Cedar Grove Campground — Lake Murray State Park

This was my first stop on a 4,000-mile trip from NW Arkansas to California and back. I met my brother and his wife who live just north of Fort Worth and spent two nights cooking and laughing around the campfire. The perfect start to an adventure.

The weather was cool and so not many bugs. Since this was a water-facing spot, I would consider the weather when booking. Great hikes. Don't forget to visit the tower while you're there.

This area of Lake Murray has a boat ramp but also a lot of beach space for swimming. There’s a sandbar that extends out into the water almost to Elephant Rock. Beautiful surround views of the lake, peaceful area. The water hookup was nearly 70’ from us so we did have to borrow a water hose.

We paid a little more (about $7) to be right on the lake. Probably should've just got a pull-through site because we only stayed one night.

I really enjoyed the whole campground. There were a lot of people there but that’s been the case everywhere this summer. We had friends who stayed at Elephant Rock with sewer hookups but no shade. We stayed on the water at Cedar Cove and had a waterfront spot and no sewer hookup. We loved the shade and the trees. Perfect for the heat. I think any of the sites in the 20s would be good. We have a toyhauler with patios and it was a tight fit to put them out with the trees though. We’re definitely coming back!

We recently bought our first camper & took our first camping trip to Lake Murray. We were at Cedar Cove spot 13. It was totally booked & a bit cramped, but we were able to get the camper backed in easily. Our neighbors were close but they weren’t right on top of us & for the most part we weren’t bothered by them. The spot had a small little sandy beach just perfect for fishing & launching a kayak. We went over to the mini golf & water sport area which was really neat! If you want to rent a boat or jet skis I recommend booking that FAR in advance, just FYI. Bathroom was close to our site which was great, but the showers looked sketchy. Overall, not bad!

This place is to close for comfort. When we visited and drive through it was a busy weekend to say the least.

Checking out the three campgrounds on this turn off this one was the least appealing. Why? It looked like every spot was occupied by RVs that were large and accommodating large families. Ok so that in itself isn’t bad, but what was bad is each of those families seemed to have multiple vehicles cramming into camp, parking on the narrow roadway and littering the space.

I would compare the cramped feeling of this campground to being in an apartment where your neighbors are right on top of you versus a subdivision like Elephant Rock (neighboring camp) which has spacing between sites which do not feel cram-packed.

The camp ground itself had decent restrooms and paths to them which cut through the camp, but I would not imagine this to be a comfortable camp ground if you wanted something a bit more removed or secluded. This would never be a recommendation for someone who enjoys camping in a more removed setting or in a tent, simply to much in and out traffic.

I felt like also, this camp had to many loose children running through campsites, while I do enjoy a good family campground, there simply wasn't enough space for them to do so without being in someone else camp space, taking even further away from the seclusion feeling I enjoy when camping.

There was a playground before you enter camp and there were several people there, this would be ideal for families camping, however many did not seem to be taking advantage of the large spacious area.

TIPS:

• Even if you reserve a space arrive early. With this camp filling up the way it tends to navigating can be difficult and would become more and more so the more filled it becomes. If you are attempting to drive through with an RV later in the evening you could easily become frustrated trying to get around those parked on the road.
• This area has some amazing trees for hammocks so if you enjoy spending time kicking back you will enjoy stringing up your hammock and taking in some of the views of the waterline.