Tyler Bend Campground

This is larger and one of the few developed public campgrounds on the river. The sites are above the river in what was once an open field. The sites are spread out and pretty open with a few trees. The sites around the perimeter are more private. There are hiking trails in the park and good access to the river for canoeing the mid river. The bathrooms are functional and clean but maintenance is lacking and the showers have been in need of repairs for a couple of years.

We were pleasantly surprised to get here and have great signal for work! The campground was practically empty during the Wed/Thur we were there in April. All sites are FCFS, and I imagine they get pretty busy over the summer as it's a popular spot to float the Buffalo river.

Only 4 stars as the bathrooms were not my favorite (and with no hookups we usually shower in the campground shower house) but they did have brand new shower heads. So at least that has been updated!

We LOVED this campground. The Buffalo River is a fantastic place to explore and this small park sits elevated above the river. It is a beautifully green park with well maintained sites, water spigots nearby and a bathhouse with hot showers. They offer half price for seniors and Access pass holders. Our campsite was awesome with a pull-through pad and a wooded canopy behind us that had a trail down to the river. The sites all had picnic tables, fire pits, bbq stands, lantern hangers and tent pads. It appeared that we could fit into every site there (we are a 38 foot fifth wheel) and many sites had longer pads for bigger rigs. Only four other sites were filled and there was a camp host. Generators can run only between 8 and 8 and there were locked bins for trash disposal. You should know that we found a lot of poison ivy on our way down to the river and around our site, but only around the perimeters and there are a lot of raccoons, so don't leave anything out for them to mangle. We had no problem, but our neighbors woke to find them in the bed of the truck cracking open their cooler. We choose this as our stop on our way from Memphis, west, and took the scenic and slower drive on highway 14...it was spectacular driving through the Ozarks...if you don't mind the steep grades and slower mountain roads. Wish we could of stayed a week! Groceries and gas are not too far.

Pros. Nice clean wide open spaces. Lots if shade trees to cover picnic tables and tent pads. Many site pads have full sun for solar which you would need as no hookups. Water is available on site.
River access in right down the rod and nice to be able to kick around and swim in the river.

Cons: Busy park during floating season. Reservations are available online for a few select sites. Be
sure to check the post on each site for reserved dates. The camphost was new And didn’t get that he needed to make sure the old sign was removed and the new one made visible which lead to us being moved from one site to another after one day of our stay. Very inconvenient and not so much as an apology from the host or the ranger for what was not our mistake.

Lots of families and campfires made with green kindling. Plenty of smoke every night. No hookups so no closing windows.

No problem finding a FF site the 1st weekend in Oct 2021. Lots of room between sites, with some shaded and some in the open field. We were very impressed with the cleanliness and how well it was maintained. We did not use the bath house, but it looked very nice. A little pricey for no hookups, but it looks like they’re using the money to keep the Campground nice.

T-Mobile cell coverage was 0-2 (mostly 0-1) bars depending on location in the campground.

We stayed 3 days and enjoyed the nearby visitor center, historic homestead, hiking trails, and views of the Buffalo River. Full sun and partial shade were available, with large pull-through and back-in spots with picnic tables and fire pits. There is a large open field for kids to run around in. The men's showers were under renovation, but the women's were wonderful and free. There were also trash and recycling bins. Our spot was free but they are $15 during the normal season.

This is a pretty park. Visitor center with maps, info. Drive-in sites and walk-in sites for tents. Only the walk in sites have a view of the river. The bathrooms need updating: peeling walls, dark, mold: yuk. But plenty of hot water in the showers. We especially enjoyed the hiking trails right from the campground. We were here mid-week in April and only a couple of other campers.