Queen Wilhelmina State Park Campground

I’ve been here two different times, it’s absolutely beautiful. The first time we camped for two nights in a tent. Very nice campgrounds however they are kind of smushed right next to one another which is fine as long as the people camping next to you are friendly. We were alone the first night without anyone next to us but we had a bad experience the last night we were there with the people camping next to us not respecting personal space when it came to our things and our privacy. Their behavior wasn’t the parks fault so I don’t blame them. But just a heads up it was myself and another female camping and most of the camping spots were open the second night but then we had 3 men camping next to us when all the other camping spots were open and they were walking next to our tent, car, picnic table, etc. We were extremely uncomfortable and mentioned it to someone at the park the next afternoon before leaving and were told we could have called the front desk but all they could have done was send someone to talk to them...
but with all of that aside, the hotel there is beautiful and the restaurant is quite nice and affordable as well. The trails were breathtaking and even though it was foggy and rainy while we were there it was still so much fun to hike the trails. I made a pit stop there to hike a trail on my way home from mount magazine and it had a gorgeous overlook of the mountains surrounding the area. They also have old buildings and a old train that’s worth the look. Definitely a great place to stop if you have the chance. I highly recommend.

This park is on top of the second highest peak in Arkansas. Views on top are amazing. There is a lodge with dining within walking distance of the campground. There are train rides, but only from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There is water and electric at the campground, but during our visit the water was not potable. Sites are pretty level and on asphalt, but most are terraced and some have fences around parts of the site. We had to move over a bit to allow access to our utility door. This made our front entry very narrow.

Hiking trails were beautiful. More trails are in the surrounding National Forest.

Special note: If you are afraid of heights, the drive up may not be for you. There are a couple of ways up. AR 272 is only about 2 miles up, but the road is narrow and wiggly with no shoulder. We unhooked our car and drove separately both up and down. On the way down, the car went ahead and blocked any uphill traffic so the motorhome could use the whole road. If I had to do it again, I would have the car block traffic for the drive up as well.

The weather was cool, but somewhat rainy. Quite delightful considering the hot temps we were in prior to our visit. You on on top of the clouds, with spectacular views. Trails to hike and and food at the lodge.

This is a scenic park that was very busy on a fall weekend. The campground had nice sites with flat asphalt pads and good bathroom/shower house. The sites were extremely close together less than 5’ between some sites. Also big streetlights. Do not get a site close to showers unless you like full exposure

We camped during the week in Mid-November. It was very quiet and scenic. The water hook-ups were shut-off due to freezing weather. The bathhouse was heated, but still a bit cool. The hot water also needed to be about 5 degrees warmer.
No sewer hook-ups.
The deer were pretty thick, and sometimes would be hard to scare off.
The views from the trails did not disappoint.
Cellular service from AT&T was strong enough to support streaming TV.
Our satellite dish was also able to provide all channels with the leaves off of the trees on the mountaintop.

This state park is quite small, on top of Rich Mountain, but has great views on the scenic drive. The campground sits atop the mountain but only Site 10/11 had views during summer due to trees. During winter with leaves off I think every RV site would have views. Some of the sites are quite close together, look at the map. We had some ATT&T and some Verizon but neither were strong until you went to the lodge. Nice short trails.

We enjoyed our visit to the park. The campground was only about half full while we visited on a late March weekend. Our site was very nice and the bathrooms were clean. There is a rather steep hill to climb from Site #31 to the bathroom and another relatively steep hill up to the lodge if you walk. We walked to the lodge for one very pleasant meal during our stay.

The track for the small train runs right next to the campground and it appears to make a loop roughly every half hour. It was fun to wave to the families when they went by our site.

We enjoyed walking from the campground to the Pioneer Cemetery on the Ouachita Trail and back. We also drove on the Talimena Scenic Drive which was wonderful. I was amazed by the lack of traffic on the drive and was glad we visited before the leaves were out...the views were amazing.