Petit Jean Campground

Stayed at site 72 off Bratcher Rd for two nights on a roadtrip. Wish I could've stayed longer! It was not far off I-40, but the road up the mountain is steep and windy, which would've been much more difficult with a larger camper, but it seems like plenty of people do it.
The park was incredible. The birding was great. I wish I could've had more time to explore more trails. Staff was also super friendly and helpful.
Bathrooms were clean, but I wish the shower had another curtain for the changing area. There were two showers with curtains, but I had to walk across to the changing area with no curtain to get to the towel hanger and bench.

Overall my favorite park I've been to on my journeys!

There are four campgrounds. A is the best with big, widely-spaced sites mostly with water views. B is somewhat less spacious but pretty good mainly with some sites too close to the highway for some (me). C is next with maybe 25% sites that are too small, too crowded together, too uneven or too close to the road. D has about 50% unusable (to me) campsites. Each loop has comparable restroom and shower facilities of varying ages.

This is a very nice park. Sites are far apart and most have a tent site site. A and B areas great for RV. C area better for tent or smaller pop ups. Lots of great hiking and the lodge is wonderful location and sunset views.

Nice campground and hard to reserve a spot. Lodge is nice with good food. Staff seems friendly and lodge is nice. Cannot swim there. You can fish and use a boat on the lake. Small basketball court and 1 tennis court. There is a pool open in the summer.

Great place to stay! All the RV sites are excellent. Food is great at the Mather Lodge. Whether you like a short hike or a long, there is something for everyone.

We stayed in B Loop, spot 45. The B Loop is recently remodeled and in great condition. The bathhouse is excellent. Individual toilet room with shower. Best part, air conditioned! Full hookups in this loop. Good idea to have a shade canopy for the middle of the day, but the rest is well shaded.

We love this place and have been coming here for years. My only complaint this trip was at the restaurant. We waited almost 10 minutes for the hostess to acknowledge we were standing there waiting to be seated. We then asked to be seated at the table we have always sat at in the corner. It was clearly open and there were only 4 tables in use at the time. She said we couldn't sit there because it had a different waitress. I insisted that we sit there. She insisted we couldn't and took us to a different table. That did not make us very happy. The food was good but service was nothing spectacular. We never got a drink refill until we were done eating and ready for the check. We will be back tomorrow for breakfast. Hopefully it goes a little better.

This was our first visit to Petit Jean State Park, a very nice park which exceeded our expectations. We were there in early September 2022 in a van and tent. We stayed at site 70. The sites are large, flat and well spread out. The park has a pool which was closed when we were there after Labor Day. Unfortunately, unlike many other state parks in Arkansas, they do not allow swimming in the lake. There is a large waterfall in the park but it was not flowing when we were there to our great disappointment. But it had not rained for a couple of weeks, so that was not unexpected. There are a number of very challenging hiking trails, so be careful which one you select. We found one elderly couple hiking one the valley trails who got lost after 3 hours of walking. They were so exhausted that we gave them a car ride back to their campsite which was several miles away by road.

There are modern, clean bathhouses with flush toilets and free hot showers. The historical log lodge provides some good top-of-the mountain views with excellent food at affordable prices. We highly recommend you try dining there at least once. There is an incredible lookout called Petit Jean Overlook and Gravest only 2-3 miles east of the center of the park on Rte 154 (a.k.a. Petit Jean Mountain Road) that overlooks the Arkansas River valley. The many informative signs tell the history of the park and the breathtaking view should not be missed. One can even see the lock and dam from the bluffs above the river along with a portion of the “Trail of Tears”. You can see for many miles in all directions and one of the best panoramas we have seen anywhere in the world. They allow you to crawl out on the large rocks for a dramatic view of the river valley just like the tourist photos you see of the Norway Fjords. For us, this was the highlight of the park visit and missed by too many visitors.

Overall, we would rate this a 5 star campground and plan to visit it many times in the future. We found the Arkansas State Parks and the US Corp of Engineer campgrounds spread out across the state to be excellent and inexpensive compared to other states. Almost all of them have lakes and modern facilities much superior to those in many other states. We especially like Lake Charles SP, Bull Shoals SP, and the Corp of Engineers Waveland campground. All were excellent and 5 star properties.

Stayed in our travel trailer. The location was fantastic right by the lake. Great park to spend some time.

We stayed at Campground, C, Site # 69. It was level and had many trees. Parked our 26 ft. Travel Trailer, though it was a tight fit. Also, friends had enough room for a three man tent to sleep in. Neighbors were quiet and friendly. Campground B was under renovation, but there were no workers present when we stayed on Oct. 29-31. The three kids had a blast Trick-or-Treating with the other kids on Campground A Saturday night. The park is beautiful! We hope to visit again next year.

Beautiful, worth a visit! Hikes to an awesome waterfall.

This is one of our favorite places to camp in Arkansas. We love it her, the campground is really nice, there isn't a bad campsite, well shaded and decent bathroom/shower facilities.

This is a 5 star state park. We are in the newly upgraded section B and it is wonderful. Full hook ups and concrete pads, just wow...

We enjoyed our stay. Last year, our campground was infested with ticks, but this time we got a spot that was less wooded and could not spot a single tick.

Great place to camp. Paved campsites that are fairly level. Lots to do if you like to hike or visit popular sites.

We love Petit Jean. We come here every year. Spend 2 weeks here then 2 weeks at Lake Catherine

One of my favorite State Parks with lots of hiking trails and a nice paved bicycle trail from the campground to the lodge.

Great place to stay. Wonderful views accommodations. Perfect location

Please see my posts and pics. It will be more than adequate explanation.

Our favorite spot to camp. Clean, quiet and FULL HOOKUPS!