Best Campgrounds near Van Buren, AR

Very disappointed in Marval Resort. The manager is very unprofessional. We have been going there since 2019 for a family reunion. This year was 59th reunion. I get a phone call on July 7, 2025 and was told we would not be welcomed back and when I asked why the manager could not tell me why. All that she said was several reasons. If it was such a big issue, she should have come to me or someone else and addressed the issue face to face instead of waiting until we left. My cousin had called multiply times to try and get this worked out and she would never speak or call back. When no response to phone calls she was emailed and finally responded to an email. The manager didn’t even have the decency for the closing signature on the email. It’s a shame that Marval Resort has someone like this running their resort. Very poor communication. Instead of coming to my camp spot talking to me about some cars parked on the grass and gravel in front of our camp spot out of the way of others she calls me in the middle of a big gathering and tells me they need to be moved because it rained that morning and the grass was wet. No, the grassy lawn area was dry in the heat of the afternoon day. There are so many staff members driving around on their golf carts and not a word was said. She was on her golf cart right by us and could not come face to face and talk about the issue. Now, that’s pretty unprofessional. We have 96 and 86 year old aunts and some others with walking issues. That’s why cars were there. Family was coming from their cabins or campers to the central area for family gathering. And as far as the pavilion parking that we paid money to rent. Again, for some elders and a few trucks hauling fish fry supplies. You booked a band that was playing on the stage right by the pavilion(that we paid for) and people could not communicate very well due to loud music. This also happened last year as well. So, you the manager don’t know who all the cars belong to. They could have been the bands or other guest not in our family. We have a large group that stayed there for 6 years in campers or cabins and spent lots of money there. There is a lot of issues the manager needs to take care of and get off her high horse. I thought this place is supposed to be family oriented. I will miss seeing Wayne(maintenance gentleman) there with his smiling face. He is such a friendly man. And one more thing, always talking about all the improvements they’re working on or going to do. It’s been the same for 6 years now.

I just got back from staying here for a night. For one, it is a very narrow road but my minivan got through just fine. UNTIL I made it to a puddle of water (that I highly underestimated), got stuck in the mud immediately and had to call a tow company (by walking 15 minutes down the highway to get signal; no signal at all at the sites) to help pull me out for $400. The people at the tow company warned me that the forest service does NOT allow cars to drive on these roads anymore, and that is why they added guard rails. They told me that had I gotten caught with my car in there I would have had to pay a big fine. He said camping is fine as long as you park on the turnout by the highway and walk in. Saying all of that, there are still multiple really nice and spread out spots with nice huge firepits. I would have been fine with parking and walking in. Also, I was in pretty deep and could still hear the cars on the highway, but not many come by (at least not on a Tuesday night). The creek is nice. Also tons of fireflies which was cool.