Established Camping
South Maumee Camping Area — Buffalo National River
About
National Park Service
Buffalo National River
Located in northern Arkansas, the Buffalo River flows for 153 uninterrupted miles, from its origin in the Ozarks’ Boston Mountains eastward to its confluence with the White River. In 1972, the Buffalo was designated America’s first National River, and is currently managed jointly by the US Forest Service and the US National Park Service. Over the course of its journey, the Buffalo passes sandstone and limestone bluffs, mixed upland forests, and flows through three wilderness areas: Upper Buffalo, Ponca, and Lower Buffalo. Along the river are more than 12 campgrounds, as well as primitive camp areas, which provide a variety of options for taking advantage of the area’s numerous hiking trails, as well as rafting, paddling and fishing on the river.
Accessible via a 7-mile gravel road from the small town of Morning Star, on Highway 27, South Maumee Campground offers five free, first-come, first-served campsites. Each site is equipped with picnic tables, fire rings and lantern posts. A vault toilet is available, but no trash service, so campers need to pack out all garbage; hookups are not available at this location. The campground is situated on a wide, sandy bend on the Buffalo River, so river access is easy for swimming and fishing, however there is no boat launch. A boat launch is available at the North Maumee Campground, on the other side of the river, and accessible via Highway 14. In addition to river recreation, there are 14 miles of hiking trails in the area for exploring an old mining townsite, an indigenous peoples’ bluff shelter, and scenic viewpoints.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
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- AT&TUnknown
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Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Group
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Showers
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Sewer Hookups
- Water Hookups
Busy
A LOT of people use this access including outfitters. Great gravel bar, plenty of room to.launch, picnic, camp. Very clean, people did a great job of picking up after themselves.
- (13) View All
Good canoeing spot
There are a handful of tent sites, a primitive bathroom, and direct access to the Buffalo River.
There is limited shelter during bad lightning storms. The road in is very dicey and a long way off the main road. Does provide a good place to take out or start a canoe trip and it is free.
Great camping spot
We canoed & kayaked in from Tyler Bend Campground. Great place to camp. Not much on amenities. Perfect for what we were looking for. Would definitely go back.
Location
South Maumee Camping Area — Buffalo National River is located in Arkansas
Coordinates
36.0397035 N
92.6360154 W