Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Ouachita National Forest

Located along Forest Road 132 (Winona Scenic Drive) in the Ouachita National Forest, Saline County, Arkansas. Flatside Wilderness Area located across the road from the site. Access to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail located nearby. Free dispersed site, no facilities. Rock fire ring. Should be enough parking for 2 vehicles. Suitable for tent camping, car camping, truck camping & van camping. Mostly level. There was plenty of firewood left by the fire ring. Camped here in February; very quiet. Only 2 vehicles drove by. Had a few bars of T-Mobile service.

The Long Creek Primitive Campsite is located in the Ouachita National Forest along the Little Missouri Trail on the eastern section of the Eagle Rock Loop. The only way to access this site is by entering at a trailhead and hiking in to the site. The nearest trailhead is at Albert Pike Recreation Area. This is a primitive dispersed campsite, but the ground has been cleared. The site is located alongside a creek.

On your hike into this site you will be rewarded with beautiful scenery as you walk through majestic forests of oak. You'll also see a variety of plants and forest creatures. The campsite is along Long Creek so you will have access to water. Perhaps 100 feet up river from our campsite I found a nice fishing hole and caught and released 7 trout and 1 sunfish within about 1 hour. 

There is adequate clear space to set up a tent or numerous trees to string up a hammock. There are no facilities nearby. You can collect and filter water from the river and dig a hole to poop in the woods. Please practice Leave No Trace in this area. 

Trekking poles are recommended to aid in tackling the various inclines and declines of the trail.

If you need any supplies before entering the Ouachita National Forest stop off in the town of De Queen where there are various grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. 

During the spring and summer the insects can be intense. I advise treating clothing and gear with permethrin to prevent ticks and pacaridin for other insects.

Top notch RV campground that is well maintained and has a friendly professional staff. Lots of amenities like disc golf, hiking trails, pool, zip line course, lake access and two dog parks that were the cleanest I’ve seen at an rv park. We had site 204 which is a back in site with FHU on driver’s side. We loved this site because it was on the back side of the campground, near the dog park and lots of open space behind us to play with our dog. All of the sites are very spacious, concrete pads, well maintained hook ups, and most are full sun. This was our second visit and we will definitely be back.

Coordinates: 34.93095,-93.32258. This a small dispersed camp site tucked away a short way from County Road 133/ Forest Rd 146 in the Ouachita National Forest. It's at the end of a short dirt track which may have been an old forest road. Above Hogan Creek, sounds of the creek can be head at this site. There is a path along the creek behind the campsite; it eventually provides access down hill to the creek. This is a secluded spot which can not be easily seen from CR133/FR146. Backing your vehicle into the site is best. There is a small rock fire ring at the end of the access track. The site's entrance is on the right hand side just after the bridge crossing Hogan Creek when coming from the west on CR133/FR146. A truck camper and smaller can fit into the site. A little bit of leveling may be required. Tent camping is also possible. It's a pretty campsite. The forest road is in great shape.

Everything is awesome. Sites are in pristine condition. Managers are so friendly and helpful. Located in Hot Spring proper. Easy access to everything. The Dog Park, laundry facilities, and restrooms/showers are of course new and clean. Casino and Racetrack are right around the corner. Easy access to everything in HotSprings.

Hot Springs is unlike other national parks in the fact that it is an urban park, located in the middle of Hot Springs, Arkansas. To camp inside the park, your only option is Gulpha Gorge. When we visited in February, we found this campground almost empty, adequate, and an easy way to save money while visiting the national park.

Amenities at Gulpha Gorge include basic flush toilets, picnic tables, and hookups at every site. Sites all run $30/night, and they are all first-come, first-served. This was not a problem for us, since we were visiting in the off-season, but during summer it probably fills up quickly.

Our main motivation for staying here was that we wanted to camp inside each national park we visited. But in an urban park like Hot Springs, the experience wasn’t much of a scenic one. If we return, we’ll opt for camping in the nearby Ouachita National Forest or something a bit cheaper and more secluded. Gulpha Gorge was perfectly adequate for an in-park camping experience.

The rest of our time at Hot Springs was spent touring the historic bathhouses (free ranger tours!), hiking the trails -- we liked the Sunset Trail! -- and ending our day at the NPS’s only brewery: Superior Bathhouse.

You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Hot Springs)

Park Review

The Straight Creek Primitive Campsite is located in the Ouachita National Forest along the Athens Big Fork trail on the western section of the Eagle Rock Loop. The only way to access this site is by entering at a trailhead and hiking in to the site. This is a primitive dispersed campsite, but the ground has been cleared. The site is located in a valley between two mountains and is located alongside a creek.

On your hike into this site you will be rewarded with beautiful scenery as you walk through majestic forests of oak, pine and maple. You'll also see a variety of flowers and plants. The campsite is near Straight Creek so you will have access to water.

There is adequate clear space to set up a tent or numerous trees to string up a hammock. There are no facilities nearby. You can collect and filter water from the river and dig a hole to poop in the woods. Please practice Leave No Trace in this area. 

Trekking poles are recommended to aid in tackling the various inclines and declines of the trail.

If you need any supplies before entering the Ouachita National Forest stop off in the town of De Queen where there are various grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. 

During the spring and summer the insects can be intense. I advise treating clothing and gear with permethrin to prevent ticks and pacaridin for other insects.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, from time to time I receive products to test. For this trip I was provided some electrolyte drink mix by Liquid IV.

I ordered the product directly from the company website https://liquid-iv.com. The product was delivered quickly and ahead of schedule. I ordered the variety pack which included three flavors - Lemon Lime, Acai Berry and Passion Fruit. There were 8 packets of each flavor. It is recommended that each packet be added to 16 ozs. or 0.5 liter of water.  At first I found it a little difficult to open the packets cleanly. I then realized that I needed to completely tear the top of the packet across the top to expose the opening. After opening the packet, pour the powder into the water, then mix or shake the solution vigorously. The solution dissolved and mixed easily. 

Liquid IV claims that their solution has 3x the electrolytes of traditional sport drinks. It is non-gmo, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, soy free and made in the USA. 

I first tried the passion fruit flavor because I thought that it was the most unique. The flavor was rather light. I then tried the lemon lime flavor and found it to be stronger. The acai berry was somewhere in the middle. The flavors of Liquid IV are not as sweet as other mixes like Gatorade or PowerAid - which is a good thing. I've stopped drinking traditional sport drinks because of their high sugar content in overly sweet flavor. The Liquid IV solution was about right for me. 

Things that I liked:

1. Variety of flavors

2. Flavor was not overly sweet

3. Instructions were clear

Things that could be improved:

1. Packaging could be simplified for easier opening

2. Packaging could be minimized

Park Review

The Viles Branch Creek Primitive Campsite is located in the Ouachita National Forest along the Athens Big Fork trail on the southern section of the Eagle Rock Loop. The only way to access this site is by entering at a trailhead and hiking in to the site. This is a primitive dispersed campsite, but the ground has been cleared and there are visible campfire locations. There is adequate clear space to set up a tent or numerous trees to string up a hammock. There are no facilities nearby. You can collect and filter water from the river and dig a hole to poop in the woods. Please practice Leave No Trace in this area. 

On your hike into this site you will be rewarded with beautiful scenery as you walk through majestic forests of oak, pine, maple and pecan trees. You will hike along the Viles Branch Creek and need to cross the creek various times. It is possible to fish in the creek, but we only caught small sunfish. In the nearby Little Missouri River there are larger fish. You'll hear birds singing all day long. We did have critters visit us in the evening so be prepared to hang your food in a tree or carry a protective canister.

Bring hiking shoes and water shoes for the various river crossings. Trekking poles are also recommended to aid in the river crossings and for tackling the various inclines and declines of the trail.

If you need any supplies before entering the Ouachita National Forest stop off in the town of De Queen where there are various grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. 

During the spring and summer the insects can be intense. I advise treating clothing and gear beforehand with permethrin to prevent ticks and use pacaridin on the spot for other insects.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, from time to time I get products to test. For this trip I was provided some Morsel Long Handle Sporks. 

Fork it, Spoon it, Scrape it… is what you can do with Morsel Long Handle Sporks. 

Like many camping sporks the Morsel product has a fork end and a spoon end. The fork end also has a slightly serrated edge to slice pieces of your meal. The spoon end also has a uniquely shaped rubber edge that can be used as a spatula. The sporks come in regular and long handle forms. I chose the long handle sporks to make it easier to eat out of our backpacking food bags. The long handle allow one to access your food while keeping your hand and fingers clean. The long handle makes eating your meal a more enjoyable experience.

The sporks also come in a variety of colors. This is handy when you are camping with a group so that each person can choose and remember which spork belongs to them. 

One of the truly unique features of the spork is the spoon/spatula end. The end of the spoon is shaped like a spatula and has a soft rubber or silicon edge. This edge makes it easy to scrape morsels of food from the corners of your pot, bag or plate. This ensures that you eat every last piece of food, but it also makes clean up of your pot, bag or plate easier. 

I packed the sporks in my food bag inside my backpack for the entire trip. I was a little concerned that the sporks might break, but they held up well. Overall, I was very satisfied using the Morsel Sporks. 

Things that I liked most about the Morsel Sporks:

1. Long handle

2. Spatula/Spoon edge

3. Variety of colors

Well maintained, lodge on site, family and pet friendly.

We love visiting! Campgrounds are clean and well maintained. Sites are roomy with full hook-up. Beautiful wooded views, hiking trails, and pet friendly.

The fishing at Degrey is superb, I have been coming to DeGrey since I was a little girl and I am 48 yrs old now.

DeGrey is magical and a great family and pet friendly State Park.

beautiful mountain top park my camper was to long for the road up so we stayed at a hike in site it was great quiet and remote the deer will walk up to you and you can pet them awesome park highly recommended

Crystal Springs campground is great. The lake is great. I was too busy having fun and didn't take enough pictures. There are breathtaking views of the Ouchita Mountains. There is springs coming out of the ground on hikes. The creeks are crystal clear and fun to wade around in. There is a swim beach but you can swim anywhere. So when I got hot I just jumped in the water to cool down. Most the campsites are at the waters edge. We fished at night for catfish and caught what we needed. The campground is pet friendly. My dogs are like my kids and they had fun. There was a night or two when I had to hush them up because of raccoons. The bathrooms have hot and cold water. There is a fish cleaning station. Our campsite #18 was great. It had a picnic table, fire pit, barbecue grill and a little table beside grill and nice shade. The campground is about 16-17 miles from Hotsprings, Arkansas.