Lake Ouachita State Park — Attraction in Hot Springs

At the walk-in camp sites, the ants and flies bite like crazy. I got several strings of super-red spots, big and small, one afternoon while sitting next to the picnic table reading, with shorts and sandals. The many red spots lasted for days and were very itchy. The flies would bite through socks, so do bring bug repellents. I didn't see any mosquitoes though.

Walk-in camp sites: it is really "walk-in," meaning if you are assigned to the farthest spots (which, on the other hand, have the most beautiful view), you are over 300 feet away from your car (have to make a few trips carrying your stuff back and forth), and over 400 feet away from the closest bathroom! If you are assigned to the spot right next to the parking lot, it is very convenient, but every camper gets to see your party and you inhale some of the exhaust, and the view is far from good.

The four-mile "strenuous" Caddo Bend trail is worth walking through, but the view at Point-50 is just so-so --- not so much more spectacular than one would see at tent sites #7 and 8. The trail surface and width vary a great deal, and I remember spending a lot of time brushing strings from spider webs off my arms. At one point (from Point-50 back to the trail head) I saw a huge web woven between two trees 8-9 feet apart, right in the middle of the trail, and a huge red-brownish spider was sitting at the center of the web. So prepare for spiders...

Fellow campers at the walk-in tent sites: some of them (regardless of age) screamed and yelled a lot, perhaps out of excitement, esp. in the lake, and the nearby valleys sometimes echoed their screams. I was expecting a quieter place (that matches the serene natural beauty of the place) though.... The park has a quite hour rule, and after 10 pm it was pretty quiet.

As for the staff at the visitor center, the one I met was just so-so, not "super friendly" as some other reviewers wrote.

Never had to wait for bathroom, which was sometimes kept clean and sometimes a bit dirty (never smelly though), depending on...

We really enjoyed our visit here. The lake is the prettiest lake I have ever seen. We spent a day here. The park is fairly small compared to others we have been to, but the lake and forest around it go on a long way. The lake from end to end is 36 miles according to a state park intrepter. There are two beaches. One by the marina and one by Three Sisters Springs called Spring Beach. Our favorite was Spring Beach. The views were amazing. The water was clear and cool and it had a sandy, inclined beach, They also have picnic tables in the shade by the parking lot and a port o potty if you need to use the bathroom. Three sisters springs is also located there. Our kids enjoyed seeing that wonder of nature. We rented paddle boats for $6 an hour. They were very well maintained and can hold 4 people. The staff at the marina are very friendly and helpful. Later in the day we took a Bird Island Tour. It sounds kind of cringy, but it was an amazing experience. It is a two hour sunset tour around the lake to bird island where you will see an incredible amount of birds. Right now Purple Martin's are nesting there. I have never seen that many birds in my life. We all loved it. There are two hiking trails in the park. We did Dogwood Trail, 0.5 miles long. It was moderately strenuous. You go uphill for what seems like forever. Our kids ages 6-15 did fine with it. It was really pretty. There is another trail called Caddo Trail, it is 4 miles long. We did not take it as it is considered strenuous for hikers. I've heard it has great views though. Overall, great, clean park. We would...

We stayed the night in one of the camper cabins, and we had a great time. We went Kayaking on a misty evening, and the weather was great for being out on the water. We launched our Kayaks by the three sisters spring (at the swim area). The camper cabin was an easy walk from the restroom building. The showers have a bathroom stall door that leads to a changing area, and then there is a shower curtain between the changing area and the shower. One of the showers has a fold down seat in it and a larger changing area with a bench.

The camper cabin has a screened in porch with a couple chairs, a side table, and a ceiling fan. The inside of the cabin had a queen bed, twin bunk beds, a table with two benches, and another table that is like a kitchen prep countertop. The inside of the cabin has heat/air and a ceiling fan. Outside are two grills, a water spigot, and a picnic table. There are two parking spaces at each cabin. The accessible cabin (#60) is paved where the picnic table is (the other camper cabins have gravel there). The accessible cabin also has a flush entry where the others have a single step into the cabin.

The staff at the visitors center was very helpful, and check in was a quick/smooth process.

We were there in mid September, and there were other people around but nothing was crowded. We hiked the 0.5 mile trail (trail head is across from the restroom building), and it was a peaceful little hike...