A forested campground near mountain biking. RV fit varies by site.
Shoal Bay Campground sits along the narrow Shoal Bay arm of Lake Dardanelle, a broad reservoir on the Arkansas River with roughly 40,000 acres of water and 315 miles of shoreline between the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests. The setting is heavy on lake access and wildlife: anglers will find white bass, largemouth bass, bream, crappie and large catfish in these waters, and the river valley is a well-known wintering area for bald eagles a plus for wildlife viewing and photography.
Length limits vary by campsite.
Dump station on site.
Availability on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 77 sites.
| Site | Fr 13 | Sa 14 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| G11 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H2 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G2 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G10 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G9 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H4 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H9 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H1 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G5 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G7 standard electric | – |
Hookups (individual campsites): 77 electric individual sites.
SHOAL BAY ROAD BOX 499
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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.
Themes from recent written reviews on Recreation.gov. Quotes are verbatim.
“Camp hosts are excellent, bath houses are kept clean and stocked, overall park is clean.”
Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (301 reviews, ★ 4.0). Not written or edited by us.
“We had a great time at this campground. There is a trail on site, it has a natural rock bridge formation. The bathrooms were clean and pretty new. I think any nature lover would love this location. ”
“Camp hosts are excellent, bath houses are kept clean and stocked, overall park is clean. Pads, picnic tables, fire rings are in great shape. Please repair the light on the southern most boat ramp.”
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights10 sites open for every night.jpg)
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights21 sites open for every night
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights3 sites open for every night| – |
| $22 |
| H8 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H7 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H6 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G6 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G1 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G8 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G4 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H3 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| G3 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| H5 standard electric | – | – | $22 |
| B12B standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| C04 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| F4 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| C06 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| F2 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| E8 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| C07 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| B12C standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| B12A standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| B2 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| D6 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| D3 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| E6 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| C08 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| D8 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| D2 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| F1 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| B9 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| B4 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
| C09 standard electric | – | – | $24 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
An 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 64 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.
Travel trailer · 32 ft · sleeps 8 · 49 mi from campground
$128/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 29 ft · sleeps 6 · 62 mi from campground
$125/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 29 ft · sleeps 5 · 67 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2027 | 88% | 11% | 1% |
| Apr 2027 | 93% | 6% | 1% |
| May 2027 | 95% | 4% | 1% |
For May weekends, book about 117 days ahead. Three in four May Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 19 days ahead | 65 days ahead | 20 days ahead | 71 days ahead |
| April | 15 days ahead | 54 days ahead | 27 days ahead | 100 days ahead |
| May | 19 days ahead | 117 days ahead | 35 days ahead | 144 days ahead |
| June | 13 days ahead | 60 days ahead | 20 days ahead | 93 days ahead |
| July | 11 days ahead | 54 days ahead | 21 days ahead | 99 days ahead |
| August | 10 days ahead | 54 days ahead | 11 days ahead | 55 days ahead |
| September | 15 days ahead | 61 days ahead | 18 days ahead | 98 days ahead |
| October | 12 days ahead | 56 days ahead | 23 days ahead | 104 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 (17,479 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.
77 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7. Rates are the listed nightly rates.
Tent or RV, with power
77 sites · $24, $22/night
0 open Nov 13–Nov 15
Hot Springs area · 3.3 hr · from $358/person
