ReservableBookable through April 16; tomorrow opens April 17.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:06 UTC
A night
$26From, per site
Sites
41All of them booked ahead
83 ftLongest rig
330 ftElevation
434 ftWater · Arkansas River
In townRussellville, AR
66%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 3 notices

In the agency’s own words

Download an Old Post park map HERE Old Post Road is a camping hotspot at Dardanelle Lake, with numerous opportunities for boating, biking, hiking and birding. The river valley is a favorite winter destination for bald eagles. Keep reading

Recreation

Boating and fishing are the top activities, and a boat ramp is provided for convenient lake access. Soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts offer additional recreation opportunities, and a biking trail also starts at the campground.

Facilities

The 37 reservable campsites offer have water and electric hookups. A playground and multiple picnic areas make the park perfect for families and parties.

Natural Features

Perched between the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests, Dardanelle Lake creates an excellent setting for nature lovers. The lake, sourced by the Arkansas River, spans 40,000 acres and boasts 315 miles of shoreline. A variety of hardwoods surround the lake shore.

Nearby Attractions

The nearby Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge offers excellent wildlife viewing and photography.

What the agency tells you

Rule

NOTICE: Group Shelters are open for reservations. Please follow all applicable CDC, State, and local guidelines regarding public health and safety. SPECIAL EVENT APPLICATION REQUIREMENT The Special Event Application can be found under the Facility Information tab, Additional Information sub-tab. A Special Event Application is required for any event that includes one or more of the following: - An entry, spectator, or participant fee is charged. - Anticipated attendance of 100 or more persons. - An extraordinary impact on project resources is expected. - Additional Corps personnel support is required, including patrols, surveillance, refuse collection, and/or crowd control. - The event involves concession tents and/or vendors. - The event involves bounce houses or inflatable amusement devices. - Fishing tournaments. - Music festivals. Once completed, the Special Event Application must be submitted via email to rv.ceswl-rv@usace.army.mil for review and approval. In addition to the Special Event Application, applicants may be required to provide the following before approval can be granted: - Proof of liability insurance - Event details and description - Schedule of events - Parking plans PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES Livestock, exotic animals, explosives, loaded projectile firing devices, piñatas, water balloons, and commercial activities are prohibited on project lands unless written permission has been received from the District Commander. If commercial tents are approved as part of a special event, driving tent stakes into concrete or asphalt surfaces on project lands is prohibited. For additional information regarding Special Event Applications and Permit Fees, please contact the Russellville Project Office at (501) 340-1762.

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.

Rule

For Aquatic Facilities (Lake, Reservoir, or River Recreation): CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec.     •For Terrestrial Facilities (Trailheads or Campsites): STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec .    For Combined Aquatic and Terrestrial Facilities (Trailheads or Campsites with Lake, Reservoir, or River Recreation): STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec.

Tents and rigs

Sites
41
Hookups
41 electric, 40 water
Longest rig
83 ft
Paved pads
All
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Dump station
Yes
recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp
Yes
Playground
Yes
Stay limit
28 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, River, Beach
Birding
Boating
Disc Golf
Fishing
Mountain biking
Soccer Fields
Visitor center
Night sky · 149th darkest of 158 in AR
Bortle 4
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

7 of 88 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:06 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBooked

Booking window6 months outBookable now through April 16, 2027. Tomorrow at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 17, 2027.recreation.gov
Max stay28 nights2-night minimum on weekendsthe facility record
A night$26plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$60DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A night$26
Standard Electric 50 Amp$26
Group areas, a night$35–$75
Rates for the season the campground is in now, Jan 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
One nightDerived$34
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$60

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $26 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.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

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 · 5

recreation.gov availability, read 16:06 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

47 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 47 mapped sites
78 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least roomB03 56 ftB35 56 ftB11 57 ft

2 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.

All 47 records

47 of 47 records located
RV / electric41Day use6
SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 47 of the 47 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 41 of the 47 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.

BB01standard electric47 ft50 amp482 ft154 ft$26
BB02standard electric44 ft50 amp62 ft479 ft198 ft$26
BB03standard electric53 ft50 amp56 ft418 ft328 ft$26
BB04standard electric46 ft50 amp62 ft494 ft231 ft$26
BB05standard electric46 ft50 amp71 ft565 ft214 ft$26
BB06standard electric49 ft50 amp71 ft633 ft182 ft$26
BB07standard electric49 ft50 amp482 ft154 ft$26
BB08standard electric48 ft50 amp97 ft539 ft432 ft$26
BB09standard electric56 ft50 amp76 ft443 ft462 ft$26
BB10standard electric50 ft50 amp65 ft485 ft543 ft$26
BB11standard electric37 ft50 amp57 ft409 ft538 ft$26
BB12standard electric62 ft50 amp58 ft509 ft595 ft$26
BB13standard electric61 ft50 amp58 ft510 ft652 ft$26
BB14standard electric77 ft50 amp71 ft478 ft726 ft$26
BB15standard electric68 ft50 amp71 ft441 ft794 ft$26
BB16standard electric83 ft50 amp72 ft422 ft867 ft$26
BB17standard electric54 ft50 amp76 ft380 ft832 ft$26
BB18standard electric56 ft50 amp76 ft365 ft757 ft$26
BB19standard electric53 ft50 amp82 ft355 ft676 ft$26
BB20standard electric35 ft50 amp111 ft239 ft692 ft$26
BB21standard electric42 ft50 amp82 ft253 ft799 ft$26
BB22standard electric55 ft50 amp82 ft236 ft879 ft$26
BB23standard electric33 ft50 amp96 ft239 ft869 ft$26
BB24standard electric45 ft50 amp84 ft263 ft775 ft$26
BB25standard electric44 ft50 amp81 ft343 ft712 ft$26
BB26standard electric50 ft50 amp77 ft269 ft699 ft$26
BB27standard electric45 ft50 amp70 ft361 ft633 ft$26
BB28standard electric39 ft50 amp77 ft261 ft639 ft$26
BB29standard electric43 ft50 amp57 ft354 ft574 ft$26
BB30standard electric35 ft50 amp78 ft254 ft582 ft$26
BB31standard electric40 ft50 amp81 ft350 ft499 ft$26
BB32standard electric37 ft50 amp79 ft258 ft512 ft$26
BB33standard electric52 ft50 amp79 ft348 ft436 ft$26
BB34standard electric47 ft50 amp75 ft269 ft453 ft$26
BB35standard electric48 ft50 amp56 ft362 ft370 ft$26
BB36standard electric48 ft50 amp75 ft268 ft413 ft$26
BB37standard electric50 ft50 amp84 ft361 ft318 ft$26
BB38standard electric30 ft50 amp86 ft273 ft375 ft$26
BB39standard electric44 ft50 amp81 ft296 ft335 ft$26
BB40standard electric45 ft50 amp81 ft360 ft273 ft$26
BB41standard electric50 ft50 amp96 ft661 ft276 ft$26
GS3day use24 ft50 ampyes160 ft809 ft298 ft$75
GS4day use24 ftyes160 ft940 ft412 ft$35
GS5day use24 ft50 ampyes82 ft262 ft262 ft$75
GS6day use24 ft50 ampyes82 ft255 ft344 ft$75
GS7day use24 ft50 ampyes284 ft744 ft491 ft$75
GS8day use24 ft50 ampyes380 ft639 ft397 ft$75

The agency files 6 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 47 listed

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate35.24722, -93.16250
The phone479-968-7962
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon67°Sunny
Tonight43°Mostly Clear
Saturday68°Sunny
Saturday Night40°Clear

NWS forecast for Russellville, AR

Typical weather

Typical October night 50°F, day 76°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.

100°32°20°

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.

Measured at: DARDANELLE, AR (USC00031838), 0.9 miles away and 40 ft higher

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Bruce Westerman, official portrait

Old Post Road 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 30 of the next 30 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.
Cell signal: the Army Corps’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.