Lake Wedington
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 25All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Lake Wedington beckons visitors of many types, those who come to relax and fish all day, those who come to speed along on bike paths or cruise on a boat, and those who want to stay in a cabin as a lakeside home-away-from-home. The recreation area also offers convenient access, as it is located just 13 miles west of Fayetteville, and 13 miles east of Siloam Springs. The facility offers several rental cabins, campsites and picnic sites alongside its the lake. Each offers access to a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. The area can be accessed by vehicle and a parking space should be available. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Visitors can enjoy a variety of recreational activities at Lake Wedington. Those who enjoy water activities can go boating (with a motor that is 10hp or less), kayaking and canoeing, as well as fishing on the lake. Anglers can seek out Bluegill, Largemouth and Spotted Bass, Bream, and Channel Catfish, and several other species. Anglers who like a challenge can attempt to fish for one of the few large Grass Carp that occupy the lake. A former world-record Grass Carp was caught out of Lake Wedington, weighing a total of 80 pounds. Lake Wedington also has a dedicated area for those who want to go swimming, picnic, play a round of Volleyball or Horseshoes, and a variety of playground equipment. Surrounding the park, you’ll find trails that accommodate hikers and mountain bikers. The Lakeshore Hiking Trail circles a large portion of the lake. The North Twin hiking and mountain biking trial extends for sixteen miles from the facility. Hunting is not permitted within the recreation grounds of Lake Wedington , but there are sites surrounding the recreation area that are open to seasonal hunting. Please contact staff or Arkansas Game and Fish for further information on hunting regulations within this unit.
Facilities
In the 1930s, the lake and recreation area were built under the guidance of the Soil Conservation Service. The Forest Service acquired the land in 1954, and with the help of volunteer groups, restored the buildings. The location is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guests who rent one of the six cabins will get the opportunity to stay in a historic structure from the 1930s, while still enjoying the luxuries of a cozy bed and a coffee maker. Main Area In the main recreation area of Lake Wedington, visitors will find the historical cabins, bathhouse, lodge, and boathouse. The main area also contains additional bathrooms, drinking fountains, group pavilion, picnic ground, the gatehouse, a group campsite, and the main park office. The lodge, cabins, group pavilion, and group campsite must be reserved, please contact park staff for further details on reservations. The picnic pavilion and lodge are available for day-use only. The picnic pavilion can accommodate up to 75 guests and the lodge can hold up to 200 people. The six historic cabins are equipped with electricity, including heating and air conditioning. A kitchen area in each of the buildings is equipped with a stove, refrigerator, coffee maker, toaster, cooking pots and pans and basic tableware. Linens, towels and bedding are not provided. Guests should pack food, towels, blankets and/or sleeping bags, pillows, and other basic overnight supplies. Campgrounds In the campgrounds area of Lake Wedington, visitors will find the boat launch ramp and just beyond that, 18 standard campsites (no hookups available), a dump station, and two smaller bathhouses to accommodate the campers in the campgrounds. Each campsite offers a parking space, tent pad, picnic table, designated fire pit, and a charcoal grill. Some campsites can accommodate camping trailers and smaller RVs, but no hookups are available (each site will list what it can accommodate on the reservation page). If the site isn’t reserved already, they are open to first-come, first-serve, but we do encourage reserving them in advance. Please contact staff or call the recreation.gov help line for reservation assistance, if needed.
Natural Features
Visitors will find a variety of wildlife, trees, ferns, and wildflowers surrounding the 102-acre Lake. Wildlife in the area includes rabbits, deer, songbirds, and wild turkeys as well as an array of migratory waterfowl. In winter, eagles may be sighted flying around the park. Fall leaves put on quite a show, often attracting photographers. Sloping hills in the area offer great vantage points to take photos of the lake, especially from the Gazebo located just off of Lakeshore Trail. When the lake is high, hikers are presented with a cascading waterfall that can also be found when walking along the Lakeshore Trail. There are many natural features that can be spotted throughout the area to those who keep a keen eye out for them.
Nearby Attractions
With Fayetteville approximately 15 miles East, Siloam Springs 14 miles West, and Lincoln/Prairie Grove within 15 miles South of Lake Wedington, there are many attractions to choose from. A variety of restaurants and food venues can be found in and around all cities and towns. In Fayetteville you will find a large variety of event venues, museums, shops, golf clubs, and theaters. In Siloam Springs you can find a variety of shops, group activity venues, and the Kayak Park. Around Lincoln you will find a few shops, restaurants, and event/activity venues. In Prairie Grove you will also find a variety of shops, restaurants, and parks. There are many attractions available at, and surrounding, Lake Wedington. So, guests will find a variety of options available for them to choose from in addition to enjoying the Lake Wedington Recreation Area.
What the agency tells you
BOOKING: Please book sites via the call center at 1-877-444-6777 if there are availability issues on this website; if all cabins are booked on a date the park is open, please call the park at (479) 442-3527 to check for possible openings.
Check-in time is at 2 p.m. and Check-out time is at 11 a.m. for cabins and campsites.
Late arrivals for cabin or group campsites (after 6 p.m.) should call (479) 442-3527 no later than 5:00 p.m. to arrange for key pickup and other instructions; lock combination codes are given upon check-in.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Campsites are first-come, first-served when facilities are not reserved. Please call for more information and availability.
Pavilion and Lodge: Rental is for day use only.
Off-road vehicles are not permitted within the park or surrounding general forest of the Wedington Unit.
No hunting allowed.
Pets: Only allowed on trails, the picnic area next to Lodge, and at the campground. Pets must be leashed at all times and secured at campsite. Pets are not allowed in area of bathhouse, swim area, playground, pavillion, and are not permitted in or around the cabins. Contact Gatehouse (479) 442-3527 for questions.
Swim in designated Swim Area Only; swim and boat at your own risk.
Click here for more information on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests.
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 25 · 1 tent-only, 1 group, 6 cabin
- Hookups
- 6 electric, 3 water
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Paved pads
- 6 of 25
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 4 of 27 campsite records
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Playground
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake
- Accessible Swimming
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic Sites
- Kayaking
- Mountain biking
- Ranger Station
- Swimming
- Water access
- Night sky · 147th darkest of 158 in AR
- Bortle 4
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 9
What you actually pay
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 · 4
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
27 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 27 mapped sitesAll 27 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 27 of the 27 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
| Campground Area | 02 | standard nonelectric | 114 ft | 133 ft | 765 ft | |||
| Campground Area | 03 | standard nonelectric | 98 ft | 82 ft | 824 ft | |||
| Campground Area | 04 | standard nonelectric | 98 ft | 175 ft | 905 ft | |||
| Campground Area | 05 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 69 ft | 96 ft | 993 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 06 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 69 ft | 108 ft | 1,049 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 07 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 130 ft | 142 ft | 1,158 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 08 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 92 ft | 134 ft | 1,267 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 09 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 76 ft | 133 ft | 1,354 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 10 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 76 ft | 108 ft | 1,428 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 11 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 86 ft | 107 ft | 1,557 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 12 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 86 ft | 123 ft | 1,605 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 13 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 111 ft | 82 ft | 1,623 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 14 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 123 ft | 84 ft | 1,614 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 15 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 108 ft | 242 ft | 1,277 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 16 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 108 ft | 307 ft | 1,183 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 17 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 78 ft | 263 ft | 1,056 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 18 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 78 ft | 332 ft | 1,126 ft | ||
| Campground Area | 19 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 94 ft | 352 ft | 1,059 ft | ||
| Chinquapin Hollow Area | Group Campsite | group tent only area nonelectric | 30 ft | 1444 ft | 537 ft | 2,318 ft | ||
| Day Use Area | LODGE | day use | 20 amp | yes | 454 ft | 131 ft | 400 ft | |
| Day Use Area | PAVILLION | day use | 30 amp | yes | 454 ft | 365 ft | 280 ft | |
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 1 | cabin electric | 186 ft | 273 ft | 1,490 ft | |||
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 2 | cabin electric | 153 ft | 308 ft | 1,468 ft | |||
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 4 | cabin electric | 153 ft | 340 ft | 1,489 ft | |||
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 5 | cabin electric | 228 ft | 365 ft | 1,528 ft | |||
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 6 | cabin electric | 129 ft | 598 ft | 1,940 ft | |||
| Ridge Top Area | Cabin 7 | cabin electric | 30 amp | yes | 129 ft | 592 ft | 1,946 ft |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It files them as day use. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
25 of 27 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Hickory Creek Park (AR)21 mi
War Eagle Campground22 mi
Horseshoe Bend (Beaver Lake)24 mi
Prairie Creek (AR)26 mi
Rocky Branch Campground30 mi
Lost Bridge South34 miFrom Fayetteville, travel west on Highway 16 (Wedington Road) for 13 miles, to the Lake Wedington entry road. The road is negotiable for RVs of all sizes.
From Siloam Springs, travel east on Highway 16 for 13 miles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Fayetteville, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 48°F, day 71°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 27°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 Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Lake Wedington is in Arkansas’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Steve Womack (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →