Camping At Big Fir Campground On Lake Ouachita in Arkansas

Big Fir Campground is a primitive campground on the northwest end of Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. It’s a free campground run by the Army Corps Of Engineers and has a 14 day stay limit.

Located off of Hwy 188 the GPS coordinates above will take you to a small camp area with around six campsites. This small camp area is suitable for tent and car camping or if you have a small rig like our pop-up. The sites are not very level at all here.

If you continue traveling past the small camp area to the end of the road you will find more camping options. There is a larger camping area with many more level spots with some spaces able to accommodate larger rigs.

If it’s the summertime though you may not find a spot for a large rig here. This place is extremely popular and gets full fast.

This is dry camping so no water or hook-ups can be found here.

Clean vault toilets and trashcans are available though. I will note that there were no trashcans on site during our October stay. This might be because it was the off season so always pack out what you pack in.

Leashed pets are allowed just please pick up after them. Most sites had a picnic table, metal firepit with a grill covering and a pedestal grill.  Please place campfires in rings only and make sure all sparks are out before leaving them unattended.

There are plenty of spots offering shade at each camp, but if you are running solar you will be able to find sunny spots as well. If you do have to run a generator keep in mind that campground quiet hours are 10 pm-6 am.

We had both Verizon and AT&T service while camping here.

We stayed in the small camping area during both of our visits and loved it. We were able to snag the largest and most level site both times. You will have access to the lake whichever spot you choose with many spots being right on the shore with direct water access.

It took us a total of thirty seconds to walk to the shore.

If you like to fish this lake is a popular spot for local fisherman. We fished multiple days, but didn’t have much luck. Jamey really is just a horrible fisherman and has passed his bad luck onto me, lol.

If you have a boat there is a boat ramp on a side road between the two camping areas. There were always boats on the water especially during the weekends. We even saw a couple sailboats which was pretty cool.

A lot of people kayak and canoe here as well and so did we. The lake is massive and is populated with all these small islands that are great for exploring. We took our inflatable kayaks out at least half a dozen times and had a blast.

The water is perfect for swimming and we did just that almost every day sometimes twice a day! I spent more hours than I can remember just floating in the water on my inner tube soaking up some rays.

We also spent a lot of time just sitting on the shore. Dexter the dog had a great time running up and down the shoreline getting his paws wet.

The place was pretty clean and for the most part pretty quiet. The weekends were always a little bit more rambunctious, but that’s to be expected. In June we always had other campers with us, but in October there were a lot less people and we spent many nights with the little camping area all to ourselves.

We also felt very safe here. Ranger and sheriff vehicles made patrols on a daily basis during the summer and about every other day in October. All the rangers and the one deputy we talked to were super nice.

The rangers here also take your information down when they drive through. I think they may have an issue with people staying too long so this is their way of making sure people obey the stay limit rules.

The closest town is Mount Ida, but it’s not very big.

There are some gas stations, a pizza shack and a local grocery store. The area is more geared to the recreational activities and campgrounds on the lake. Be sure to stock up on supplies if you’re going to be staying a while including alcohol, because this is also a dry county.

This was a favorite spot of ours and we would stay here again in the future.

The sunsets are absolutely spectacular, the water is refreshing and there are some great hammock trees for afternoon naps. What more could you ask for!

Also, I apologize for having absolutely no pictures of our actual campsite. I know I took them, but can’t find them anywhere. I mean we stayed here on two different occasions and I have no pics. It’s just weird.

Heads up that fall is mating season for the Texas brown tarantula.

Yes, Arkansas has giant hairy tarantulas and the first time I saw one on the way to the bathroom I almost had a heart attack. This was may only real complaint about Big Fir.

If you have arachnophobia, like I do, you’ve been warned!