Best Tent Camping near Roland, AR

Stayed here on June 11, 2024. Small 5-site primitive campground. No water. No electric. Clean vault toilets with tp, and a trash barrel. Clean campground & campsites. Sites are small with reasonable separation, but no privacy. Sites have clean picnic tables, fire ring/grill. Some have lantern plies. Gravel drive. Sites nearly level. No tent pads, but tents can be set up. Sites may be able to accommodate a truck camper & smaller. Lots of highway noise from nearby Hwy 27, but not too bad overnight. There was logging activity elsewhere in the national forest, so log haulers were driving by during the day. Campground is located at eastbound turnoff onto Forest Road 83W - a well maintained gravel road. Pine & oak trees in the campground. Probably a beautiful view of distant mountains during the winter. This campground is good for an overnight stay when exploring the national forest or passing by on Highway 27. There is no recreation in this recreation area; no water access, no hiking trails. Good T-Mobile cell service. Despite some of the road noise from nearby Highway 27, I really liked this campground.

This recreation area is as close to off-grid as you can get with so many great options right off the pavement. This campground has no water or electricity but has 4 drive-up campsites with picnic tables, fire circle, and rock shelters that overlook the beautiful Illinois Bayou. I only recall seeing trash receptacles on the lower loop.  An upper loop is accessible by hiking in. These are tent sites only with no rock shelters on the sites. The rock shelters have a large rock fire area.  There's also a vault toilet on the lower loop. A pavilion onsite is reservable and has electricity. There's also several small trails through the campground but it's most fun when the water is low enough, to go down to the water and walk along the creek. The area is close to many great hiking trails and dirt roads to explore around Hector and makes a great home base. Just up the road is a great area to explore with Jeeps or ATVs. Look up Lindsey Mtwy. This area is not on many people's radar so it's possible that you may only see a local or two while you're here. I still had cell service with my Verizon network while I was in the campground but I lost service when I went down by the Illinois Bayou.  Overall, this is a heck of a nice campground for the non-electric camper. If you visit the area, please leave no trace. :-)

Small open Campground with no specific sites (Tent Only Area). There is a small lot nearby to park then you must walk everything in. This can be anything from right next to your car to a few hundred feet away depending on where you want to set up. Picnic tables, fire rings and campground grills located throughout but again nothing is marketed as far as site numbers. The area allows for up to six camp permits per night. Could be good for smaller groups. It’s up away from the lake unlike the rest of the campgrounds in the park. There are restrooms nearby with flushing toilets and sinks. Also a playground is located close to the campsite. Overall it was clean but felt cramped among other campers and parking away from the tent made for multiple trips back and forth.

The Bayou Bluff Recreation Area is now called the Bayou Bluff Point of Interest (POI). In summary, there are only 4 campsites, including a group site. Also, these sites are free, first come, first serve. Here's is info directly from the Bayou Bluff  page on the National Forst Service Web site: "Effective October 2021, Bayou Bluff became a Point of Interest. The fees are suspended for camping and day use and is now open all year. Upper loop is closed to camping and will be eliminated completely. Use of the vault toilet, large pavilion, three shelters, and a small pavilion will remain. The pavilions are managed on a first-come, first-service basis. Trash services are managed by visitors as "pack-it-in, pack-it-out," and Leave No Trace ethics are posted on information kiosks. Active partner groups and volunteers are helping extend the life of the current amenities, excluding trash services." Also: "Open all year. No fees. Upper loop closed. Pavilions available on a first-come, first-served basis only. No trash services. Pack it in- pack it out." The NF page also indicates that there is no water available, but there may water in the group site. The vault toilets are clean, and the campground grounds appear to be reasonably maintained. I recommend only tent camping here, as well as car/truck/van camping. Sites appear to be too small for RVs & trailers.

Toad Suck is a great campground- with some caveats. All of the sites are reservable and have concrete pads. This makes it impossible to stake down a tent but also provides a great level spot. There's no foragable wood at the sites, but there's a quick stop type gas station very nearby that sells it cheap and locally sourced. The bathrooms can be a trek from your site or right next door, depending on where you're staying, but theyre immaculately clean. They service them twice daily. It's right next to the lock and dam at Toad Suck on the Arkansas River so there's a constant roar of water and the sound of barges throughout the night and day. I don't mind it but keep that in mind if you don't like those sounds. The campsite is peaceful otherwise. Dogs are allowed! ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL.

Definitely my favorite park in Arkansas so far. It’s a really big park at the lake with lots to do. I was there in the fall so I didn’t do any lake stuff but still had a great time tent camping. There’s a nice hiking trail to explore. Also, the bathrooms were the cleanest I’ve ever seen at a state park. All the tent sites have a gravel pad, grill, picnic table and fire ring. There are also walk in tent sites on the peninsula which are nice and quiet. If you get one at the end I’d say it’s probably 200 meters to the parking lot and bathrooms. I peeked into one of the cabins and they look really nice. They also have camper cabins that have heat/air but no bathroom. In all there are 93 RV/tent sites, 8 cabins and 4 camper cabins. The park is also near Hot Springs so there is lots to do.

PROS 

Senior discount 

Reserved on-line 365 days prior to arriving 

Site #68 allowed parking RV 12 feet from water edge which was fabulous 

Totally level site 

Asphalt campsite pad 

Pea gravel and grass around asphalt 

Good night sky viewing 

Squirrels ate from our hand 

Saw ranger patrolling campground frequently 

Waste containers every other campsite 

Metal picnic table on concrete slab 

One hook lantern pole 

Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

Pedestal BBQ grill 

Clean restroom/shower and adequate TP and hand soap. Women had 2 showers, 2 sinks, 3 toilets 

Weekend campground nearly filled to capacity 

4 bars Verizon LTE 

Hike to waterfall a bit tricky, but worth the effort 

Hot Springs National Park 15 miles from campground; nice to watch the crowds from Superior Bathouse Brewery 

Free water from the springs next to the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center- must have your own containers to fill 

Enjoyed Red Oak Fillin’ Station so much we dined there twice 

Diamond Head 19th Hole Restaurant, open to the public and very close to park entrance 

CONS 

Damn Canadian geese crap everywhere 

Fire pit was filled with oversized logs and once removed there was unburned charcoal and lots of ash 

Unable to move picnic table 

Site#68 no shade what so ever 

No privacy from other sites 

Lots of speed boat and jet ski noise, even after sunset 

Morning train noise 

Power plant lights and humming noise 

No security gate closure overnight 

No WIFI

Large dispersed campsite along the Fourche La Fave River on US Army Corps of Engineers land in the Nimrod Lake area. A boat launch to the river is next to the site. Because of erosion, direct access to the river bank from behind the site is difficult. This site can accomodate multiple rigs. Tent camping is possible. The level site surface is a mixture of dirt, sand & gravel. A small rock fire ring, lantern pole and a broken picnic table is included. There was some trash at the site but not too bad. Access to the site is on River Road which is gravel and a little pot-holed. A small RV, small towable, truck camper and any rig smaller should have no problem accessing the site. Note that accessing it on Duck Pond Rd from the south, you have to cross the narrow Wards Crossing Bridge which has a 3 ton weight limit.