Lake Dardanelle State Park — Attraction in Russellville

Very beautiful park. We stayed in a "camper site" even though we are tent campers, because we wanted the electrical hookup and to be close to the water edge. We would have liked if we could get in the water right from our campsite, but with the boat docks right there and the rock edge and weeds about, it's probably not a great idea - nonetheless, they have a nice little beach area perfect for the kids. The visitor center is awesome, with lots of aquariums, great views, and a bee hive station - plus plenty of video and reading education. We hiked, we biked, we played on the playground - everything was good here. Only downside is number of bathrooms is a bit sparse, so you will have to walk from your site or from the playground/etc - yep, no bathroom near a playground, kind of poor design if you have kids, you know! Bathrooms we found though were very clean and well taken care of. Hot showers, private bath with shower in it. All in all, this was a great park and if we revisit, we'll stay at the camper sites again but probably with a less obstructed view - that boat dock really ruined the sunsets/etc. The staff was VERY awesome in the park everyone we met. Plenty of parking. Plenty or acreage. Great stay. Only complaint really was the obnoxious people with dogs who camped here and tied their dog to a tree and weren't paying attention to it at all. I suppose the park employees could check on that activity more often. That, and people with dogs...

We had a fantastic experience camping here. We're on a mission to visit all 52 Arkansas state parks and this was #3. We camped at site #10, which had a gorgeous view of the lake...and Arkansas Nuclear One. Camping in sight of a nuclear reactor might not be EVERYONE'S cup of tea but for this science nerd it was an amazing moment. Since we had online reservations, late check-in was easy. We just pulled into our space, got everything set up, and in the morning went to the visitor center to finalize. When a random, unexpected gust of wind broke the awning on my RV, the staff were kind enough to immediately bring me a ladder so my husband & I could get it stowed away properly. The beach/swimming area was clean & litter-free and I thought it was really cool that they had life jackets you could borrow on the honor system with the expectation you'd bring it back when you were done. Overall I would highly recommend this campground to any RV...

Update: We recently had a couple of more extreme weather days with sleet, snow, ice, freezing fog, and thunder-sleet storms. There are a lot of limbs and trees down in the area.

I visited this park yesterday. They had already cleaned up and the park roads were clear of ice and fallen limbs. This park is well maintained. My dog was very happy and excited to be there. Me, too!

Original review: Clean and well manicured. Beautiful, especially at sunset. Mountain views, sand beach, playground, fishing pier and jetty, nature trails, sidewalks, picnic tables and pavillions, RV and tent camping, boating and kayacking, a marina, fishing (professional bass tournaments held here). Close to a town with plenty of shopping options. The visitors center is a wonderful place to spend some time with a child. Just watch out for the goose poop. Mostly it's kept off the roads and sidewalks, but it's still a problem. My dog and I love coming...