Campers Happy In Off-Season
Sites Open Through Winter At Beaver Lake, State Parks
Posted: November 29, 2009 at 4:48 a.m.
Jean and Royce Johnson of Decatur relax by a campfire Saturday at Horseshoe Bend park on Beaver Lake. The park is one of five on the lake that offers winter camping.
A campfire crackling under a starry sky is blazing warmth for hardy souls who enjoy camping during the late fall and winter at Beaver Lake and the region’s state parks.
Arkansas’ mild winters offer plenty of nice days for nomads to hitch up the RV or pitch a tent. Campsites are available through the winter at Beaver Lake and at Devil’s Den and Withrow Springs state parks.
Some prefer winter camping to a summer bivouac, said Mike Richards with the Army Corps of Engineers office at Beaver Lake.
Five parks on the lake — Prairie Creek, Horseshoe Bend, Lost Bridge North, Hickory Creek and War Eagle — are open for winter camping.
Sites are $12 per night. The only amenities are electricity and vault toilets. There are no showers.
Dam Site River park on the White River below Beaver Dam is also open. Dam Site River has the most amenities, including electricity, showers and a heated restroom. Campsites are $14 per night.
Activities on land and water are available to off-season campers.
“We have a lot of campers who go out on the lake to look at the bald eagles,” Richards said. “We get scuba divers who stay at Dam Site River and dive during the winter.”
Hiking is popular for lakeside campers. The Lost Bridge Trail at Lost Bridge North park offers a 5-mile hike. Other parks have shorter trails. Richards said the corps plans to improve the lake’s trail system during the next year.
Royce and Jean Johnson of Decatur took advantage of this weekend’s warm weather to camp at Horseshoe Bend park.
“We had a crowd of 33 people at our house for Thanksgiving and decided to get away for a couple of days,” Jean said Saturday, sitting next to a campfire Royce just lit.
The number of campers at Withrow Springs and Devil’s Den state parks this weekend prove the popularity of off-season camping.
Some campsite loops at Devil’s Den park, west of Winslow, are full this weekend, said Myra Collins, a clerk at the visitor center. Tent and recreational vehicle sites are available through the winter. Prices are the same as during the summer.
“The only thing that changes is you see more campfires,” Collins said.
Interpreters and rangers offer guided hikes and programs all winter, she added.
Daniel Godwin, assistant superintendent at Withrow Springs State Park north of Huntsville, said November is a popular month to camp.
“Right now we’ve got 15 to 20 rigs set up in the park,” he said Friday. “Come December, it’ll slack off a bit. But winter is my favorite time to camp. You can have the whole park to yourself.”
There’s a heated restroom building. Water is available at spigots around the park. Water hook-ups to recreational vehicles are shut down on Dec. 1.
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