Campground recommendations in arkansas and nearyby areas?

[Colicious]

How yall doin. Seein if yall wouldnt mind given this coonass some recommendations for some campin spots in northern arkansas?

some friends of mine and me and lookin to go campin in april. just car/tent camping, no wheeling, but fishin and canoeing would be cool.

ive been recommended Buffalo River, AR, and then Beavers Bend in oklahoma, though that one seems a little....too nice. any other places i should check out?

oh yea, we'd be comin from baton rouge, so nothin too far (buffalo creek is already 8 hrs away)


thank ya
-cole

 

[YotaJosh]

The Buffalo River is a great recommendation. I've camped at a few sites there, and we like Buffalo Point (lower part of the river) and Lost Valley (upper part of the river). Doing a half day canoe float is a must. I'd suggest putting in at Ponca and taking out at Kyles Landing. During this float, you can stop at the right place, and hike up to Hemmed In Hollow and see a pretty awesome waterfall (Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Since you plan on going in April, the water levels on the river should be OK for floating, but be sure to check before you commit. If we don't get a lot of rain this spring, the river might be too low, and if we get too much, you'd better not be floating this river.

Another area I like is the Blanchard Springs Caverns. There are lots of swimming holes, camp grounds, hiking trails, and of course, a pretty awesome cave to tour. They even offer advanced cave exploring tour that require rappelling gear, flashlights, and a lunch.

There really are too many places to suggest, so you'll just have to pick one, and come back again to do another.

 

[Colicious]

cool, thanks for the info! the buffalo river is on the top of my list. i had camped there as a kid, but my parents cant remember exactly what site we stayed at.

whats the temperature at night can we expect there in april?

 

[YotaJosh]

whats the temperature at night can we expect there in april?

According to this (Arkansas Weather - Arkansas Weather Forecast - Weather in Arkansas), you could expect low 50's, and maybe a tad lower in places like the Buffalo.

 

[REKCUT]

Buffalo is my absolute favorite. Beautiful sights. I would work on the upper end if you can. Here is a great map link.

Park Map Viewer

I can tell you that while those temps are average if can get cold on that river at night. I would be prepared for 10 to 15 deg colder than the 50's average. Not saying it will but it easily can. I would also guess that you LA folks are as accustomed to the cold as others are.

 

[REKCUT]

Ozark and Erbie are two remote areas with campgrounds. I personally hate to camp right on the road. Another great area is the gene rush WMA. Look for a map and there are lots of dirt roads with camp sites. Plenty of canoe rental places. I would check on when Turkey season is so you dont end up sharing the area with hunters. As was stated above, its worth the effort to get back up the creek and check out hemmed in hollow.

http://www.google.com/search?q=hemm...BGqyHsAKLtJG2Dg&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1571&bih=991

Great pics in that link

 

[REKCUT]

White Rock Mountain is another great area if your not going to float. Very nice creek ( Hurricane Creek) and its just north of I40.

White Rock Mountain - Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

Very remote and we camp there quite a bit in the winter.

Hurricane creek is very nice for fishing and a little swimming.

 

[liljlandon]

The Buffalo River is a great recommendation. I've camped at a few sites there, and we like Buffalo Point (lower part of the river) and Lost Valley (upper part of the river).

You've got the ends mixed up! Buffalo point is the upper and lost valley lower. It makes no sense, because the river starts near lost valley, but lost valley is further south, thus it is lower.

Also, the ozark national forest has more primitive camping then you can imagine. You can check centraloverland.com/forum for more details.

Personally, you can't go wrong in North Central Arkansas.

 

[REKCUT]

Upper has always implied to me the higher points of the river not the most northern section. There may be other ways of looking at it but if your calling or talking to folks around the buffalo then the original post is correct. Lost valley is in the upper part of the river. Its the narrowest, highest and fastest part of the river. The buffalo point section is wider and slower and at a lower elevation.

 

[YotaJosh]

You've got the ends mixed up! Buffalo point is the upper and lost valley lower. It makes no sense, because the river starts near lost valley, but lost valley is further south, thus it is lower.

Upper and lower are used to describe the beginning and ending of a river, not necessarily their directional locations. The Buffalo is confusing since it flows South to North, so Upper is the South end.

I guess these folks are mixed up too: Upper Buffalo River Association, Buffalo National River Cabins, Outfitters & Visitor Guide

 

[liljlandon]

I'm just going by the dealings I've had. The upper buffalo wilderness area is located on the southern part of the river, the more northern part of the buffalo in my experience has been called the upper. When I've spoken with the local park service (more times than I have wanted with my job...) its been referred to in that way. To each their own...

 

[jbsax]

The Mulberry River around Turner Bend is nice area. Lots of primitive camping along the river. White Rock Mountain is near as well. Kings River around Berryville has good small mouth fishing. I would do the Buffalo around Ponca/Boxley Valley if you haven't been in the area in a while. Hawk's Bill crag is near and a great photo op.

 

[REKCUT]

Open up the map link her for the buffalo river.

Park Map Viewer

The upper buffalo wilderness is south of Boxley. The south end of the river but also the headwater. The lower Buffalo river wilderness is located north of buffalo point ranger station. The description of the upper buffalo wilderness area also states that it is bordered on the east by HWY 21.

Upper Buffalo River Wilderness, Ozark Mountains, Arkansas

Just because you have called it this does not make it correct. Look at some maps and find someplace that calls the area where the Buffalo dumps into the white as upper.

 

[REKCUT]

Mulberry is another nice area. You really cant go wrong that time of year in Arkansas. Lots and lots of places to camp and sights to see. The best are usually not campgrounds.

 

[REKCUT]

I'm just going by the dealings I've had. The upper buffalo wilderness area is located on the northern part of the river.

Thats the Lower buffalo wilderness area. Look at a map.

 

[liljlandon]

Guess I need a better map than my memory... or need to do more stuff around the buffalo.

I was overly confused, sorry.

 

[REKCUT]

Do more stuff around the buffalo. Its a wonderful treasure.

 

[Colicious]

has anyone camped at the Steel Creek site on the buffalo?

 

[sandj527]

I did years ago when I was younger and we had a bad experience with the park rangers and the bathrooms where horrible. But that was 10 years ago and our group was loud. So that being said I bet on a weekend that wasn't packed the bathrooms wouldn't be too bad. I think we went on Memorial weekend.

 

[liljlandon]

Steel creek is very popular. Spent a lot of time there having long nights with no sleep and fighting with the drunkards... during the week its great, weekends not so much.