Camping At Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge In Arkansas

We were just driving through Arkansas (one of our favorite states) on our way to our next boondocking location when we saw a sign for the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center and decided to stop. It happened to be closed, but a ranger saw us lurking around and came out to talk to us.

Half an hour later we were pulling into a camping spot and ended up spending a relaxing two weeks in the area.

 

Located in southeast Arkansas, near the town of Crossett, this refuge was established in 1975 and covers over 76,000 acres in the state.

The area is full of rivers, creeks, swamps, and lakes and is dominated by the Ouachita and Saline Rivers. This makes it a popular spot for hunting, camping and especially fishing.

Access permits are required for all refuge users.

These free permits can be found on the cover of the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Public Use Regulation Brochure. These brochures may be obtained from thirteen various boxes located near the entrance of refuge access roads.

You can also pick up a brochure from the visitor center or print one online.

 

Camping is free here (just have your permit) and is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a 14 day stay limit. Campsites are on a first come, first served basis, so no reservations are accepted.

 

There are ten different primitive camping areas on the refuge and camping is permitted only within these designated areas. The camping area entrances are marked by signs and the boundaries are marked with orange paint (you’ll see the paint on the trees).

This is boondocking so no bathrooms, water or hook-ups can be found here. There are no trashcans so whatever you pack in make sure you pack out. There is a spigot at the visitor center with potable water to fill up some jugs if you need water.

Pets are allowed, but please be sure to pick up after them.

 

The camping area we choose was near the Shallow Lake boat ramp (33.113882 -92.161820). We choose this particular spot, because the ranger informed us it was more out of the way and way less busy than some of the other camping areas.

We always prefer to find spots a little more private.

 

Our camping area was tucked in the trees and most spots (around six or so) provided plenty of shade. We managed to get the pop-up in a spot that gave us a few hours of sun each day to charge up the solar panels.

Even though this is primitive camping the use of generators is prohibited after 10 PM, so keep that in mind during your trip.

 

The camping spots tended to be on the smaller side here and probably wouldn’t accommodate anything over 25 feet. The roads getting back here were all in good shape during our visit as well and we had no issues driving to the spot.

Campfires are permitted only within the camping areas and must be attended at all times. There were homemade firepits at most of the spots in our area and plenty of downed wood available for use.

As always, be sure to check on local fire restrictions before camping and make sure every spark is out before going to bed or leaving camp.

 

Let’s talk cell service…we had good service, but I don’t remember who with.

We have both AT&T and Verizon to increase our odds of always having service since we work from the road. Well, we stayed here for two weeks and worked the entire time so we had service through someone.

I know that isn’t very helpful.
I really need to start writing that down while on our trips.

There was a boat ramp located a short walk from the camping area with a large parking lot. I believe a lot of the camping areas can be found near boat ramps within the refuge. Quite a few fisherman showed up early in the morning and later in the afternoon to use the ramps.

 

We also happened to be there during duck season and those hunters start early.

You can start hunting as soon as the sun comes up and as soon as that sun was up you started hearing the gun blasts. They all usually cleared out by noon though and it was peaceful once again.

You may want to avoid camping during duck season if you like to sleep in.

 

During our two week stay we only had two other campers. One was a group of boys in for the weekend and another was a hunter just camping for a few days.

Besides the fisherman coming to the boat ramp and the occasional hunter driving though we hardly saw anyone else during our stay.

 

There are a ton of back roads to travel on in the refuge and we took the pets walking down quite a few of them. Every morning and evening we leashed up the dog, put our cat in his backpack and would just go walking for a while down the dirt roads near us.

It was great exercise and a very pretty area to take a stroll though.

The water levels here in the Felsenthal basin fluctuate greatly depending on the season.

During periods of heavy rain and flooding the 15,000 acres of water it normally holds can double to over 36,000 acres. This flooding can make some roads impassable making it impossible to reach certain areas.

Check with the visitor center before camping if you’re worried about the weather conditions.

 

Now we didn’t check out any of the other camping areas during our stay. What I wrote about in this post is our experience at the particular camping area we chose inside the refuge. So I don’t know the size and conditions of other camping spots here and what vehicles could fit.

If you’re interested in camping in the area a scouting trip before hand might be a good idea. That way you can check out all the different camping areas available for use and determine which one would suit you best.

 

There is a Walmart less than thirty minutes away in Crossett, Arkansas so you will be able to pick up any supplies you may need. Multiple gas stations and places to eat can also be found in town.

 

The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is usually open Monday-Friday from 7:00 am – 3:30 pm and closed on all federal holidays. Inside the center are displays and informational brochures for the area.

The refuge is mostly known for it’s water activities, but there are two hiking trails.

The Woodland Wildlife Trail is a cute and educational 1/2 mile asphalt trail located right at the visitor center that anyone can use. The Sand Prairie Trail is two miles long and through the woods, but we only did part of it because a bridge was out at the time.

 

Sorry I don’t have more pictures of our time at the refuge. It seems I just took pics of our camping spot and nothing else. Or, I put them in a folder for safe keeping somewhere and misplaced them (which happens more than I care to admit).

 

We had a great time during our visit here and would go back again in a heartbeat. I’m sure it’s probably busier in the summertime, but our fall stay was pretty perfect.