Charlton Recreation Area
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 17 of the next 29 nights; a database flag says not open read 15:41 UTC
- A night
- $15–$25Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 48All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Charlton Campground is located 17-miles west of Hot Springs National Park along Highway 270-West. This historic campground constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930's has been upgraded with modern amenities. Known as one of the coldest swimming sites in the State of Arkansas, the cool water temperatures can be enjoyed through-out the summer months. Keep reading
Recreation
Charlton Recreation Area offers a developed day use with swimming and picnicking facilities. A large pavilion is located in the day use area. The swimming area is known by area residents as being some of the coldest water through-out the summer months. Walnut Creek, a spring-fed stream provides refreshing water in the swim site. Hiking trails are located in and around the campground. An amphitheater is located in the day use area for group gatherings. Campsites are available from a basic campsite to more developed with additional amenities, to include 30-50 amp electrical service, water connections and some sites offering sewer connections. A dump station is located at the campground. Walnut Creek runs through the campground and access is available for wading and fishing in the creek.
Facilities
A-Loop campsites do not offer electric or water services available at the campsites. There is no bathhouse/restroom facilities in A-Loop. Campsites in A-Loop are basic campsites with each campsite having a fire ring, BBQ grill and picnic table. Community water spigots are available through-out the A-Loop. A-Loop Group Use Campsite does not have electric or water services available at the Group Use Campsite. B-Loop RV/Tent campsites offer 30-50 amp electrical service and water connections at the sites. C-Loop campsites, 1-10, offer 30-amp electrical service, water connections and some sites offering sewer connections. C-Loop campsites 11-19 and C-Loop Group Use Campsite do not have electric or water services available at the sites. Warm water showers and flush toilets. Paved roadways and campsites with gravel tent pads for setting up tents. Two Group Use Sites offering areas for large groups to set up tents, tents are only allowed at the Group Use Sites. Swimming and picnicking in the Charlton Day Use Area is included as part of the campsite fees. Two trail systems, one 1 mile interpretative trail system and a connector trail to the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) lead out from the Charlton Day Use Area.
Natural Features
Located in the valley between two tree covered mountains, the campsites through-out the campground are well shaded. The campground constructed along Walnut Creek, a natural spring-fed stream, temperatures are cool, even through the summer months.
Nearby Attractions
Lake Ouachita Vista - Hickory Nut Mountain Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) Lake Ouachita Hot Springs National Park Historic Hot Springs Quartz Crystal Mines Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (870) 867-2101.
Charges & Cancellations
Charlton Campground is 100% reservable, moving from one campsite to another is not allowed. Camper must cancel their reserved campsite, before reserving a second campsite in the campground. Refunds will not be approved for campsites cancelled.
What the agency tells you
Cell phone access is limited in the campground. Campsite availability is limited during major holidays, Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day. Campground is open seasonally, from the first of May to the first of November. The Day Use Area is open only from the first of May to first of October. A-Loop are basic campsites with no electric or water services at the campsites. B-Loop has electrical, 50-amp service, and water connections at the campsites. C-Loop, campsites 1-10, offer electrical, 30-amp service, water and some campsites have sewer connections, at the campsite. C-Loop, campsites 11-19, known as "Booger Hollow", do not off electrical or water services at the campsites, but community water spigots are available in the area.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 48 · 8 tent-only, 2 group
- Hookups
- 20 electric, 20 water
- Longest rig
- 80 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…at the sites. Warm water showers and flush toilets. Paved roadways and campsites with gravel tent pads…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…BBQ grill and picnic table. Community water spigots are available through-out the A-Loop. A-Loop Group…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, Lake, Creek
- Amphitheater
- Biking
- Crawfishing
- Fishing
- Picnicking
- Swimming
- Water access
- Night sky · 87th darkest of 158 in AR
- Bortle 4
48 of 94 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:41 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBookedClosed
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 16
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $15–$25 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Charlton Campground is 100% reservable, moving from one campsite to another is not allowed. Camper must cancel their reserved campsite, before reserving a second campsite in the campground. Refunds will not be approved for campsites cancelled.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:41 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
48 sites
All 48 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 48 of the 48 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| A | Charlton 1 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 10 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 11 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 12 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 13 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 14 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 15 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 16 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 17 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 18 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 2 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 3 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 4 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 5 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 6 | standard nonelectric | 16 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 7 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 8 | standard nonelectric | 52 ft | $15 | |
| A | Charlton 9 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | $15 | |
| A | Group Site A | group standard nonelectric | $40 | ||
| B | Charlton 12 | standard electric | 46 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 13 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 14 | standard electric | 75 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 15 | standard electric | 80 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 16 | standard electric | 75 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 17 | standard electric | 80 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 18 | standard electric | 61 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 19 | standard electric | 62 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 20 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| B | Charlton 21 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 1 | standard electric | 50 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 10 | standard electric | 43 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 11 | tent only nonelectric | 50 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 12 | tent only nonelectric | 55 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 13 | tent only nonelectric | 60 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 14 | tent only nonelectric | 37 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 15 | tent only nonelectric | 43 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 16 | tent only nonelectric | 43 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 17 | tent only nonelectric | 43 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 19 | tent only nonelectric | 44 ft | $15 | |
| C | Charlton 2 | standard electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 3 | standard electric | 80 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 4 | standard electric | 64 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 5 | standard electric | 48 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 6 | standard electric | 58 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 7 | standard electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 8 | standard electric | 52 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Charlton 9 | standard electric | 50 ft | 30 amp | $25 |
| C | Group Site C | group standard nonelectric | $40 |
25 of 48 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Crystal Springs (AR)2.4 mi
Joplin5.3 mi
Tompkins Bend6.2 mi
Denby Point6.5 mi
Brady Mountain8.0 miFrom Hot Springs, drive 17 miles west on Albert Pike Road (Hwy 270 West), Charlton Recreation Area is located along Hwy 270.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Crystal Springs, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 48°F, day 73°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 29°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Charlton Recreation Area is in Arkansas’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Bruce Westerman (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →