roadtripper2727712

This was our next stay after two weeks at Rocky Point Campground (COE), Queen City, Texas. While here we attended an Airstream Rally.

This park is an Airstream only place, so, it's an Airstream thing.

We pulled in shortly after sunset. Our registration packet in the afterhours check-in station was self-explanatory. Level site, no need to unhitch. Easy hookups. Next morning our five-year-old granddaughter enjoyed the playground. We left well rested and continued on our journey.

Some reviews on various sites comment about the water on the ground in this campground. Keep in mind that this part of Arkansas is in the Delta and thus excellent for growing rice and cotton. If wet delta ground gives you the blues, then don't stop anywhere within 100 miles of here after it has rained.

We came for a night, and stayed for two.

Five nights + site five = an enjoyable time of quiet surroundings, filled with the songs of birds, beneath the comforting long branch of a Live Oak.

Our five-year-old granddaughter wishes to return, especially to see Mrs. Alligator again.

(Price reflects Senior Park Pass discount.)

We drove here from Wooly Hollow State Park, Arkansas, on December 31, 2021, to begin our 14 day stay.

The campground, given that it was January, was almost empty, and those who were there were spread out, giving each other much more than sufficient privacy. Even though we weren't on the waterfront, the absence of other campers offered us a clear view of the rather sizeable lake. Our site had full hookups with a frost-free water pipe, so we had no problems when the nights dipped below freezing. The sites were what one expects from a COE campground: level, well plumbed, well spaced sites, and well wired. There's a very good playground for the children. There's a 3.9 km. out and back hiking trail through the East Texas Piney Woods, well worth a twice a day stroll. There is great opportunity for making good use of your binocular, what with the lake, and also the forest. Make friends with the local Blue Heron. Enjoy playing tag with the Great Horned Owl as you walk in the woods. Watch the Terns take their nosedives into the water. Observe the hundred or more Pelicans skim the surface of the water as they fly. Take note of the many Red Bellied Woodpeckers as they fly through, and call from the Oak tree canopy of the campground. Enjoy the marvel nature gifts to those who sit and observe.

I'm not one to take note of cell service, but my wife, who works remotely, worked without any problem during our entire stay.

When we wander this way again, we'll be certain to stay here, maybe in site B16; it served us well.

The nightly cost for our stay was courtesy of the Federal Government handout given to those, regardless of political affiliation, with the Magic Pass.

There is no hesitancy on my part in giving this place 5 stars, but at night, when you look up, you will see a dark sky filled with innumerable stars.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a gem! We stayed for two weeks at Big Spring Campground in the 200 loop, which has electric hookups. There is a dump station at the entrance to the campground, and, this might sound to some people like a strange thing to review, but it was the cleanest and best functioning dump that I have ever encountered. There is also a fresh water fill at that station. Some sites in the 200 loop are close together, most have adequate space between them, some offer considerable privacy. Make use of the google satellite map. The 300-600 loops have no services, but it is a setting where you can choose as much privacy as you wish, if you are of the boondocking type. (If you are camping sans services, I would skip the 100 loop and use the 300-600 loops.) The clear and beautiful spring fed Current River is a hop and half a skip from the campground, ideal for a refreshing dip or soak (depending on your tolerance for cooler water) at the end of the day. There are a number of excellent trails through the forest and along the river. This morning, as I sat outside our rig, my amateur birding ear counted songs from 13 different species, that is, species I am able to identify, though a well-schooled camping neighbor was excited because that morning, walking along the river, he had identified 40 birds. Thank you to everyone at Ozark National Scenic Riverways who works to make this place the special place it is. If our full-time wanderings bring us back this way, we will stay again!

The campground is, how shall I say it, rustic. But at $22.00 a night, I'm not complaining. One could write and read negative reviews about the campground, but then I would ask, "Why was it full, even during three very windy and cold nights in April?" Fishing in/on Truman Lake is the draw here. I enjoyed walking through the town, there's quite a bit of interesting history explained on signs in the town (It is a source of material for "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and the James Gang--not the Joe Walsh/Jim Fox James Gang--resided in the hotel). Oh, and a world renowned Classicist (Greek scholar) lived in this small, rural Missouri town, for decades, and his former home contains 16,000 volumes, including some rare 14th century manuscripts. Bought some fuses at the auto store in town. Friendly folks. Because of the water, birds abound. We live full-time in our 19' Airstream, and if our travels bring us back this way, we'll stay again.

Our stay was from December 17-31, the sites have frost free pipes. Our site appeared to be typical of the other sites: adequately level and well spaced from one another with, in the seasons of growth, greenery to buffer the view between sites. The sites down by the lake, though, are more crowded together and lack the greenery between the sites.

Arkansas is proud of their State Parks, and rightly so. Wooly Hollow State Park is a gem. (But if you want a real gem of a park, go to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, where you can dig yourself up some real diamonds for keeps.)

The geography of the area is where the Ouachita Mountains, the Arkansas River Valley, and the foothills of the Ozark Plateau join hands.

There's a well traveled Mountain Bike Trail. Many cars made haste through the campground as the excitement of getting on the trail blocked the neurons from connecting with the rational part of the driver's brain. But once they were on the trail, you could hear their whoops of joy.

There's a wonderful 5.6 km trail, the Huckleberry (not Huckabee, one time governor of Arkansas) Trail. We sauntered on it every day of our stay.

No cell signal (Verizon or American Telephone & Telegraph Company) at our site, which is the rule, save for a couple of exceptions. There is cell service at the shack bar down by the lake, as well as internet. There's also internet at the visitor center.

Five stars = the grade of A. Three stars = a gentleman's C. I'm a tough grader, so giving this park five stars tells you that I'm impressed.