Central State Park Campground

First come first serve sounds great until you realize you won’t get a spot. People pay weeks at a time to keep these spots. I’ve spent two months trying to get one weekend. Nothing lake is okay, bathrooms are gross, but you are camping ya know.

We stayed in the Bobcat loop which is considered dispersed. Lots of shade and the lake is pretty. There was trash here and there on our site…not very clean. The bathrooms were old and not well-kept. FYI, there is a sign that says the brain eating amoeba, although rare, may be present in the lake.

General: There are three separate parks around Arcadia Lake; two of them have one campground each and Central has three different campgrounds. Bobcat and Kingsnake are primarily for tents and have no hookups while Cottonwood has full or partial hookups. We were surprised when we arrived at 2 pm on a Wednesday in May to find Cottonwood full. However, we discovered later that an entire section of lakefront sites was closed; I am not sure if this was because of flooding or renovation. We chose a site in Bobcat. While you cannot technically reserve a site, you can call ahead and have a site put on hold; the catch is you have to pay for each day it is on hold until you arrive. The rate for non-hookup sites is reasonable at $15. 

Site Quality/Facilities: The sites in Bobcat vary; some are walk-in with parallel parking spots while others have short driveways. None of these sites would be suitable for large RVs but worked fine for our camper van. Some have direct water views and/or access. Each site has a paved driveway, a large concrete picnic table, utility table with lantern hook, a bbq grill (which hadn’t been cleaned in a LONG time), and fire ring. Be aware of many ant hills (at least in May)! 

Bathhouse: The restroom facilities can be optimistically described as rustic but really, they were pretty gross. Dated and not very clean, with no soap dispensers and I didn’t even try to use the air dryer. Two stalls and the latch was missing on one and not working on the other. Showers only in Cottonwood and I’d have to be desperate for a shower to use them. No showers in Bobcat or Kingsnake. 

Activities/Amenities: Many things to do: fishing, boating (both require permits 24 hours/day), water skiing, swimming, volleyball, hiking, and multi-use trails. Technically the beach is within walking distance, but most people would probably drive. In the summer, a store is open. I can only imagine how different this place would be on warm weekends and during the summer. 

Despite the sad state of the restrooms and our obnoxious neighbors who gunned their engines late at night, we enjoyed our overnight stay on a site that backed up to the water.