Looking for the best campgrounds near Royal, AR? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Arkansas camping has to offer. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Royal. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
This peaceful park makes great camping near Little Rock and is located on Lake Catherine, one of five lakes in the beautiful Ouachita Mountain region. The only full-service marina on the lake is here at the park and open in the summertime for bait, snacks/drinks, and fuel. Boat rentals are available year-round. The park also includes a launch ramp, pavilion, picnic sites, playgrounds, and a well-marked trail that leads to a waterfall.
The park has 20 fully equipped cabins, including one two-bedroom cabin with a patio overlooking the water and private access to the lake from its own fishing pier. There are also many native stone and wood buildings on-site. The history of these structures dates back to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. The park offers 70 campsites (47 Class AAA and 23 Class B), six primitive tent sites, one Rent-A-Camp, and one Rent-A-Yurt. Many of these sites are on the lakeshore. Park interpreters offer hikes, lake tours, and programs year-round. Guided horseback rides are offered seasonally.
$15 - $25 / night
This recreation area is part of Degray Lake
Whether your perfect vacation is action-packed or laid back, you’ll find everything you need at Catherine’s Landing. Conveniently situated on 400 pastoral acres with a mile of frontage on beautiful Lake Catherine just outside historic downtown Hot Springs.
Catherine’s Landing offers an ideal natural environment mixed with a range of accommodations and on-site activities that appeal to every form of traveler. Choose from RV sites with modern concrete pads, fully-furnished resort cottages, yurts for a true "Glamping" experience, or raised and bordered tent sites. Add exceptional on-site amenities, a convenient concierge at your service, a beautiful lake right outside your door, Wi-Fi and cable, and you have everything you need for your next getaway.
The campgrounds feature a total of 125 campsites (including 26 pull-through sites). Thirty-five of the sites—the Class AAA sites—have 30 and 50 amp electrical, water, and sewer hookups. The 90 Class B sites offer 30 amp electrical and water hookups. All sites are reservable. Campsites are divided into four campground areas. Each includes a modern bathhouse with hot showers and flush toilets. Area "A" is near Lake Bailey and include sites along the lakeshore. Areas "B," "C," and "D" are located on the south side of Ark. 154 in wooded settings.
Other campsite choices in the main camping area include a 44-unit Rally-style Area with 20 amp electrical service available for camping clubs.
A trailer dump station is centrally located near the Rally-style camping area.
Petit Jean is Arkansas's only state park with its own airport.
$25 - $40 / night
Brady Mountain Campground delights visitors with its family-friendly facilities, fabulous views and idyllic placement on Arkansas's Lake Ouachita. The lake attracts visitors who come for the crystal clear waters and bountiful fishing opportunities. Click here for the Lake Ouachita Virtual Tour.
A unique way to explore the lake is to follow the Geo-Float Trail, coined as the first water-based interpretive trail included in the National Trails System. The self-guided boat tour leads visitors on a 16-mile trip to see incredible geologic features as it stretches from the Spillway Recreation Area to Brady Mountain Recreation Area. Hikers enjoy the scenic land-based nature trail accessible from the campground. Boating, fishing and scuba diving among the remains of the flooded mountain valley are also popular here.
A unique way to explore the lake is to follow the Geo-Float Trail, coined as the first water-based interpretive trail included in the National Trails System. The self-guided boat tour leads visitors on a 16-mile trip to see incredible geologic features as it stretches from the Spillway Recreation Area to Brady Mountain Recreation Area. Hikers enjoy the scenic land-based nature trail accessible from the campground. Boating, fishing and scuba diving among the remains of the flooded mountain valley are also popular here.
Lake Ouachita sits in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains, just 10 miles west of Hot Springs National Park. The lake stems from the Ouachita River and boasts 692 miles of shoreline with 178 islands.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (501) 767-2101.
Head to Hot Springs National Park and enjoy a traditional bath or modern spa experience with the natural spring water.
$50 / night
Brady Mountain Day-Use Area delights visitors with its family-friendly facility, fabulous views and idyllic placement on Arkansas's Lake Ouachita. The lake attracts visitors who come for the crystal clear waters and bountiful fishing opportunities.____ Click here for the Lake Ouachita Virtual Tour.
A unique way to explore the lake is to follow the Geo-Float Trail, coined as the first water-based interpretive trail included in the National Trails System. The self-guided boat tour leads visitors on a 16-mile trip to see incredible geologic features as it stretches from the Spillway Recreation Area to Brady Mountain Recreation Area.______ Hikers enjoy the scenic land-based nature trail accessible from the campground. Boating, fishing and scuba diving among the remains of the flooded mountain valley are also popular here.
The Day-Use Pavilion has electrical hook-ups, picnic tables, and lighting. Other amenities include a bathroom facility, a swim beach, and a boat ramp.
Lake Ouachita sits in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains, just 10 miles west of Hot Springs National Park.______ The lake stems from the Ouachita River and boasts 692 miles of shoreline with 178 islands.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (501) 767-2101.
Head to Hot Springs National Park and enjoy a traditional bath or modern spa experience with the natural spring water.
$50 / night
Located just below Blakely Mountain Dam along the shoreline Lake Hamilton is Stephens Park. This small quiet campground has great shoreline fishing access in the Stephens Park and Avery Day-use Area. There is also boat ramp access nearby for Lake Ouachita by using the Spillway Ramp and access to Lake Hamilton using the Avery Ramp. In the area is Wood Duck Slough trail and the east end of the LOViT (Lake Ouachita Vista Trail). The LOViT is a 44 mile long trail system that meanders along the south end of Lake Ouachita.__ Click here for the Lake Ouachita Virtual Tour.
Water skiers, jet skiers and anglers can all enjoy the crystal clear waters of the lake, while hikers enjoy the campground's location on the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT), which meanders across the south end of the lake. Wildlife enthusiasts can find everything from bobcats to black bears and deer in the forested mountains surrounding the lake, and Bald eagles are often spotted in winter.
Water skiers, jet skiers and anglers can all enjoy the crystal clear waters of the lake, while hikers enjoy the campground's location on the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT), which meanders across the south end of the lake. Wildlife enthusiasts can find everything from bobcats to black bears and deer in the forested mountains surrounding the lake, and Bald eagles are often spotted in winter.
Lake Ouachita is nestled in the Ouachita Mountains just 10 miles west of Hot Springs National Park. The pool is fed by the cool waters of the Ouachita River and extends about 30 miles over 40,000 surface acres.
Head to Hot Springs National Park and discover how it earned the nickname, "The American Spa." Or take a scenic drive through the 1.8 million-acres of Ouachita National Forest.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (501) 767-2101.
$50 / night
Located in a scenic setting in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains, Lake Greeson and the Little Missouri River create a destination for outdoor recreation. Situated on Lake Greeson, Daisy State Park is a popular place for fishing and kayaking with rentals available. Lake tours offer views of magnificent rock formations that you may not otherwise see. The Little Missouri River also offers impressive fishing for trout and excellent floating in the spring. Other activities include ATV riding on the Bear Cycle Trail. Daisy is near Crater of Diamonds State Park which makes a great day trip from your campsite. There are three YURTs, 100 campsites (26 Class A, 56 Class B, and 18 tent sites), picnic areas, a pavilion, launch ramps, and a playground.
Very beautiful place to stay!! Our site on the lake was very beautiful and every site on the water has a small dock you can fish off. Bugs were not bad at all. Would recommend this place to anyone.
This is a fantastic spot with tons of amenities (including a great pool) & many activities. Also, guests and campers were extremely nice! Clean and a well planned resort! Stay if you have a chance.
We had an overnight here after visiting the hot springs national park. The euro delights food truck was a tasty treat. Loved that the pool was open until 10pm just wish the store was open past 5. Great sites. Full hook ups. Paved roads perfect for scootering.
I keep coming back here to dig for diamonds. There are cheaper campgrounds in the area, but the State Park grounds are top notch. Very level camper pads, stable power and water and everything is well maintained. There are multiple bath “houses” — single shower room style privacy, not a large room with curtains. A playground in the sites for kids to play on also.
The only downsides that come to mind are the iffy WiFi (the reservation system is pretty accurate on which sites have “good” WiFi and which do not) that is decent for casual web browsing but not likely to be streaming possible. And then a mixed pro/com is that satellite connections (direct or Starlink) is going to be rough due to the wooded aspect of the sites — although the trees do help keep the camper cooler. 🤷🏻♂️
Nice place to camp. Just no signal. Also a little expensive for me but others may not think so!
Beautiful RV Camp . Checks all the boxes . Serious Problem is Very Poor WiFi .
The campground is on the small side, but with a nice shower area and coin laundry. The paved areas (including the Rv pads) are a bit rough, but ok. Leveling pads were needed for our site . Lots of crystals just laying around also. Something out of the control of the campground, but the Oakworms were crazy. That’s not rain you hear falling from the trees! lol Stay under the awning.
This is a quiet campground with plenty of shaded and nearly perfectly level pull ins. Power is consistent. Water pressure fluctuates from good to high — regulator necessary. Wifi is spotty, but the reservation center is pretty accurate on strength of WiFi at various sites. The site we are in right now, WiFi is sketchy.
In cool weather, a walk to the diamond field would be fine. In hot weather, no way.
Great place alone or with kids. I keep coming back
Beautiful campground. Site was not level front to back but plenty of space. Even ate at the restaurant which was nice.
This was on my wifes bucket list, didnt find any diamonds, got dirty but had fun and got dirty. Sites and bath house were nice , full hook ups
This camp is ideally located in the Crater of Diamonds State Park with easy access to the Visitors Center by foot or car. The campsites are well maintained and adequately situated to afford some privacy. There are 6 individual bathrooms with toilet, sink and shower, in the bathouse nearest to us that are modern and clean. The shower was "almost" hot.
The only negative is that the adjacent site's fire ring is too close to our back window and the smoke from a fire could enter our window.
This is our second stay at this park and we would definitely return.
We stayed in Daisy for the Eclipse weekend and expected this place to be crawling with people, so we were so happy to see it was still amazingly clean and quiet. We stayed in walk-in site #67, which was at the very end of the paved path from the parking lot. The site had a very level and massive gravel tent pad, as well as firepit, picnic table and lantern post. The hill in/out is quite steep, but the pavement makes it easy to haul with wagon, and I've rarely seen multiple water spigots in a walk-in area like that. Our neighbors were a little closer than we're used to for walk-ins, but we had glorious views of the lake and very little traffic walking past our site, which is a blessing when you have two somewhat barky dogs. The camp store sold firewood, ice and souvenirs and they were super-friendly, and one of the rangers even helped load the firewood in the car for me. My only complaint is that there's only one hiking trail in the park, and it's just a very short nature trail and doesn't really give you a good view of the lake or anything. However, there were many beautiful trails to be had within a 30-40 minute drive of the park.
Fairly cheap for a nicely established campground with really nice bathrooms (with showers)! Water spigot right at our site. Park has 3 different loops and lots of amenities.
We used this as our base while visiting Hot Springs. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, with the last few miles being down a somewhat curvy, yet easily navigable and very pretty road in the mountain. Be aware of the weather, as if it’s raining hard, parts of this road are subject to being the pathway for the water to cross as it flows down the mountainside. We had that experience, and it was a little tricky but quite exciting. Although the first campsites certainly looked quite close to each other, as you get further back into the campground the sites seemed to have more room. It was a mile drive from the entrance to our campsite # 62, but a lot shorter to exit. We loved our location,overlooking a part of the lake where it looked like a little cove. The site was slightly sloping but easy to level our 24’ Itasca Navion. The restrooms were clean and tidy but no soap supplied. The showers had good pressure. There was also a couple of sinks available with hot water to do dishes. Wouldn’t hesitate to come back. I think this was one of my favorite.
12 mi off the Interstate. The office is only open until 5 PM. There are toilets next to the tent area, but the showers are over in the RV area. Nice swimming beach. A few hiking trails.
Beautiful park, large sites, good hiking!
Beautiful landscape. The trees are so tall and mature and the sites are all sitting on a serene lake. The spaces are so far apart you can enjoy your own spot without interruption. Bathhouses were super clean with showers. C loop has sewer and B loop doesn’t not much wildlife in the campground but herons and geese on the lake. The power plant across the lake was weird but also quirky. We had fun telling zombie stories about it. Three beautiful hikes right out of the campground. Camp store was well stocked and friendly. Overall fantastic stay and we would DEFINITELY be back. 100%.
As of 2023 this campground is under new management.
I found everything to be absolutely amazing! Ive also wanted to visit pettit jean , and when i finally did it was so much more than i even imagined. Beautiful, stunning, and can’t wait to visit again!!!!
Our campsite was perfect. It was near the lake with full hook ups. We had plenty of space and one side was woods.
Full hook ups, big campsites with table, fire pit, and level gravel. River is close by with playground. Booked up fast for us on the weekend. 20 to hot springs.
Broke down across the street. Was not able to properly stay without freezing. Winter storm with no heat, food or water. Full hookups $45 a night or $225 a week. Laundry and showers.
The Hot Springs NP campground was closed for the season so we stayed at Lake Ouachita SP Campground for 3 nights. We are tent camper and this was the best it gets! The tent sites are well separated from the RVs and generators. The sit right on the lake so they can get windy but are peaceful and beautiful. Each tent site has a level pad for tents, picnics tables, and fire-ring. A small down-side, you have to park and walk your gear to your site but it's not terribly far or a big deal. The lake is beautiful and all tent sites have access to the water. It's a bit of a walk to the bathrooms but they are wonderfully clean (and heated). The camp store had decent wood for sale. The only thing to beware of is the crows. They are relentless and even took a bag of sealed, in it's original container, tortilla chips and tried carrying them away and pecking the bag open. So don't leave anything unsupervised (even in closed container or bags).
Gorgeous!! We enjoyed our stay. We had no service, but the lodge was so nice to be able to do homeschool and work. Everyone was super nice.
PROS
No reservation transaction fee
Senior discount
Quiet
Moveable metal picnic table on a concrete pad, pedestal BBQ grill, fire ring with cooking grate, and one hook lantern pole
Site 14 partially shady
Good condition asphalt parking pad with gravel and grass surrounding
Good view of lake from Site 14
Sites well spaced
Campground A toilet/shower building clean and sufficiently stocked. Heated but not air conditioned.
Site 14 more than long enough for trailer and tow vehicle
Dark sky friendly as there are no street lights in Campground A
Very nice 6ft wide asphalt bike trail from Campground B to Mather Lodge
(approximately 1.75 miles) CCC Hike and Bike Trail
New Visitor Center built 2021
Beautiful CCC built Mather Lodge
(restaurant added in 2012)
Grass throughout campground mowed
Firewood sold in the yards of residences along State Road 154
CONS
Site 14 extremely unlevel side to side
No privacy from other campsites
No entrance security gate to the park or any campgrounds as State Road 154 cuts thru the park
No park ranger drive thrus
Mather Lodge Restaurant OK. Don't expect much from the menu or service but it has a full bar
3 of our 4 day stay there was a religious group prophetlytizing at the Park Visitor Center WIFI only at Lodge and Visitors Center
NO TMOBILE service
I really enjoyed my stay here! I spent a week in an E/W hookup site. The park was clean and quiet (even when full). People were generally kind and respectful. Facilities were well cared for and it was just a generally nice atmosphere. The staff were all very kind and friendly. There are a few close hiking trails with some beautiful views and of course it’s only about a 20 or so minute drive to Hot Springs National Park. The town of Hot Springs is fairly small, but the main drag along bathhouse row has a lot of cool little shops to browse. Cell reception with Verizon was good along with reception for my T-Mobile 5g internet. It worked even better with my booster. I would definitely stay here again. My only complaint was the hot water in the showers…it lasts for about a minute and then the rest of the shower is generally somewhat (not ice) cold. I took some record showers!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Royal, AR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Royal, AR is Lake Catherine State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 82 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 30 glamping camping locations near Royal, AR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
