Stephens Park Campground

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.

Small campground on the Ouachita River. The river is beautiful with clear, cold water. Campsite 3 is right on the river. Sites are full hookup. There is a day use area with access to be able to fish from the bank. Also, just minutes from the nearby Lake Ouachita.

I like that the campground is small and intimate, but the fact that it is along the highway makes for road noise and exposure to people passing through.

Be sure you follow the email confirmation directions or put in Stephens Park Recreation Area, Blakely Dam Rd, Mountain Pine, AR 71956 as there is also Lake Ouachita State Park in the area. We arrived at this wonderful little COE with 9 sites and headed into back-in site 3 with FHUs. After we settled, we self-registered per instructions on the information board at the entrance. Soon after, a park ranger came through and verified our information and replaced the yellow self registration tag with a green one. Site 3 is probably the most scenic site in the campground(CG). Site 1 is a good site and will take over a 40’ rig, but you would need to park your tow vehicle or toad in the parking slots next to the site. As other reviewers stated there is parking between sites 1 and 3 so site 3 gets foot traffic along and behind the campsite due to the easy access to the water and fantastic view. We got a handful of OTA channels and 2 bars on Verizon, which was manageable for internet and phone calls. The water pressure was about 30-35 psi, the lowest we’ve had in a COE. The water spigot was in the back of the site away from the sewer and electric so we needed about 30’ of water hose. The sites were basically level. There’s a restroom/shower facility that sits up the hill from the CG. Hot Springs offers lots of things to do and all of the big box stores if you need them. Airport Road Animal Hospital is a great option if you need to refill any medications for your pets or need a veterinarian.

PROs: only 9 sites, full hookups, beautiful scenery, cell service CONs: near busy highway

Great location for camping and amazing. Very quiet and pleasant. Lake view is awesome.

• This is a small campground with 9 sites and they are huge. I believe it is site 3 that is right on the water. Electric water sewer. Quiet all weekend. Shaded. Nice bathrooms. Water is ice cold and clear. Clearest I have seen. You can fish or swim right here or go to other side of the damn and water is warmer but I preferred this. Great little campground. Will definitely be back.

Very nice a clean little park. Nice views and love the river stream flowing along the camp sites. Great hiking just up the road to look over Blakey Dam.

We tent camped here in August, 2018 and in spite of the rain we had a beautiful experience. The tent sites are a small walk from the parking lot, and the parks provide a baggage cart on wheels to bring your stuff down. The site was on a small peninsula on the lake with trails to walk down to the lake, or even set up chairs. The staff was friendly, bathrooms clean and nice. We rented a kayak for a couple of hours and it was very peaceful (cheap too!). We hiked the 4 mile hike and misjudged our time, so hiked some in darkness, but it was a nice easy hike.

Stephens Park is located on the Oachita Lake. We stayed here because we wanted to check out Hot Springs, AK the next day and it seemed like the closest option. There is a large bathroom area and a nice, large covered picnic area. I did not love this site, especially after learning about all the other sites available that were located on the lake. The proximity to Hot Springs did pay off though. Our site had a picnic table and a fire pit. While we got up and left early without any hikes, I think there were several hikes around the lake and in the area. We did go for a quick swim in the lake even though it was very very cold.