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Submission
Willow Beach Campground is located near the David D.Terry Lock and Dam of the Arkansas River.
The wealth of recreational opportunities in the Arkansas River Valley provides visitors with endless fun for the whole family. Outdoor activities such as camping, picnicking, boating and sightseeing are favorite pastimes.
Willow Beach has a boat ramp and offers excellent fishing, especially in the old river cutoffs and the tail-waters of the dam and Murry Lock and Dam upstream. Anglers often catch bass, crappie and bream in the Arkansas River.
Hunting is available in nearby forests, and there is duck hunting on the waterways.
On shore, families enjoy picnicking and using the playground.
Willow Beach Campground offers 21 campsites with electric and water hookups, as well as three reservable group picnic shelters for day use. Additional amenities include a dump station, hot showers, a boat ramp and playground.
The park is in a forested area along the riverfront, close to the rolling fields of cotton farms. It is 193 feet above sea level; winters are generally mild and summer temperatures reach the upper 90s with high humidity.
Red fox are frequently seen in the park, along with deer and armadillo, and numerous species of waterfowl live in the water and along the shores.
Little Rock, the state capital and largest city of Arkansas, is just minutes away, offering groceries, gas, restaurants and tourist attractions.
From Little Rock, Arkansas, take U.S. Highway 165 east for 2.5 miles. Turn right on Colonel Manard Road and continue for three miles. Turn right again onto Blue Heron Parkway and follow signs to Willow Beach Park.
We stayed one night. The staff person at the entrance was very nice and had a great sense of humor. It is a state operated park, so don't expect luxury amenities. However, the sites all have wide concrete pads, a fire pit, a grill, a small prep table near, and a concrete picnic table. We were not on the lake side but still had a nice view. There is a dump station and dumpster on your way out. The bath house is at the end of the park, but we were just a few slots from it. It is basic, no AC, but a heater for winter. It does the job. Overall, it was a nice stop off on our way back to Texas, and we would book it again.
Bathrooms were kept very clean for being public and the atmosphere was super quiet a serene great place to just get away from the hussle and bustle of your everyday or to get away for a quiet weekend although fishing wasn't a catch (haha get it) noone caught a single fish the whole weekend sadly
While this was honestly one of the beautiful campgrounds we've stayed at as far as the river, the trees, the spaciousness of the sites, we were overall thoroughly disappointed. We stayed 2 full weeks and with no sewer or gray hookups we had to use the showers. There's one building at the back of the campground with 4 individual shower/ bathroom rooms for the whole campground. They were by far the nastiest bathrooms we've encountered. Mold, mildew, slime, hair, and so many bugs! The bathrooms were sweltering hot with no ventilation. The water pressure is not good either and there's no trash cans. They don't even get swept out regularly. I went into 2 of the bathrooms with a big truck wash brush and cleaner and cleaned as well as I could twice while we were there just so we'd have a halfway decent place to set our stuff on. See the pictures for yourself from before cleaning. Also there's only one dumpster, not even in the campground area, but all the way at the front of the park.
Also, a few nights before we were to leave my 2 children and 2 friends they'd made at the campground walked down to the park to play soccer. They were resting at the tables under the covered area at the park and the elderly couple camp hosts drove up on their golf cart and told the kids they have to pay to use the covered area. My 11yo son said "oh, ok, I'm sorry we didn't know" as they all stood up to leave and the man said "really? There's a sign right there!" then proceeded to tell them someone had rented it for the next day and "he didn't want to clean up after them when they left a bunch of trash", even though they only had their soccer ball and soccer net.
If you've ever been to any public park you know that most of them can be rented or reserved, but if no one's using them they're fine to sit to be in the shade, especially on 100°+ days. This was unnecessary harassment of park guests.
Absolutely gorgeous stay, and support friendly staff. Shower/restrooms were adequate, but pretty over run with insects, namely ladybugs and crickets. We stayed twice around Thanksgiving 2023, and were impressed both stays.
It was a little more out of the way than I thought, but its so worth it! We were there to do some tent camping and as soon as we turned into the park we started seeing animals. A group of deer in the distance and the park was just crawling with armadillos! So cute! Just as we were about to go to sleep, my freind was standing near the water and saw an alligator swim past! And after we were both in the tent we heard something nearby, so unzipped the window and there was another armadillo meandering past us! The views in the morning are so beautiful and so fun to watch the birds on the water.
