Oak Bower Group Use Area
1Heads up1 fire 31 mi away
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 24 of the next 30 nights read 15:28 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Unique to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Oak Bower is located along the Bill Hill Creek arm of DeGray Lake. This quality group use camping facility offers sleeping cabins, a large dining hall and kitchen, shower houses and playground equipment. Oak Bower is an ideal location for family reunions, company retreats and large group outings. For more information or to schedule a tour call 870-246-5501. To see USACE DeGray Lake Virtual Tour click here Recreation Boating, water skiing, kayaking and other water sports are the biggest draw to the lake. The lake is also stocked with a variety of game fish, including plenty of hybrid striped bass, making it an ideal area for both boat and bank fishing. Numerous hiking and bike riding trails wind around the lake shore, including the Arlie Moore Interpretive Trail which is located a short drive away. Keep reading
Facilities
ITEMS GROUPS WILL NEED 1. Food 2. Sleeping apparel, including bedrolls, air mattresses, pillows and blankets. 3. Cookware, dishwashing soap, plates, glasses and dishes. 4. Lawn chairs, flashlights, first aid kit and radios. FURNISHED BY THE CORPS 1. Seven sleeping shelters (4 bunks each) with heat and air conditioning units. 2. Dining Hall and full Kitchen that seats up to 150 people. 3. Restrooms and showers. 4. Drinking fountain. 5. Jug filler fountains. 6. Group size grill. 7. Internet access in dining facility.
Natural Features
Degray Lake is one of the region's five Diamond Lakes, known for their crystal clear waters. The lake flows from the Caddo River in western Arkansas and spans 13,500 surface acres.
Nearby Attractions
The DeGray Lake Resort State Park offers golf courses, tennis courts, horseback riding trails and more along the 207 miles of lake shoreline. The Ouachita National Forest and Hot Springs National Park are both located nearby.
What the agency tells you
Charging of an entrance fee is restricted,Title 36, CFR 327.24 b. Please refer to the link for rules and regulations. click here
It is understood that the above named group will abide by all posted regulations and restrictions applicable to Vicksburg District Recreational Areas. The group will be responsible for cleanup of the area and facilities during and after the period occupied by them. It is understood that lessee will bear cost of repair or replacement of all damaged property resulting from abuse or negligence. If facilities are left unclean, littered, and/or in a disorderly manner, the ranger may issue a citation to the group’s representative and possibly restrict the group from future use.
It is understood that the above named facilities are made available on a “use at your own risk” basis. The Vicksburg District will not be held liable for personal injuries or loss of or damage to private property unless resulting from negligence on the part of the Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
Security arrangements will be the responsibility of the group reserving the facilities.
It will be the lessee’s responsibility to furnish all desired kitchen utensils, linens, sheets, pillows, bedrolls, air mattresses, and related supplies.
Quiet hours shall be maintained during the hours of 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. The operation or use of any audio or any noise producing devices in such manners as to unreasonable annoy or endanger persons is prohibited.
All fires will be confined to fire rings or grills designed for this purpose.
The permittee will not cut any trees or remove any natural vegetation or other materials from the area. Firewood may be collected from dead material on the ground.
Tents and RV’s are prohibited in the area.
Vehicles shall be operated and parked only at designated locations.GOLFCARTS, 4 WHEELERS and/or other ATV’s are prohibited.
All vessels must be launched at a designated boat ramp facility.
Repairs to facilities and/or ground maintenance are normally scheduled during non-occupancy periods;however, the government reserves the right to perform repairs and/or maintenance at any time, without prior notification of occupants.
TV and Sound Receiver remotes shall be placed in the specific holder. If remotes are missing, the above named group will be held accountable for the cost of replacement plus labor as well as any cords/cable/wires/TV/speakers/receiver damaged or missing. Repair/Replace costs will be determined by Lake Manager.
Check out is at 10:00 am, check in is at 3:00 pm. (NO EXCEPTIONS).
The key for the Facility should be picked up at the Visitor Center between 2:30 pm & 4:30 pm. Check out inspection forms will be provided and must be completed upon checkout. Inspection form should be left on the counter for a Ranger to inspect. Deposit key in black box near entrance gate upon departure. Please call Visitor Center to check out. Call 870-246-5501 with any questions.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group, 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric, 1 water
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- SHOWERS on 1 of 1 campsite records, Shower/Bath Type states a shower on all 1 of this campground's campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…150 people. 3. Restrooms and showers. 4. Drinking fountain. 5. Jug filler fountains. 6. Group size grill. 7.…”
- Playground
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, Lake, River, Creek, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Kayaking
- Water access
- Wildlife viewing
- Cell signal · Cell signal · Army Corps says
- Yes
Something open on 12 of the next 24 bookable nightsread 15:28 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBookedNot reservable
The one site on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday, and on four midweek nights after it as well. read 15:28 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
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 · 11
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
recreation.gov availability, read 15:28 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
| 1 | Oak Bower Cabins | group shelter electric | 15 amp | yes | 194 ft |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Arlie Moore1.2 mi
Caddo Drive2.1 mi
Edgewood2.5 mi
Alpine Ridge2.6 mi
Shouse Ford3.8 mi
Point Cedar5.9 miFrom Interstate 30, take exit 78 and merge onto State Highway 7 north for 9 miles. Turn left onto Arlie Moore Road for 1.1 miles. Turn right onto Chestnut Dr for 1.4 miles. Turn left onto Oak Bower Rd and follow into Group Use Area.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bismarck, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 52°F, day 75°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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
Oak Bower Group Use 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 →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“the agency's own site records list "CELL PHONE SERVICE" on 1 of 1 campsites here”