Best Campgrounds near Vian, OK

We stopped here for a few nights as my husband worked in McAlester. Very spacious spots. Feels like you are out in nature. No issues with reserving or setting up. The entire state park feels a little outdated but the RV site itself was great. No extra amenities like WiFi or an office but has a clean bathroom.

Campground is currently (April 7) closed for maintenance and flooding. Call before you go!

This was a great spot for two families and lots of kids! The boys had so much fun climbing the giant rocks. We were lucky to have the place to ourselves in November, sites were a little close together if it had been busier. Bathrooms were easy to get to but a little dirty.

We came to Heavener Runestone Park with three families and nine young children and had the BEST time! Totally worth the drive from Tulsa. The park is beautiful and secluded, very clean and well kept. It has some really fun little themed touches in keeping with the Viking Runestone. The history around the Runestone is so interesting, the kids loved hearing about the Vikings. The hiking was beautiful and just challenging enough to be fun while accessible for little kids. Bathrooms were clean and easily accessed from our tent sites. The views were spectacular. Out of the three cliff tent sites I would say only 1 was safe for kids, 2 and 3 were too close to the cliff (beautiful views though). The playground was really fun and right by site 1. It’s a big site so we put four tents and 15 people on that site comfortably, it also has a covered pavilion which helped us in the rain and a brief storm. The park hosts were incredibly kind and welcoming. One last note, you do need to bring your own drinking water in. We had such a great time and would totally recommend the park for adults or families. My only complaint was the persistent barking dog on the private residence by the entrance to the park, including late at night.

Absolutely the cleanest and most beautiful campground we’ve been in - in this part of the county yet. Sites spread far enough apart for privacy, full hook ups, cleanest bathhouses, and beautiful scenery! Would absolutely stay again. The hiking trails were right out of our campsite. Clean sites. Great tent pads. It was totally level we didn’t need any leveling done at all.

Elephant rock has beautiful breathtaking views. Especially sunsets and rises. Great hiking area. Awesome senary. Photogenic area, to say the least! If 6 in the area definitely stop by and see it! There's really a rock that looks like an elephant, too! Kid friendly area. Right up highway ten in tahlequah.

This is a great area by the river. It is a bird watcher’s paradise, and we saw a lot of people fishing. There is a boat access area as well. We did camp there in a tent for one night, but were politely told by a game warden the next day that, though it used to be open for that, it is no longer allowed. It is open to the public only during the day. There are still signs up showing tent camping, but they are apparently inaccurate. We had a great time and he welcomed us to stick around and hang out for the day, but no more camping. I was able to see multiple species of Oklahoma’s woodpeckers, some birds of prey, and many songbirds. Go during the day! Still worth it, even if you camp elsewhere.

I live east of the dam and ofter go there to walk. It is a nice park but small. It is well maintained and clean. I think the information needs to be updated. All the flood damage is fixed. All in all it's a nice park. Not sure about bathrooms and showers but the outside is very clean. The river is dangerous but pretty to look at. I understand there is great fishing there. You can go swimming on the southwest side of the dam and up a little ways. There is a bar/restaurant across the river but I've never been inside.

We had a break in the winter weather this week and took three days to explore the trails around Lake Ft. Smith. As only one of four campers, we had the place to ourselves save the park keepers making their rounds to ensure our safety and the cleanliness of the park.

If you need sewer service, I would recommend site #11 as the most level pull-through site, although there's not a bad site in the park.

I usually like a more secluded area to camp but when I’m camping alone I love devils den, it’s super safe, gorgeous, plenty of room, great hiking trails!

Landed here during Memorial Day last spring and it wasn't the best experience.  The RV FHU sites in the Deer Run campground are on top of one another.  We had a neighbor's picnic table maybe a foot or two at best from the slide out side window who proceeded to burn trash in their firepit the entire weekend.  So the smell and being stacked on top of one another were huge dampers to the weekend.  Seems like a nice location and perhaps the other campgrounds aren't so packed together.

Devil's Den is a gorgeous parked tucked in the mountains of Arkansas.  The primary campground for RVs is one of the better campgrounds I have seen.  The facilities and amenities have been great.  The sites are generally spacious.  If you want the best experience - grab one of the sites along the ridge (83, 85, 87) - these have a great view off the back and offer incredible space.  There are several hiking trails within the park and other activities during warmer months (i.e. pool).  If you have a large rig - make sure to take the West Fork exit off I-49 vs. the south exit (Winslow).  There's no cell service whatsoever but Wifi (paid) is offered by the park.  Make sure to stock up on supplies beforehand - there are not many options within that area as far as food and services.

We stayed in the north end of the Choctaw Campground, nearest the converted cabin and heated showerhouse. All facilities (water, toilets, info) were open and working. On arrival we booked a spot and had no issues with internet to do so. Rangers came through daily, but no sign of camp host over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were the only tent visitors until our last night when two additional campers arrived. The trails were great aside from some glass that appeared to wash in a long the lower nature trail, which was a concern for our dog so we went to take the fitness trail back. The sunset view from south of the lodge was worth the wait. Nature Center staff were more helpful than the info center, on top of a super educational and fun tour they held even in the chilly wind. Cons - There seemed to be less parking than spots, waterside spots definitely had signs of being washed out this season around the picnic tables, and overall it was hard to spot some numbers on spots. Spots were mostly crowded, would not come to this site in a peak season.

Nice, quiet place. Great hiking! Not really a place for a quick overnight, the road in is steep and crooked.

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.

Very nice camping ground. A little old. Spaces were roomy. Tent spaces under trees, a little unkept. Paid $40 for an RV spot which worked out well. Toilets and showers ok, not so clean.

Absolutely beautiful from the Senic Overlook!! The trails are easy to traverse, and the nature here is breathtaking!!