Best Glamping near Texarkana, AR

Was really impressed with this campground for our RV. Would visit again when in Texarkana,very clean and a lot of activities for families!

Texarkana RV Park is a very nice, clean, and friendly RV park. They have a gated entrance for extra security. The park has nice amenities such as pool, playground, laundry, restrooms, dog run, and park-like setting with duck pond. Most sites are pull-thru and plenty long, but narrow. Beware of your slide placement before parking, as site poles may be in the way of a slide fully opening. Each site is gravel with a patio and they have 50 amp FHU. We enjoyed our stay at this campground and would definitely stay again. 👍🏻😊

For videos on this campground and others, check out our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

Atlanta State Park is nestled pretty far off the beaten path (nearest highway) deep in the pineywoods. It sits on the edge of Wright Patman Lake near the Texarkana region on the Texas side. Has plentiful campgrounds that are nearly maintained, two different boat ramps (both in good condition) for fishing, along with multiple swimming areas (with beaches) for folks. The major plus to this lake is that you can easily bring a boat with you when you're camping, because of the plentiful spaces at campsites and boat ramp access.

Wright Patman Lake is a decent lake, but does have a fair amount of stumps along the edges- watch for the bouyees. Fishing is good, water can get very warm in the summer which is nice for swimming.

Overall it's a beautiful park and the best park along Wright Patman Lake in my opinion. I've also been here at least two dozen times and enjoyed each experience.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is a place where you literally play the fun and exciting game of“finders, keepers.” The prize here being diamonds! In the middle of nowhere Arkansas(a.k.a. the town of Murfreesboro) is a field of 37 acres where for $10/day you can dig to your hearts’ content looking for diamonds making this the only diamond mine in the world open to the public. And don’t think this is a gimmick. Over 75,000 diamonds have been found in the“Crater” with an average of 600/year. The largest diamond found in North America was found at Crater of Diamonds topping out at 40.23 carats. In 1998, the Strawn-Wagner Diamond weighing 1.09 carats was graded by the American Gem Society as a 0/0/0“D” Flawless perfect diamond– a“one in a billion diamond”– and found right here in Arkansas. 

The park was established in 1972 “to responsibly manage and interpret this unique site and to provide a meaningful diamond mining experience for all guests and future generations.” We find that pretty funny because we have never come across a state park whose intent is to provide a meaningful diamond mining experience mission. All the more reason we wanted to go! The parks campground is set among beautiful pine trees and offers full hook-up sites large enough to fit our 45’ RV without a problem. The campground has 47 nicely shaded RV sites with water/electric/sewer hookup(many of which have tent pads and five walk-in tent sites. The campground has two modern bathhouse with hot showers; one bathhouse includes a laundry and both were very clean and cared for all day long. If you need a dump station one is conveniently located as you leave the campground. There is also free Wi-Fi in the campground. There is a nice hiking trail that leaves from the campground and loops back around after venturing through the forest and along a river. It is not a long trail but a nice walk and we never saw anybody on it while we were there. Now back to diamond hunting. The“crater” is essentially a plowed field that is the eroded surface of a volcanic crater containing a variety of rocks, crystals, and gemstones. The field is plowed periodically to expose underlying layers of dirt and gems. The visitor center has interactive exhibits highlighting the unique history of the park and geology of Arkansas diamonds. They also tempt you with pictures of diamonds that have been found in the park. At the Diamond Discovery Center visitors learn about diamonds, but more importantly, techniques on how to find them. 

Once you have rented (or brought your own) diamond digging equipment like trowels, shovels, buckets, sifting screens, etc. then it is time to head out into the crater. The techniques vary widely from walking along looking for smooth shiny diamonds (because dirt and mud don’t stick to the smooth surface of diamonds) to digging up a bucket full of dirt and sifting through water like gold mining. We talked to one man who uses a paint brush to lightly brush away loose dirt to reveal the diamonds. Diamonds come in a rainbow of colors but the predominant colors found here are white, brown, and yellow. If you think you found a precious stone, staff is on hand to positively identify it for you. And if you want it, you keep it! No matter what it is.

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle.

Search Area Conditions

The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area. The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field.

Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep.

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark.

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com

The Crater of Diamonds State Park is an exciting place full of rich history and, of course, finding lots of rough diamonds. The State Park is listed as the eighth largest reserve of diamonds in the world according to their website, and this park sets itself apart from anywhere else by allowing visitors to keep any diamonds that they find. Some lucky visitors have even found diamonds worth thousands of dollars.

This review will give you tips about the search area that are based on my firsthand experiences. It will allow you to develop a game plan of possible places to dig, as well as what indicators to look for before taking a trip to the famous Arkansas diamond mine. So, let us begin by identifying what type of indicator rocks that are mixed in with ordinary organic soil on the mine field. Minerals, such as Quartz crystals, calcite, magnetite, spinel, garnet, chromite, and diopside will be the main rocks you will want to look for while prospecting for diamonds. These rocks were created in a similar process during the heating and cooling process of the rock cycle. Search Area Conditions The best time to take a trip to the Arkansas diamond fields is after a heavy rainstorm, but keep in mind that you will get muddy during your visit so always wear the appropriate clothes and shoes while out in the search area.

The Crater of Diamonds plows their fields, but the implements only turn over the top two feet of dirt repeatedly. Diamonds are found in gravel deposits within the mind field, but they will be below two feet anywhere on the search field. Secondly, you must be able to probe correctly to understand what the ground is underneath. When probing things like vibrations and sound are your friends. Usually, a ground probe is a 10 ft. steel rod that allows you to hear and feel the vibrations. A 4 ft. rod will do for the daily visitor and a 10 ft. rod will be good enough for the most serious Rockhounds ready to dig deep. 

Using your probe comes down to the noise that you hear and feel. The first step is to make sure the ground is soaking wet to make the probe pierce the ground easier. Next, as you push down the probe remember there are objects in the ground and not every time your probe stops its diamond bearing gravel Gravel deposits can be as hard as concrete depending on how old the deposit is. You will run into tree roots and layers of hard rock. Keep watering the hole, push down and twist on the probe handle to continue downward in probing until you have met your depth mark. 

Once that you have found a promising site by probing the next step is to dig down to to your chosen depth to see for yourself. Other ways of searching are in the form of walking around and picking up anything that shines or simple strip mining one area and separating the dirt from the gravel before starting with your chosen final diamond recovery process to condense the heavy rocks and gemstones to the middle of your screen or sarucca.

For more detailed step by step instructions on probing or the diamond recovery process check out the eBook "How to Find Diamonds" learn more at www.EliteMinersClub(dot)com

This place would have gotten a full 5 stars, but there is a very unpredictable side to this campground. What is that you ask? Well, it isn’t large and that makes for some difficult reservations a times.

I had come through this area during a weekend and checked into a site well in advance only to discover that it was booked already. I had let a friend know about the site when they were traveling through and also the same results when looking almost a month in advance. But on a third attempt to book on a weekend it was as though all sites were nearly empty only a week out for the weekend ahead. So this site isn’t really consistent on being able to book in advance.

So what is the allure of this site in particular? THE DIAMOND MINE!! Yep, I said it, DIAMONDS!

For only a small fee you can go inside and hunt for your next big come up and even name your find, should you uncover one. And don’t think this is just some random tourist trap, because several diamonds are in fact found regularly there (most are not large). It is something the entire family can do together or you can do on your own.

But the mine, while the biggest attraction, is not alone. There is also a children’s waterpark area, hiking trails and many other fun things within a short drive back into town.

There are only about 5 primitive tent sites and around 40 RV or improved sites. So there it is the big kicker!

Now with that said, what does this campground look like that it would rate 5 stars if it wasn’t so stinking challenging to get into?

It is nice, the facilities are well maintained, the roads are smooth, the trees are abundant and it is a quiet despite the traffic that flows in daily for the mine. Each campsite is large enough to not feel piled on top of your neighbor and has the typical amenities of a picnic table and fire ring.

It seemed when I was there it had been updated fairly recently in several aspects and perhaps it was because it was busy season but it was very well maintained in the restroom facilities.

I have stayed at a number of state parks in Arkansas and I am overall very pleased on how they are spending that little extra tax dollar to allow everyone to truly enjoy “The Natural State.”

TIPS:

• Bring old clothes for digging. You will best enjoy the mining experience if you aren’t worried about what you are wearing so you can really get in there and get dirty.
• Try wet sifting instead of just dry sifting it will bring the experience at the mine to life.
• Check out the things to do in town as well. This campsite is close to the town of Murfreesboro which has so many strange little interesting things. While there you can check out all there is to offer just off the beaten path.

Second time through here on our way to Houston, this will always be our stop in and out of Texas! Great place, super clean, big spaces!

We drove in this time with a longer rental unit with a trailer attached and found ourselves in a couple of tough turns trying to get to our spot. Wider lanes and intersections would be appreciated. Otherwise hookups we’re fine and our spot was roomy

We spent only one night in this park on our way to Houston from Ohio. We arrived late and left early so we didn’t have much time to see the park. We did take a shower in the morning and they have great bathrooms. They are large and extremely well taken care of. The shower, sink and toilet are all in one locked room. I would stop here again on my way down to Houston just for the bathrooms.

This place was great! I was able to call ahead, reserve a spot, and have an automatic check in upon arrival. We are traveling cross country and didn’t arrive until 2 AM. Super easy and convenient. All of the hook ups were clean and easily accessible. The park was very clean in general. Sites are right next to each other. They had some cute cabins.

Made reservations for a back in site. Upon check in, nobody was in the office. Called the number on the door and was directed to park in the pull-through immediately at the entrance. Gate is broken and doesn’t close, nobody at the check in, RIGHT off the highway. Didn’t feel safe. Very loud. Playground area was very old and not maintained. “Dog park” was a 6ft x 6ft chain link square. Lots of permanent lots that are kind of gross. There is a new Love’s hookup & Sunrise RV parks nearby— will be using those in the future! Will not be back.

The cheapest Texas State Park for electric or electric/water campsites at only 14/night!

Spaces are spread out and loads and loads of pull through sites if that's your thing.

Bathrooms aren't great but if it isn't busy they are fine. Trails are beautiful and if you piece them together can be challenging. This park is very well maintained. I saw a few trail signs that were brand new and another trail is closed for maintenance. These are not wide, take the baby stroller kind of trails. The nature trail goes over a couple foot bridges and has a lot to see.

The beach area is okay with a few amenities. The bathrooms have 2 stalls each, 4 total again if it isn't busy they are fine. No family bathrooms in the whole place.

The sand on the beach is bad. Due to flooding and earth slides the beach front is super deep mud. If there has been even a trickle of rain on the past week you will lose your shoes the mud is so thick. Gorgeous for pictures though =)

The camp store isn't huge but they have shirts and souvenirs.

Another beautiful park on Wright Patman Lake, with a few full hookup sites. Beautiful area, tall pines, beach area, dock, boat launch. Beautiful park!

I think this is a great park for families to get away, but not get lost. They have play grounds and clean bathrooms. I would prep for muddy feet and bugs galore!

On the very last day of 2018 we found ourselves camped out at Atlanta State Park on Wright Patman lake deep in the East Texas piney woods. Just a short drive north and west of the Texas Town of Atlanta set way back in the tall pine trees Atlanta State Park is truly a beautuful place to visit with your RV. Atlanta State Park is not well suited for the mobility challenged. I was unable to get down to the waters edge in most of the public use areas and there was little else for me to do in this Texas State Park. Our visit coincided with several days of cold winter rain and that further dampened our spirits and motivated us to cut short our visit by one full day. Dont get me wrong we really enjoyed our short visit to Atlanta State Park and look forward to a return visit when the sun is shinning but on this visit is was wet and gloomy. 

Come along with us as we pay a visit to Atlanta State Park!

https://youtu.be/b-JHeYgjWx8