Searching for a tent camping spot near Hodgen? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Hodgen, including sites, reviews, and tips. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
If you are one of those folks who prefers a different, more rugged camp experience, primitive camping is allowed almost anywhere in the Ouachita National Forest unless there is a sign stating otherwise, or it is a wildlife food plot. Located throughout the Forests are areas that have been campsites for many years. These are located along roadsides, trails, mountain tops, or near streams. Camping at dispersed locations have additional responsibilities: "Leave No Trace" so others can have a similar backcountry experience, pack out any trash or litter, scatter campfire ash around so it doesn't pile up, and leave the area better than you found it. Please filter water before drinking! Beware of stream crossings after heavy rains. Please read the Dispersed Camping guidelines before heading out.
Pack it in; pack it out. Trail open to foot traffic only for 55 miles. 137 miles is now open to both mountain bikes and foot traffic. Segments opened to mountain bikes are from the western boundary of the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma to the Big Cedar trailhead on Highway 259, and from the Talimena Scenic Drive east of Queen Wilhelmina State Park to trailhead on Highway 7, north of Jessieville, Arkansas.
Horses, pack animals, and vehicles are prohibited. Portions of the trail tcross wilderness areas. To preserve the trail’s beauty, please camp at least 100 feet from the trail. Seasons of use: Open year-round. Weather is most favorable from autumn through spring.
Jack Creek Recreation Area is located in a picturesque setting alongside towering rock bluffs and flowing waters. The area was constructed in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and displays several unique, historic facilities. There is a short trail that climbs a couple of hundred feet to a recently restored rock overlook vista that offers a panoramic view of whispering pine trees and colorful fall vegetation. Jack Creek offers day use and a primitive campground at no cost. Also from Jack Creek Recreation Area is a trailhead for the Hole-In-The-Ground Mountain Hiking Trail and Sugar Creek Hiking Trail. Hole-In-The-Ground Trail is not a loop trail and extends approximately four miles in length. The Sugar Creek Hiking Trail extends approximately three miles connecting Jack Creek to Knopper’s Ford Recreation Area. Click here for more information.
Beavers Bend State Park is located in the mountainous region of southeast Oklahoma along the shores of Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River. Guests traveling down the winding roads through the forests of pine and hardwood trees will find adventure, beautiful scenery and plenty of activities inside this state park. The scenic beauty of Beavers Bend State Park makes it one of Oklahoma's most popular areas. Nestled among the trees and alongside the Mountain Fork River are rustic and modern cabins, RV sites and tent campsites, as well as two group camps. Two yurts named "Happy Hearth" and "Bear Tracks" are also available for overnight lodging. These round, tent-like structures are located right near the Mountain Fork River. This 3,482-acre park offers 47 cabins with kitchenettes, plus 393 campsites and over 50 tent sites spread over eight camping areas. All RV and tent sites are available for online reservations. Waste dump stations are available. Leashed pets are welcome in the park and there are cabins with one and two bedrooms that allow pets for a small nightly fee.
The picturesque and scenic Ouachita River is one of the most beautiful and clear rivers in the Ouachitas. Beginning in the Ouachita Mountains near Mena, AR, the Ouachita River is a popular floating and fishing river as it flows easterly through the Ouachita National Forest, eventually becoming part of Lake Ouachita and Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, before continuing its journey south towards Louisiana.
Beginning near Pine Ridge, AR, the Ouachita offers about 45 miles of floatable river until it become Lake Ouachita near AR Hwy 27. Along this stretch, there are seven landing sites, five of which are float camps. These float camps include Shirley Creek, Rocky shoals, Fulton Branch. Dragover and River Bluff. All five float camps are free to the public. These Float camps typically have openings, even on some holiday weekends when other campgrounds are full. Only rarely are these float camps filled up.
Shirley Creek Float Camp is located off of AR Hwy 88, west Pencil Bluff, and is situated right on the banks of the Ouachita River approx. 6 miles downstream from the Pine Ridge Access. This float camp offers six camping sites, as well as picnicking sites, a vault toilet and canoe access to the river.
Shirley Creek Float Camp is typically open Spring through Fall for overnight use, and is available for day use only the rest of the year.
Beavers Bend State Park is located in the mountainous region of southeast Oklahoma along the shores of Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River. Guests traveling down the winding roads through the forests of pine and hardwood trees will find adventure, beautiful scenery and plenty of activities inside this state park. The scenic beauty of Beavers Bend State Park makes it one of Oklahoma's most popular areas. Nestled among the trees and alongside the Mountain Fork River are rustic and modern cabins, RV sites and tent campsites, as well as two group camps. Two yurts named "Happy Hearth" and "Bear Tracks" are also available for overnight lodging. These round, tent-like structures are located right near the Mountain Fork River. This 3,482-acre park offers 47 cabins with kitchenettes, plus 393 campsites and over 50 tent sites spread over eight camping areas. All RV and tent sites are available for online reservations. Waste dump stations are available. Leashed pets are welcome in the park and there are cabins with one and two bedrooms that allow pets for a small nightly fee.
Scout
Site is still charging campers full price for extended camping(14days) was told showers and restrooms available then suddenly they closed the facilities without notice. Was helping disabled person and his family who is currently homeless with the campsite and he now needing to look for somewhere else to go because there is nowhere for them to shower or use the restroom when needed.
Scout
I sort of threw darts at a board to where I would be camping next, and Applegate Cove was my destination this time. The campground is fairly small, but each lot is well maintained. The ground was a bit hard to drive tent stakes into, but I'm attributing that to the weather and season until I visit again and disprove that. There's a small walking loop down to the Arkansas river which left me a gorgeous view of the sunset, unfortunately I also visited during a fishing competition which brought quite a few people, making it a bit of a noisy area during the day as they were using the campground boat slip and dock to cast off from. You can also hear river barges during all hours, though personally I slept through all of the supposed noise. My only real complaint was that one of the bathrooms was in considerably worse condition than the other and you could smell it up to twenty feet away, which after learning I took the extra minute to walk to the nicer one. The shower was good and hot, no complaints there. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how my stay went, and there's very little I disliked about the campgrounds.
TravelerFantastic park to bring the kids and ride the bike trails or fish. Several pavilions and playgrounds. Clean campground. NO SEWER at campsites which is the only reason for the 4 stars. We stayed 7 days and had to move to pump out twice during our stay, so it was slightly inconvenient. Other than that, we loved it and will be back for shorter visits!
Legend
Really enjoyed the Acorn campground - south end of park. There are many to choose from in this large state park, but I would return here. Site was level with the usual amenities all in working order and not too close to neighbors. The river ran directly behind the site and I was entertained by an otter family and ducks daily. There is a water release siren that sounds occasionally and it is loud, but it doesn't happen frequently, or at night, at least not during my stay.
Enjoyed the hiking in this park. Lots of great cleared trails. Often times I was the only hiker. A real gem is the COE access road that runs along the river past the spillway. If you walk far enough down you can view the real "wild" river with the islands of cypress trees and boulders creating eddies and the relaxing sounds of the river spilling over and around. 10 out of 10 stars
No Verizon service except at the nature center (definitely worth a visit especially if you have kiddos, and the ranger here is fantastic!!). You can jump on their wifi, or if I walked to the pavilion behind the store I could get one bar on my phone. Note off season store hours in photo. Not much in the store. The BBQ at the Lookout restaurant is the draw.
Traveler
This spot I found already had a man built fire ring made from rocks. Small peaceful pond and is right off the Deadman South Trail.
GuideA little older of an area. Stayed in site B10. Close to level. We have a 36' 5th wheel, tow vehicle, plus another vehicle. Easy entry into site and large enough for all vehicles. Asphalt with concrete patio. There is a picnic table and fire ring. 50/30/20A We can kind of see the river from this site. Very roomy sites in the woods with plenty of shade. Mostly dirt ground. Older but clean restrooms. We didn't use them. There are single person combined toilet and shower rooms at the front of park. There are mountain bike/hiking trails all over, even a little bike park with ramps and jumps. Playground and boat ramp. No sewer hookups, but there is a dump station. Lots of mosquitoes in the evening. Although some sites need maintenance and the restrooms are old, this is a nice park. We stayed 2 days and would definitely stay again.
GuideOlder Park. Renovations are being done... Pads, 10 ft picnic tables, playground... Right off the lake with awesome scenery. Couple who manages the place is really nice and helpful. Would stop here again.
Guide
We stayed at AD10. It was a back in spot with an extremely high break over angle. The spot itself was fairly level but getting in and out is a pain. I recommend AD12 which is almost a direct back in from the road. The campground itself is very nice, but it is very winding with all the trees and spots slotted together. If you get a spot in the front near the road, there is a lot of through traffic for people going to or leaving the lakeside. The back of the campground was much quieter near the pull through sites. The dump site was directly across the street from the campground but you have to go down the road and either make a tight left turn or go further down and turn around. Bathrooms were not too far away, they were private, clean and AC. Not a lot of street lights throughout the campground made things nice and quiet at night. The site had okay Verizon cell service, around 10-20 mbps. The T-mobile service was much better around 50-60 mbps. Lots of activities to do around the park, there is the lake, plenty of hiking trails. The parking pass situation can get a little confusing at other areas of the park, but basically if you register your vehicle plate when you make the reservation, you are all set for your stay. It's a quick drive to Hochatown where there are things to do but depending on when you go it can be extremely busy. Broken Bow itself was about a 30 minute drive depending on traffic and there were more things to do, eat, and see. The traffic going back and forth between Hochatown and Broken Bow is quite busy and almost makes you not want to go anywhere. It causes a pain point when trying to get from the Stephens Gap area of the park to the main area of Beavers Bend, where you have to leave, hit 3 lights, wait 30 minutes, just to go 5 miles.Overall it’s a good campground but I might recommend staying at the other area of the park just for convenience sake, getting in and getting out.
Traveler
21 RV spots available around a small, family lake. Water and electric hook ups and clean dump station. Small park/play area and two large pavilions. Hiking trail located at the back of the park. Lake is great for fishing and kayaking. Not a major boating or water sport lake. First come first serve spots. Camp host is helpful and friendly. Calm and quiet stay
Legend
Coordinates: 35.02531, -93.88228. Located just off of Girard Road (Forest Road 20) - a maintained gravel/dirt forest road. This road is mostly a single track - narrow with some minor erosion in a few places. A lifted 4x4 vehicle is NOT needed to drive to the site. The dispersed site is located 1.3 miles south of the turnoff to Jack Creek Recreation Area. This site is set off from the forest road on a narrow undesignated dirt track which is easy to miss. It is a small site with enough room for one vehicle - truck camper size and smaller. The site is mostly level on a dirt surface with a rock fire ring. It is mostly shaded, although solar recharging may be possible during the afternoon with solar panels being placed on the access track in front of the site. Tent and hammock camping are possible. Received a strong T-Mobile 5G signal here. Except for some peace and quiet, there is nothing remarkable about this particular campsite. However, is is located in the Jack Creek area of the Arkansas Ouachitas. This area has a few nice swimming holes and hiking trails which one can drive to. OHV recreation is also possible in the area.
ScoutWith so many trails that you can access just by walking out of the camp site. This is my favorite spot to camp in Oklahoma
Scout
We drove slowly back and forth along the road exactly where the coordinates lead us to but there is no vehicle access to the forest there. It’s completely overgrown
Traveler
I don’t have many nice things to say about this campground. The bugs were out of control. The bathroom was out of order and a porta potty was set up beside it. The site we chose,#3, was the best site. We found some good trees to set up our hammocks with a view of the forest. 1 and 2 were ok, 4-9 were downright terrible. Basically a parking spot with a picnic area. All the sites were close together. The check in process consisted of a guy in an unmarked vehicle driving up and striking up a conversation without identifying himself. Check out works the same. If you have a boat or tv this park may be nice but I wouldn’t camp here. The hike around nearby lake Alma was the highlight of our trip.
TravelerThe river and creek merging was so beautiful! It was a beautiful drive there. But whoever was there before me trashed it out. It’s sad.
RangerStayed here over a non drill weekend, and the whole place was deserted. Nice spot on the end with trees and the fishing pond. Must be self contained, no bath house. Conveniently located near Fort Smith AR.
Scout
This is not a campsite anymore. Code enforcement will call cops and have you trespassed!
Scout
Contacted owner late in the evening looking for a spot after a 9hour drive. This place had everything and the bathhouse was just like taking a shower at home! Would stop here again when passing through!!
Legend
Beautiful and lush and QUIET. I love it. Asphalt and gravel sites. Clean bathrooms. Water and electric only. Gorgeous 3 mile hike around the lake. I hear it’s a fishing lake but we don’t fish. Enjoyed the scenery and peace. Would come again and again. Don’t forget the ice, there’s nothing close. Site 33 looks to be my fav.
Ranger
We stayed at this newish RV campsite for an overnight. It is located right along the river and is close to other attractions like Fort Smith and the US Marshall’s Museum (literally down the block). Our kids enjoyed the playground, outdoor gym, and pickleball - it was too cold to swim. There is only one bathhouse, but it was clean. The front office has a small store and the staff was nice. There are several restaurants within a mile. There was a gate at the front. There is a walking trail along the river so if your campsite faces it, there is plenty of people walking along that trail.
ScoutI have a CDL and back stuff all day. Don't try to pull in. Back in off the Buck Mountain
GuideYou have to reserve your site in advance via Recreation.gov.
The park is adequate but nothing fancy. The restrooms /shower facility was clean.
Good bicycle park. Minimum 2 night stay when I reserved it (Friday Night). I only needed 1 night but paid for both - $26/night.
I didn't stay the second night because of my schedule, not because of the park. Good basic stay for the money. It was safe and clean.
Guide
I did not stay at this campground (I was driving the scenic byway), but I stopped for "scouting purposes". It seems very nice, the vault toilet was locked? But otherwise, a well kept dry campground with many sites and good views. Also, the pricing on here is incorrect; USFS website says $8/night for singles, $14/night for doubles (can't beat those prices honestly). Will stay if I pass this way again!
ScoutGood secluded spot for Privacy
GuideWe only stayed one night enroute home to NW Arkansas. We had stayed at one of the sites on the river side of the park, but this was our first on the lake side.
We had a pull-though site with full hookups. As we were only one of three campers, the campground was very quiet. The pull-through sites are fairly close together and I wonder how noisy they would be during peak season.
The facilities were nice, but no hot water in the showers...brisk!!
Lots of deer (friendly...I would guess the guests feed them). We would stay here again as a short term solution...probably not a long-term option for us.
Guide
This park is awesome for multiple reasons. The lodge is fantastic, great food and great views with a friendly welcoming staff. The views (worthy of mention again) are top notch, with some incredible sunsets. The mini train and mini golf were closed for the season but it looked like a great time. The bath house was clean, warm (it was cold AF outside), and had great water pressure. The town of Mena was a short scenic drive away, with a brewery and a couple restaurants worth checking out.
Now, the reason for the downgrade to 4 stars. The campsite layout is…weird. It’s like most of the sites were designed for a motorcoach to drive into, not for a travel trailer to back into. For example most of the camp amenities are on the utility side of the trailer when backed in, as opposed to the party side. Some of the sites are reeeeeally close together, as others have mentioned. I might even go so far as to say that if we would have kept our original site it might have garnered a 3 star review. The back rows have the amenities on the rear of the rv, which I actually kinda liked. Yes there is no sewer…but it’s a state park that’s expected.
TravelerI have a 30ft Class C which is probably the largest vehicle you would want to drive down the dirt road to this site. There is a clearing near the Ouachita Trail with a fire pit and plenty of space to park. You're in the middle of nowhere and it's gorgeous!
Legend
This was our second stop at the KOA in Fort Smith AR. They have many improvements since out last stay. The campground is convenient to I-40. It’s far enough away to not have traffic noise. The sites are level, there is a pool, Propane, fishing pond, and camp store. Also hiking trails. Also some tent sites. There is a whole new section for Class A and large 5th wheel campers now. The are located behind a highway department facility, and last visit the smell of the treated power line poles was overwhelming. No problem this time. This is one of the few campgrounds I’ve been to that have a storm shelter!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Hodgen, OK?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Hodgen, OK is Pigeon Creek Dispersed with a 3-star rating from 3 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 18 tent camping locations near Hodgen, OK, with real photos and reviews from campers.
