the site. The bathhouses are showing their age a bit.
AT&T coverage was basically nonexistent with 1 bar of 5GE service but 0 MB/s of throughput. We had a clear view to the N at the site, so Starlink was fine with speeds up to 13 MB/s.
RangerArrived after hours to Campsite area A (sites 1-41). Note: reservation app does was not allow same day reservations, so find "available" site and pay at kiosk at visitor center. Hard to see park at night but in the morning found clean restrooms and shower --a happy find. Park offers nice large sites for tent and RVs with power, water, picnic table & fire rings. Really nice campgrounds with golf and equestrian facilities near by.
Lake Charles State Park and Village Creek State Park offer popular glamping options in eastern Arkansas, about 30-45 miles from Newport. These parks sit on Crowley's Ridge, a unique geological formation rising 200 feet above the Mississippi Delta plains. Camping options near Newport range from primitive tent sites to full-service RV parks with water and electrical hookups, with most state parks maintaining year-round availability.
Fishing opportunities: Lake Frierson State Park offers excellent fishing in its 335-acre lake. "Kayaking and fishing was great! Beautiful place to stay!" notes one visitor to Lake Frierson State Park.
Hiking trails: Village Creek State Park features over 30 miles of trails including one of the most well-preserved sections of the Trail of Tears. A camper explains, "The Big Ben Nature Trail offers a great opportunity to identify these unusual plant species and is a short, easy hike. However, erosion is a big issue on the ridge, and sections were somewhat washed out after recent heavy rains."
Swimming spots: Lake Charles State Park includes designated swimming areas for warm weather enjoyment. "Really lovely lake with a great area for swimming. We had kind neighbors and felt very safe," reports a visitor to Lake Charles State Park.
Privacy between sites: Many campgrounds offer good spacing between camping spots. At Village Creek State Park, a visitor noted, "This is a huge Campground with lots of available activities such as hiking on the Trail of Tears, boating, fishing... the RV sites are flat and they have water and electricity."
Clean facilities: Campers frequently mention well-maintained bathhouses. One camper at Dam Site Campground shared, "Clean bathrooms, warm showers and plenty of TP!"
Peaceful atmosphere: Most sites offer quiet environments away from crowds. At Greers Ferry Lake - COE/Cherokee Rec Area, a visitor commented, "If you want to enjoy the peace and quiet this is your stop. The view is beautiful with all the water sites."
Limited cell service: Many campgrounds have spotty cellular reception. A Village Creek State Park visitor mentioned, "We had no signal on ATT but there is free WIFI by the office which you can connect to day or night."
Seasonal considerations: Bug activity increases significantly during summer months. A Lake Charles reviewer warned, "The cons: located near a very tiny town, so bring everything you need with you because a quick trip to the store will take you at least 30 min. Also, the biting flies + mosquitos were ROUGH in the morning. You'll need your bug spray."
Limited services: Some parks have reduced amenities in the off-season. At Dam Site Campground, a camper observed, "We like winter camping, but it appears that they close off most sections of the park during the colder months."
Bring bikes: Several parks have paved trails perfect for children cycling. A Lake Charles visitor mentioned, "There are trails for hiking or bike riding all three campground areas have access to the lake for fishing or bring your own boat and explore the lake."
Plan for wildlife viewing: Many campers report regular deer sightings, especially at dusk. A glamping enthusiast at Delta Ridge RV Park noted, "There were lots of frantic birds at dusk everyday I was there."
Check bathroom facilities: Not all campgrounds offer showers. A Lake Frierson State Park visitor cautioned, "The drawback for me is that this campground only has vault toilets and no showers. You have to drive to Crowleys Ridge State Park to use their dump station (10 minute drive)."
Site leveling: Most developed campgrounds offer relatively level pads. At Delta Ridge RV Park, a camper reported, "Each site is a full hookup on a gravel pad with easy leveling. The campground itself is clean and well maintained."
Size restrictions: Some parks can't accommodate larger rigs. A Village Creek visitor noted, "We checked out the other camping areas and they were in much better shape, recently renovated and with full hookups. The sites there are large, and spaced out pretty well."
Utility connections: Available hookup types vary between campgrounds and loops. At Lake Charles State Park, a camper explained, "There was water, electric and sewer hookups in Area C only. Areas A and B had electric and water. All areas are shady and relaxing."
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Newport, AR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Newport, AR is Lake Charles State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 20 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Newport, AR?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 glamping camping locations near Newport, AR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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