A forested campground near fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. RV fit varies by site.
The lake itself is a defining feature: fed by the Ouachita River and ringed by National Forest, Lake Ouachita's clear water stretches over about 40,000 acres and supports scuba diving alongside the usual boating, water-skiing, jet skiing and fishing. Hikers will find the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) passing nearby, and the Corps' boating trail highlights interesting shoreline geology.
Length limits vary by campsite.
Some sites have no hookups.
Showers on site. Dump station on site.
Availability on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 75 sites.
| Site | Fr 13 | Sa 14 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $14 |
| 46 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $14 |
| 44 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $14 |
| 30 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 28 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 32 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 64 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 73 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 31 tent only nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $16 |
| 03 standard electric |
Hookups (individual campsites): 61 electric, 14 no-hookup individual sites.
15 Tompkins Bend
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Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.
Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (404 reviews, ★ 4.0). Not written or edited by us.
“Tompkins Bend is the best campsites on Lake Ouachita. The Host's are friendly and always willing to lend a hand , if needed. If you haven't camper there, you're missing out. ”
| ✓ |
| ✓ |
| $24 |
| 34 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 07 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 74 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 10 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 49 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 63 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 72 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 65 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 66 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 47 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 36 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 77 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 57 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 69 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 24 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 27 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 61 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 33 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 21 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 68 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 04 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 62 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 60 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 48 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 55 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 23 tent only nonelectric | R | R | $14 |
| 11 tent only nonelectric | R | R | $14 |
| 14 tent only nonelectric | R | R | $14 |
| 16 tent only nonelectric | R | R | $14 |
| 22 tent only nonelectric | R | R | $14 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights17 sites open for every night
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights1 site open for every night
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights18 sites open for every nightAn idea to start from, built from this campground's listing and real tours nearby. Times, openings and prices change, so check each before you go.
Rentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 70 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.
Travel trailer · 30 ft · sleeps 8 · 28 mi from campground
$150/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 30 ft · sleeps 8 · 31 mi from campground
$124/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 29 ft · sleeps 5 · 60 mi from campground
$104/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rentalPaid experiences on Viator. Distances are from this campground when the tour lists its own start point.
Hot Springs area · 1.5 hr · from $66/person
Hot Springs area · 2 hr–3 hr · from $17/person
Hot Springs area · 2 hr · from $27/person
Hot Springs area · 1.2 hr · from $119/person
stays up to 14 nights (Recreation.gov rules).
Share of site-nights open, booked and closed on Recreation.gov for the next months, checked Nov 7. Months further out may not be released for booking yet.
| Month | Open | Booked | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2026 | 62% | 38% | 0% |
| Dec 2026 | 93% | 7% | 0% |
| Jan 2027 | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| Feb 2027 | 98% | 2% | 0% |
| Mar 2027 | 71% | 29% | 0% |
| Apr 2027 | 62% | 38% | 0% |
| May 2027 | 73% | 27% | 0% |
For June weekends, book about 181 days ahead. Three in four June Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 95 days or less before arrival. Past timing is guidance, not a guarantee of what is open now.
| Arrival month | Fri/Sat arrivals: half booked at least | A quarter at least | Other days: half booked at least | A quarter at least |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 days ahead | 6 days ahead | 1 days ahead | 7 days ahead |
| February | 7 days ahead | 26 days ahead | 6 days ahead | 25 days ahead |
| March | 48 days ahead | 118 days ahead | 21 days ahead | 83 days ahead |
| April | 38 days ahead | 105 days ahead | 49 days ahead | 146 days ahead |
| May | 41 days ahead | 137 days ahead | 68 days ahead | 176 days ahead |
| June | 95 days ahead | 181 days ahead | 84 days ahead | 181 days ahead |
| July | 68 days ahead | 176 days ahead | 76 days ahead | 179 days ahead |
| August | 35 days ahead | 147 days ahead | 49 days ahead | 159 days ahead |
| September | 30 days ahead | 136 days ahead | 50 days ahead | 171 days ahead |
| October | 26 days ahead | 87 days ahead | 28 days ahead | 93 days ahead |
| November | 12 days ahead | 44 days ahead | 17 days ahead | 56 days ahead |
| December | 4 days ahead | 21 days ahead | 3 days ahead | 24 days ahead |
Months with fewer than 30 reservations of that kind are left blank. Sites where nearly every booking was made the day of arrival (pay on arrival) are left out. Closed seasons, windows not yet released for booking, and currently unavailable nights are separate from this history.
Based on Recreation.gov reservations, FY2015–2025 (19,500 reservations in the years scored). Counts reservations made, not nights actually camped: cancellations aren't in the data, and nights a site was closed count as not booked. FY2020–21 (COVID) are left out of the scores.
Hot Springs area · 3.3 hr · from $358/person
75 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7. Rates are the listed nightly rates.
Tent or RV, with power
61 sites · $24/night
26 open Nov 13–Nov 15
Tents only, no power
14 sites · $16, $14/night
9 open Nov 13–Nov 15
