Stephens Park

We found this place at the last minute, but it turned out to be a nice surprise. Gulpha Gorge in Hot Springs NP was closed for covid-19 so we ended up at Stevens. A beautiful, spaced out, quiet site close to the river. First come, first served, honor system pay box. Was not full on memorial day weekend. Rangers came by multiple times throughout the day, felt very safe here. Because of covid-19 they were not collecting fees, not bad for full hookups, normal price is $30, still not bad for full hookups. They do have 20/30/50 amp boxes at each site with water/sewer. We were not super impressed with Hot Springs NP, although we are glad we saw it, but this an excellent campsite.

Beautiful little COE campground. Full hookups (which ended up only costing is $15 per night). Large sites, clean, situated on the water. Tucked away but still close to Hot Springs. Perfect. We will camp here again.

Only 9 sites so its pretty quiet and peaceful. Right on the river so we didn't have to travel to put our kayaks in for a nice paddle. Site 2 is good for a smaller rig (ours is only 20 ft). A big rig may have a space issue, but the other sites are plenty big enough for larger campers. Close to hiking and Hot Springs is only about 20 min away. Would definitely stay here again.

This is an unusual COE campground. Literally a loop off a public road with one site on the river and most of the rest next to a brook and woods. Got the occasional truck and car noises during the day, but it was very quiet at night. Had to do a fair bit of trash pickup around the site before settling in. This is a full hookup campground, which was a nice surprise. Would definitely come back if ever in the area again.

The bad first. Close to the road, no enforcement, shower heads and controls are in need of replacement.
The good. Small yet plenty of space between sites. Plenty of showers and clean restrooms. The river is close and provides a beautiful view. The hiking in and around the dam was challenging and lacking in humans. Saw plenty of wildlife.
Warning: I don’t know if this is common but we encountered a squatter upon return to our site after heading to Hot Springs. We have a class C and unhook upon leaving. Our card with reservation information was clearly on the post. He had his tent set up and belongings all over our site. He provided five different stories before moving to an open site. He never paid and the enforcement officer never came. It may be that locals have learned that enforcement is not present. Be aware. The sites are visible from the road and items left unsupervised may acquire a new owner.

Pros:
Water and power hookups
Clean
Quiet
Patrolled by park ranger
Near fishing access
Good Verizon signal

Cons:
You must book a site on recreation.gov first. No first come first serve spots. We did not know that but luckily I was able to book a spot at the location due to it being off season. Just a heads up!
While totally functional, showers look like something out of Shawshank redemption. Lol.

Overall a great campground. The only downside is that it is right on the road with nothing to block the site and sound of cars passing. It’s not a busy road, so it’s manageable. The sites are large and the surrounding forest is lovely with good hiking nearby.

Rate per night reflection Access Pass. Be sure you follow the email confirmation directions or put in Stephens Park Recreation Area, Blakely Dam Rd, Mountain Pine, AR 71956 as there is also Lake Ouachita State Park in the area. We arrived at this wonderful little COE with 9 sites and headed into back-in site 3 with FHUs. After we settled, we self-registered per instructions on the information board at the entrance. Soon after, a park ranger came through and verified our information and replaced the yellow self registration tag with a green one. Site 3 is probably the most scenic site in the campground (CG). Site 1 is a good site and will take over a 40’ rig, but you would need to park your tow vehicle or toad in the parking slots next to the site. As other reviewers stated there is parking between sites 1 and 3 so site 3 gets foot traffic along and behind the campsite due to the easy access to the water and fantastic view. We got a handful of OTA channels and 2 bars on Verizon, which was manageable for internet and phone calls. The water pressure was about 30-35 psi, the lowest we’ve had in a COE. The water spigot was in the back of the site away from the sewer and electric so we needed about 30’ of water hose. The sites were basically level. There’s a restroom/shower facility that sits up the hill from the CG. Hot Springs offers lots of things to do and all of the big box stores if you need them. Airport Road Animal Hospital is a great option if you need to refill any medications for your pets or need a veterinarian.

Quiet little 9 site campground along a river. Short drive from Hot Springs Arkansas. Lots of space between sites. Right next to a road, but very little traffic. Verizon worked great for work. T Mobil was lacking.

We stayed here for 3 nights because we couldn’t find place at hot springs national park campground. We’re happy that at we stayed here. 9 spots along the creek, plenty of space between sites with full hookup. We’d tornado warning on Friday night, police came by to notify all campers. Felt safe and secure.