As a kid, my mom and stepdad used to take my sister and I camping at the BEAUTIFUL Greers Ferry Lake near Clinton, Arkansas. Our parents would usually just fish there, but we would occasionally take a boat and go skiing. My sister and I got into more mischief that I care to repeat here…but she and I always had fun. Regardless of how much mischief we managed to get into, we always camped at Choctaw Campground. Here’s their reservation website.
I have fond memories of playing in the crystal clear water at the beach, as well as swimming myself into exhausting while boating and/or cliff diving.
We recently had a friend invite us out to Choctaw where they keep their boat that the Choctaw Marina. Who’s gonna turn that down, I mean really?! So…off we went to Choctaw for a FANTASTIC weekend with friends on the lake!
Since Glynn and I almost always stay an extra day, we were able to walk the campgrounds pretty thoroughly before we packed up. We were able to get a few nice pics and a good feel for the park. Let’s get to the review!
CHOCTAW CAMPGROUND NEAR CLINTON, AR
CAMPGROUND/CLEANLINESS 10/10
As always (at least in my experience), this US Army Corp of Engineers park was immaculately clean! No branches on the roads, not trash on the campsites, and for the most part the roads are very well maintained. The lake is always pristine, as well as the bathrooms, playground, and marina area.
One more FANTASTIC positive about this park is that pretty much ALL of the campsites are HUGE! Just thought I’d let you know that tidbit of info! 🙂
This is only half of the campsite. There is probably double the yard space out our front door!
BATHHOUSES 6.5/10
Ok…we’re gonna talk about this for a sec. For the most part, with an RV we don’t normally have to worry about bathrooms. Sometimes my hubby will shower at the park since he’s 6’2″ and doesn’t really fit well in our camper’s short shower with his tallness, but even he prefers to shower “at home.” However, I have gotten into the habit of checking them out for my reviews.
The most modern bathhouses at Choctaw Park are near the electricity sites in loops A and D. They are decent and just thinking about the usability of those bathrooms, I’d give them a solid 8. They were super clean and had HVAC. The fixtures are utilitarian, but they get the job done…just not fancy! That being said, I’d rather have a plain bathroom that is super clean than to have a well-decorated one that is nasty!
HOWEVER…the bathhouses near the primitive sites were sadly lacking. They were not bathhouses at all, but rather just bathrooms which is why I ranked the total bathhouses score lower. These bathrooms are basically brick and mortar port-a-potties. They were clean, but the odor is overwhelmingly gross! No HVAC compounds the problem, and I can’t imagine if you had to camp nearby! These bathrooms were near the primitive campsites in D loop as well as all of E loop.
If your only option was to tent camp or boondock at Choctaw Campground, I’d recommend staying as far away from the bathrooms as possible and just driving to the nearest bathhouse facility.
AMENITIES 8/10
I ranked Choctaw Campground pretty high for amenities. A LOT of central Arkansans use this campground and lake as a weekend playground, but I was trying to think if I was a full-time traveling RVer, what would be the draw for me to come to this park.
Swimming Beach at Choctaw Campground
If you have kayaks or some sort of floats, or fishing gear, this place is HEAVEN here at Greer’s Ferry Lake! It’s also a local favorite for SCUBA divers from what I understand (though I have NO experience with this), as there is a flooded ghost town beneath its waters.
Fishing is a HUGE attraction at Choctaw Camp and Greer’s Ferry. Apparently, there was a record-setting 23 lb. walleyed bass caught on the lake according to recreation.gov. I know my stepdad was a semi-pro fisherman and fishing was the MAIN reason we came to Greer’s Ferry. There is a boat ramp at the park and you can pay for a day use fee without camping.
Boat coming off of the lake on the boat ramp
If you ARE a local, there’s a marina here at Choctaw Campground (or Choctaw Marina) where you can store your boat, fuel up, get some bait, etc. I hear it’s difficult to get a slip, but I’m not super sure about that.
Choctaw Marina
As far as each individual campsite, they all seem to have a fire-pit with grill, and a large concrete picnic table. That’s a GREAT feature to me! There is even a decent playground for kids and plenty of room for bike riding and hiking!
Each campsite has fire pits and concrete picnic tables.
The campsites DO NOT have full hookups. In fact, most sites are electricity only, no water or sewer. I know that’s a deal-breaker for some of you, but they do have a potable water supply as you enter the park and a nearby dump station for the black and grey water tanks. If you’re staying for any length of time, you’ll need a portable waste holding tank.
CELL SIGNAL 7/10
If you’ve been with me for any amount of time, you know this is a biggie for me! It’s not necessarily a deal breaker…but I have to think long and hard about camping at a campground with no cell signal. If you haven’t been following me for long, you should read this post or even this post.
Cell signal was ok at best, but disappointing at worst. We knew ahead of time that this would be the case since our friends have a boat on the lake. They had warned us that we may or may not be able to use our phones, so we came prepared. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our phones did work in most of the park, but it was spotty at best.
INTERNET/WIFI 6.5/10
Again, if you know me…no internet is pretty much a deal breaker for me. Since most parks lack in this area (as do ALL state parks and ALL COE parks), I always plan on using my 4G LTE signal for internet.
My signal for 4G LTE was surprisingly strong most of the weekend. It was rainy one day, and it was FANTASTIC that WHOLE DAY! I suppose the signal was bouncing off the clouds and remaining strong. The rest of the weekend, we weren’t sadly disappointed, but it could’ve been better!
NEARBY ACTIVITIES 8.5/10
This was also a tricky one for me. I’m an outdoorsy kind of city girl. Ok…honestly, outdoorsy is a stretch…if it’s below about 85 degrees (which simply DOESN’T DESCRIBE Arkansas summers), I like the outdoors, otherwise swimming or water activities better be involved! I like going out to eat, watching movies and doing things in town. So THIS is my idea of activities!
These kinds of things just won’t happen near Choctaw Campground. There is a nearby town where you CAN eat out, but nothing super fancy. Clinton also has a small movie theater if you get the urge, but if I was a betting woman, I’d say there’s no karaoke or any other form of entertainment nearby.
There are some things of historical interest nearby in some of the small towns…but that would likely be a whole other post! I have also read that there is a fish hatchery near the dam which might be of interest. If it’s anything like the rest of Arkansas, there is most like all kinds of mom and pop stores with local artisan’s work and/or homemade recipes, and probably also a few antique stores to shop.
If you were staying for a while and got SUPER bored, you could always travel into Conway, AR which is less than an hour away and do just about anything you could imagine. Wikipedia has Conway listed as the eighth largest city in Arkansas, but I’d think it’s higher on the list. There’s fine dining, great shopping for pretty much anything, and all sorts of entertainment there.
This is why I gave nearby activities a pretty high ranking. You’re just going to have to drive for a bit to get yourself entertained…if you get tired of swimming, floating, fishing, and enjoying life!
STAFF 9/10
We had to speak with a couple of the Choctaw Campground staff members to get our campsite. I have no complaints at all about them. They were nice ladies that both knew and loved their park. Some of the campsites are non-reservable, so they were patient with helping us decide where we wanted to park. This was no small task since we were being VERY indecisive! 🙂
I gave them 9/10 because well…nobody’s perfect! 🙂
PRICE 10/10
Choctaw Campground is really a pretty decent place to stay. I felt like you get a lot of bang for your buck here, which is why I gave it a 10/10! $16 per night for non-electric sites, $18 per night for 30 amp sites, $20 per night for 50 amp sites. There are 91 sites, 55 of which are non-electric.
They keep some of the sites non-reservable, so if you’re fast, you can get a great site even on a busy weekend! You can only reserve a site for a two-week maximum. All that means is that you have to vacate the site once every two weeks.
Overall, I really liked Choctaw Campground. Maybe it’s a bit of nostalgia…but I’d say that I’d stay there again. I don’t care for the bathrooms, but the bathhouses are better, and I don’t really care for spotty cell reception…but it’s not a deal breaker for me!
As for you…GO CHECK IT OUT!!! 🙂
Pros
- Near Central Arkansas, about an hour from Little Rock
- HUGE campsites, lots of space
- Plenty of water activities for hot summer days
- Friendly staff
- Marina in the campgrounds
- Boat ramp available for day use
- Playgrounds, picnic tables, and grills
- Pavilion available for larger parties
- Price is RIGHT!
Cons
- Cell reception isn't great
- Internet reception isn't great
- Electrical only hookups
- Most sites are non-reservable
- Locals tend to jump on non-reservable site mid-week
- Primitive bathrooms are unacceptable
[…] bought a boat and put it in at Choctaw Marina on Greers Ferry Lake here in Arkansas, and camp at Choctaw Campground when they aren’t going somewhere else with their […]