Best Campgrounds near Salem, AR

We stayed 4 nights (Thu-Mon) in June and went on a canoe trip on Saturday. I stopped at the contact station to see if I needed to check in, but they said I didn’t. The bath house was a little messy and it seemed that one toilet wouldn’t flush. There is a paved walk down to the river from B Loop (that’s where we stayed- I don’t know about the others). We found a cool cave at the far right end of the rock beach. The water was absolutely beautiful Thursday-Saturday, but the area got a lot of rain Saturday starting around 2 am, and the Buffalo River Float Service told us there would be a crest after 5 pm Sat. We were supposed to start between 9-10, but when we arrived they said they were delaying everyone’s start. We got on the river about 10:45 am. Our float trip was amazing and we were on our way back to our vehicle on the 3 pm bus (trip was Dillard’s Ferry to Rush). By 8 pm Saturday, the water at the beach area was completely brown and we could tell the water was up a LOT. We saw a park ranger on Sunday and asked about the water level and she said it had gone up 12 feet by Saturday night and Sunday morning it was 13 feet. We could see the level dropping throughout the day Sunday and into Monday morning. We ate an amazing dinner at the restaurant at Buffalo Point- and also had lunch at The Springhouse. Both were delicious meals!! We did the Over Look trail and it was pretty well maintained. We also went to the Rush Ghost Town and did the short loop to check it out- went out past the Overflow parking at Rush to see the rapids, and drove around the Rush (tent only) CG which looked like it hadn’t been used in some time. The Buffalo Point CG Loop B was fairly well maintained with a few sites not usable due to erosion. There were a few campers who had barking dogs that they didn’t seem to correct, so we slept with our fan on to drown out the noise. We absolutely loved our visit to Buffalo Point and would definitely return.

We were able to check in early since no one stayed in the spot the night before. We had originally booked 4 nights but changed to 3. Visitor center is very nice and staff was friendly and helpful. We loved having the steps right beside our camper- could walk down to the river and sit on the rock beach. Site was overall very level- just needed a little blocking. Host is across the road. The water spigot would not stop leaking- I reported it to the host and they said to call the visitor center- when I called there, they said they didn’t know why it leaked- but took my number to contact if they could figure it out. The water in the river is COLD and beautiful. We arrived on a Monday and there were quite a few boats passing (fishing).

The hubs and I went to North Fork campgrounds April 25-28th and we were the only campers there.  People were on the river for day-use, picnic, fishing, swimming etc. but we were the only overnight guests.  The sites are HUGE and spacious but not private.  No undressing if you have a neighbor.  There are some trails from the sites to the river but nature has mostly taken them over and it is not a safe trek. It's a short walk on the driveway to the vault toilets and day use area to get in the river or walk along the pebbled banks. Use caution while exploring the banks because what I'm assuming was a parking lot or RV sites had been recently washed away.  There are large sections of concrete/asphalt slabs, picnic tables, stationary grills, and parking wheel blocks scattered and partially buried all along the bank. The water was nice and the Catahoula enjoyed herself.  Nighttime was magical.  It was absolutely silent besides the sounds of nature and the river. Our favorite part was the THOUSANDS of fireflies. They were like a blanket or waves of twinkles through the whole loop. We let the fire die down just so we could watch the show.  Absolutely amazing.

There are a small number of sites and they are difficult to find. To reserve for $10 per night you have to leave your things at the site and drive down to find the QR code by the bathrooms and book the site. Then the online booking wasn't working and wouldn't allow me to book the site and I spent an hour on the phone with the forest ranger who also didn't know what to do. It's beautiful but overwhelmingly noisy and busy on the weekend. People in your site who are going down the river stop to fish and eat and occupy your space. Trying to launch from your camp site. If you can get a chill few days in th week it's really wonderful and peaceful.