Devil's Den State Park Campground

I’ve lived within 2 hours almost 20 years and hadn’t visited. I’m so mad! LARGE, well spaced sites with two bath house within 50 yards in either direction. There were trails out of the campground. Riverfront spots are most ideal but the anything on the outside of the loop is beautiful. Visitors center with wood. Small store with small amount of camping supplies and snacks. Cafe onsite offering three things. The hikes are short and just amazing!!!!!

My husband and I have yet to have a camping trip together. Both of us have always talked about and loved doing it as a kid but never found the time to do it until now. We had a blast.

We tent camped and stayed in Site 80 on the RV camping area as it was the only area that had electric and water. We weren’t quite ready to go without electricity just yet as we kind of scrambled to make this trip happen before the weather turned cold and gets jammed with holidays.

We stayed a Sunday & Monday night. Upon checking on Sunday the park was PACKED as expected. Rangers were advising people to avoid Yellowrock and find other trails to do. We weren’t even going to bother until the Monday afternoon. So we went down to check out our site and get set up. Site was clean and close to the bathrooms. Neighbors were a little noisy at night but calmed down around 9:45.

Slept great and had a great day exploring the park and walking along the creek and went to Yellowrock which was gorgeous. Just download your maps before you go. No service so be mindful of that. I loved that aspect though.

Monday night was great and previous neighbors had check out that day so a peaceful nights sleep was had.

Can’t wait to come back and visit again!

We absolutely loved our stay in Site #11 in Campground A.  The site was absolutely massive, and turned out to be even better than the one that we had initially picked out, but was already reserved.  We were a little concerned about lack of shade in this site, as it only had one tree in it, but it shaded at least some of the site all day every day, and even provided a nice umbrella to hang out under during the brief bouts of rain.  Hiking was fantastic, with each trail being dramatically different than the one before, and we did at least 7 of them in the 4 full days we were there.

Things I loved:

- no cell signal.  They did offer ViaSat WIFI for a fee, but I love to unplug when I get the chance.

- the quiet natural beauty and dark sky

- very clean bathrooms, which were cleaned daily, even though there might have been a total of 4 sites occupied at any given time during our stay.

- frequent patrols by park rangers

- beautiful trails

Things I was not fond of:

- the park rangers that patrolled did nothing to enforce the rule that dogs must be on-leash, even when we know they saw this multiple times.  Thanks to this, we had two dogs in the  site next door that would randomly wander over to and through our site, much to the consternation of our two on-lead dogs.  Thankfully, this couple left the day after we got there.

- the firewood was soaking wet when we purchased it, even though it was stored in a shed near the visitor's center.  Decent price for the amount, but it was very difficult to start.

- a few more people than I would have expected during the week at this time of year.  I would hate to see it on the weekends.

We stayed at Devil’s Den state park over indigenous peoples holiday weekend (Sunday-Tuesday) and had a really relaxing time. The site are large and clean, most of them are shaded and the bathroom is a full bathroom with flush toilets, sinks, and showers. The trails are gorgeous and plentiful. We saw deer, armadillos, and skunks and while we are not bird watchers there were a ton of birds. We were at site 5 which is a very spread out site. You park in the middle between your fire pit and the tent pad, which was big enough for our 8 person tent. We also had a small meadow to ourselves and then woods between us and site 3 which was great for privacy. Site 7 is close to the tent pad but not too close. Site 6 was vacant the first night but the second night had 2 large families (about 15 people) that were closer than we would have liked but still fine. All the even sites are in the center and all odd site are on the outer ring, which I think giver more privacy. Sites 4 and 1 are the least shaded with almost no trees. 1 has the advantage of direct access to the creek and a gorgeous view. My husbands favorite site was 16 which has about 10 trees and would be perfect for hammocking. It’s on the end of the loop. There was talk that a bear was spotted in the park, so be prepared and be sure not to leave scraps out or the skunks can get close to your site. Overall, it was a great campground and we would 100% go back!

I had heard so many great things about this park but I was not that impressed. The sites are fairly close together. There’s no signs warning that if you are in a large RV you shouldn’t come in on a certain highway. They do have equestrian trails and a campground to accommodate campers with horses. They have a lot of hiking trails. There are cabins and a pool.

Follow route alerts by taking AR170 at West Fork from Interstate 49! 

Do not go to Visitor Center to check in while towing. Go to campsite, unhitch, and then go to Visitor Center. 

Fayetteville for Walmart, Target and other box stores + Braun's Ice Cream

Jakes in West Fork Harps grocery store & fuel 

PROS 

Senior discount 

No fee to make my own on-line reservation

Dark sky friendly 

Quiet during weekday stay

Campground E has lots of trees 

Campsite asphalt parking pad level 

Metal picnic table (on concrete pad), pedestal BBQ grill, metal fire ring with cooking grate that consumed half of the ring and metal lantern hook 

Good space between most campsites 

Campground E trash bin at every other campsite 

Clean toilet/shower facility 

Ample TP, hand soap and an electric hand dryer in toilet facility Campground E

Climate controlled toilet/shower facility. Felt great on a 38 degree morning! 

Park ranger drive thru campground during daylight hours 

Good signage throughout park concerning burn ban 

Good assistant park superintendent presentation at the park amphitheater regarding the CCC constructing DDSP 

Nice hiking trails 

Squirrels will eat from your hand
 in Campground E

CONS 

No cell service. Pay phone at campground toilet/shower facility 

Only free WiFi is at camp store by the pool. We purchased WiFi from park vendor Viasat $20 unlimited for 3 days for one device 

Cannot see or hear creek from site 89 

Sewer connection at rear of site pad 

No privacy from any other campsite in Campground E 

Cannot move site picnic table 

No camp host

We’ve visited this site many times throughout the years and there is almost always something new to see! There are trails for all levels and a bunch of caves (sadly closed) scattered around the area. Fantastic views!

Joined a lot of fall campers. Good overall experience, didn’t have time to take in all the trails. No phone or internet, no problem!

Stayed four nights un site 54 with a view of the babling brook. The park is spectacular. The sites had ample space around them and the shower houses and restrooms were very nice and cleaned regularly. We lived this park and will definately be back.

Nice campground with trails, visitor’s center, pool and café (closed for season), showers, very pleasant sites.

So the camp store, swimming pool and café are closed Memorial Day but the visitors center is open year round. I stayed on Loop A which has very nice and clean restrooms and spacious showers with hot water. There is Lee Creek on one side and access to three trailheads from Loop A. The new Devil’s Racetrack Monument multiuse trail was completed in the last two years and is all sorts of fun whether you are hiking it or biking it. The addition of this trail does not show on some maps so please get careful instructions on how to hike it. I recommend going up Yellowrock to see the overlook (tip: go straight at the four way intersection with unmarked Devil’s Racetrack). On the way down turn left and hug the cliffs. There is one place where there is a Y intersection. Go straight (not right which goes back down to the Outlaw Trailhead in Campground Loop A) or you will miss the good stuff. Devil’s Racetrack eventually crosses the very wide and straight Outlaw Trail and if you go sharp left you will also end up back at Loop A. This hike is one of my top two favorites in the park, Devil’s Den being the other.

There is a backcountry loop called the Butterfield Trail which is a strenuous 15 miles and extends outside the park. Both hiking and backcountry camping on this trail require a free permit that must be obtained and turned in at the visitor’s center. There is no backcountry camping in the park but there are three sites along the trail outside of the park. Be mindful of hunting season and wear bright orange on any trail exiting the park system!!!!

There is an RV campground with hook up, a horse campground with manure bin, picnic areas galore and 20 miles of trails to explore!! Such a beautiful park!!!!!

This is a really nice campground! We had a site right in the water. We enjoyed being able to listen to the water and see it from our site. There was lots of birdwatching here also! We had a huge pileated woodpecker land in our campsite!

Lots of hiking trails and waterfalls here. We enjoyed exploring this beautiful park.

The campsites are a good size for breathing room from your neighbors. The tent only campground was really nice and along a creek.

Be warned though, there is no cell service here. We still like to be able to reach the outside world because he have older teens at home and want to be able to stay in touch. They do offer a paid WiFi service that was very expensive and not very good. It was better than nothing, so we paid it even though we felt taken advantage of.

Very clean & open camp spots. Easy to maneuver in & out of camper spots. Full hook ups which is fantastic. Bathroom/Shower house is very well kept!!

A little crooked roads get down to the park , we decided to use the 170 hwy. entrance to get in. Not as bad. but what a beautiful place , way down in a valley with Lee creek running though it , the rv sites we pretty much level, with lots of room. The staff at the the park were very nice and helpful, lots of trails to explore, nice picnic area with a swimming pool. Overall a very nice park, we'll definitely be back. One downfall is no cell phone service I guess because it's so far down in the valley .

I have been to devil's den MANY times. I've always loved it and have never had any issues. I send many, many friends to the park to go camping. We drive nearly 5 hours to go. Well, until my trip this weekend. I'm a covid front lines worker and haven't had a weekend off in far too long, so I brought a friend with me and my dogs to go camping. The campground claims to be dog friendly. Also, quiet time is at 10 pm, which is fine. Long, long after 10 pm there are people up partying, playing loud music, screaming and laughing and walking all around the campground. Each time they'd get near our site, or walk through our site, my dogs would bark....as dogs do. Also, there were at least 4 other sites with dogs that were barking as the parade would walk through as well. The next day, the super trooper park police come by and tell me that there were complaints of dogs barking. I explained the situation and that their barks followed after the late night frat party going on, accompanied along with other dogs. I ask if they're going to talk to the partiers who broke quiet time rules,"well, no. They're allowed to walk around"(completely disregarding the noise part of it). I asked if they're going to talk to other dog owners,"well, we didn't see any other dogs"(mind you, I could see dogs from my site while we were talking). They told me I had to keep my dogs quiet or we were gone. I motioned towards where I had hung up tarps around their kennel, and said this would fix most of it as long as the parade doesn't walk around loudly again. They said if I can't find a solution, we were gone. Two of these super troopers came up while my friend and I were napping, onto our site, one of them towered over me with an attitude and a complete disregard for my personal space, as if he were trying to intimidate me(no masks). The other one was appropriate and kind. This was absolutely ridiculous. They didn't address any of the other problems. They chose our site, 2 young females. Perhaps a course on conflict resolution for the 7 foot super trooper would be in order. I'm beyond disappointed in this experience, and doubt I will be back. NOT a dog friendly park.

I like the layout of the campground. Tent sites were separate of RV sites instead of being all mixed in. Good hiking trails of varying difficulty. Clean grounds and clean bathrooms.

This is probably our favorite campground so far. The sites are spacious and clean. The water spigots are insulated for colder weather camping. There are several hiking trails with varying levels of difficulty. There are several beautiful falls along Lee Creek.

We didn’t make it to the pool but they looked fun and inviting.

We were only able to stay one night on our way through to Yellowstone, but we plan to stay here again.

Devil’s Den is an oasis of trails and amenities. We hiked their awesome namesake trail in about an hour—Interesting paved stairs and pathways lead you to lovely little spots and views including a trio of hidden waterfalls. Bathrooms and sites are roomy at campsite A. BUT STAY ALERT: We had many uninvited visitors including a curious raccoon, a small cat (or panther?), all types of birds, and A BOATLOAD OF BUGS. Candles and sprays couldn’t hold them back. Had to call it an early night and put up the bug nets just to get out of the fray. Packed up early the next morning. Beware of ticks.

Nice park with clean bathrooms. Lots of hiking trails.

There are some good reviews here so I will just add a few extra notes.  First and foremost if you are travelling on I 49 and your camper is longer than 25' it is highly recommended that you take exit 53 (170) exit.  There are fewer tight turns for maneuvering big rigs.  Second we camped in campground E which has full hookups.  We had site 79 which is on the end of the left loop and near the bathhouse.  All the hookup were very convenient.   In fact I only had to short hoses for all connections.  Lin Creek is right behind the campground and we could hear the running water which was pleasant for camping and sleeping.  The only down side to our experience was the check-in.  The check-in is not at the campground so, we had to drive our 32' RV to the Visitor Center which has a very small parking lot for big rigs and for turning around.  Signs say to check-in before going to your camp site however; campers with 5th wheel campers were parking their camper then driving their truck to the visitor center.  This I would suggest was a good idea to avoid issues with parking at the visitor center.  Hiking trails were well maintained and easily accessible,   If you only hike 1 trail take the 1.5 mile trail to the water falls.  We were there a day after a rain and the water falls were mesmerizing to see and watch.

Great park with beautiful trails, caves, a plethora of wildlife, and lots of CCC history. This park offers everything from primitive, hike-in camping to cabins and everything in between (including a full hook-up area). Park also has a pool. Remember, if pulling a camper, take exit 53, do NOT go through Winslow. The road is beautiful but VERY curvy and steep. Lots to do and see. A must.

We only had three days and it rained all day for the first day but I still really enjoyed this park. The trails are great and our campsite had a path right down to the river. The water hookup was a bit tricky, it leaks all over the place until you turn it all the way. We were not used to this setup so we thought it was broken. We were on site 53. I don’t like the placement of the fire pits, they are off at the road side of the site which makes it feel too close to other campers, rather than tucked into your own site. The bathrooms are probably the nicest I’ve experienced at a state park.

General: Located in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, you can enjoy time off the grid (we had limited cell service when we were at the summit of the Yellow Rock Trail but none in the campground). Limited rainfall resulted in less dramatic (or non-existent) waterfalls that are otherwise boasted of during other times of the year but the scenery was still beautiful, especially in the fall. 

Sites/Facilities: Many different camping options (some loops have full hookups while others do not have hookups and there is a dump station near Loop E), a hike-in campground, a group campground, and an equestrian campground. There are also 17 rustic cabins (1-3 bedrooms with kitchens and a/c and heating plus nearby bathrooms). We camped in Loop E and there was reasonable separation between the sites. The pads were paved. Each site had a metal picnic table, lantern hook, and fire grate. Many of the sites provided shade from the many trees. 

Bathhouse: Like some other Arkansas state parks, there are two bathhouses in some loops, and they were open on alternating days so that the other one may be cleaned and sanitized (Covid related policy). While the open one in Loop E was clean, the several soap dispensers were empty which does not make sense to me when hand washing is recommended. You also need to bring your own towel, which I have been doing regardless. There are showers but I did not use them so I cannot comment on how good they are. 

Activities/Amenities: Hiking! I highly recommend the Yellow Rock Trail and the Devils Den Trail plus there are several others. During the summer, you can rent paddle boats and canoes. There are several areas with picnic tables throughout the park. There is also a swimming pool, although I did not see it when we were there in October(it would only be open in the summer). Firewood is available for sale.

One of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. Waterfalls abound, and the blue water Lee Creek is to die for. AT&T non existent.

This has to be one of my favorite campgrounds. So scenic and beautiful (even in November). Lots of trails to explore, a visitor's center, during non-pandemic times they have a swimming pool, store, and restaurant by the little lake. Love all the CCC history! The cleanest shower house I've been to in quite some time. We stayed in Camp loop A, basic sites. We were right by Lee Creek, so we enjoyed "babbling brook" sounds all night! The spots are spacious and well-shaded, and offer a level gravel tent pad at each site. The ONLY suggestion I can make is to bring a small shovel to clean out the fire rings, because ours looked like it hadn't been cleaned all season. Six inches of wet ash isn't conducive for building a nice campfire.

This wasn’t the first visit to Devil’s Den but it was the first time camping there. The campsites in the basic loop are well positioned and spacious. The shower house is probably the nicest and cleanest one we’ve come across this year. If you are looking to disconnect from the modern world, then this is the place. No WiFi or cell service in the campsite but there is free WiFi up the road at the visitor center. The visitor center is staffed by very knowledgeable and friendly staff. They sell everything from snacks, patches, t shirts to firewood. The many trails are clearly marked and range in distance from a quarter mile to fifteen miles. The trails are easy to moderate, with some amazing sites along the way. The park was built in the 1930s by the CCC and many of the structures are still in use today. You can also see evidence of the lifestyle these young men had while building the park. This is one campground we will definitely be returning to in the future.

We bought our first camper this year and have loved staying at Devil's Den. We made 4 trips there and enjoyed each one. The RV sites have full hookups and most are well shaded. There's easy access to Lee Creek and trails that lead from the campground around to the dam, pool and gift shop.

They also have a horse camp, tent camping, cabins and camper cabins. Whether you're looking to relax or explore one of the many hiking trails, there's something for everyone!

We were only staying here one night (unfortunately) on a cross country camping road trip with two young kids (2 & 4.) we stayed in loop A which was all tents when we were there, I didn’t see any hook ups. There were some hike in trails off of this loop. This loop has around 24 sites and we stayed in site 22, which was right across from the restrooms/showers. This was fine for us bc we have two small kids and like to be close to restrooms/showers but if you’re looking for privacy this spot might not be for you, we had some people walking through our site to get to the restrooms. But all sites were large enough I wouldn’t be too worried.

Cons: there was a coke vending machine by the camp board (out in the open) that was lit up and an annoyance when trying to star gaze at night, distracted from the nature. The water spigots were dripping out of the sides and slightly annoying to use if you were trying to fill up a container.

Pros: gorgeous surroundings, rangers were friendly, large sites, all seemed flat, clean bathrooms and showers, trash and recycling at frequent intervals around the loops, all clean, water, nice camp store with basic necessities like soap and light snacks, playground for kids back by the camp store (we didn’t test it out tho) and did I mention the beautiful surroundings?

Great tent and RV sites. Not too close to neighbors. Bath/showers are close. Great hiking trails! Some water activities above the dam.

Spacious and peaceful sites.  The loop we stayed in had full hook ups at each site and 2 very well maintained bathrooms with showers.

The creek was right behind us and there is a pond for paddle boats or paddle boarding.  The pool (we didn't use) looked d to be very nice also.  Plenty of easy access to many different hikes, none of which are too difficult.