Steel Creek Campground
2Heads uppark alerts
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 4039 on recreation.gov
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Steel Creek Campground is situated along the Buffalo River under the towering and picturesque Roark Bluff. One section of the campground offers 26 walk-in tent sites and another section of the campground offers 13 sites for those camping with horses. All sites are available by reservation only. Steel Creek is located about 3 miles (5 km) east of Ponca, just off Highway 74. Keep reading
Recreation
Paddling conditions in the upper (westernmost) district of Buffalo National River are extremely dependent upon rainfall. On an average year, the upper river is only navigable by boat in the spring and early summer when consistent rainfall feeds into the watershed. Some sections on the upper end of the river are technical and should not be attempted by novices. For current paddling conditions, please check with an outfitter (visit our Guided Services web page ), call the Tyler Bend Visitor Center at 870-439-2502, or check the Buffalo National River Float Guide Dashboard Facilities Steel Creek has 26 tent only sites and 13 sites for campers with horses/stock animals (six people and four stock animals allowed per site). All sites are available by reservations only. There are no electrical amenities or water hookups, but flush restrooms and water spigots are available from approximately March 15 through November 15 each year.
Natural Features
The Buffalo National River flows free over swift running rapids and quiet pools for its 135-mile (217 km) length. One of the few remaining rivers in the lower 48 states without dams, the Buffalo cuts its way through massive limestone bluffs traveling eastward through the Arkansas Ozarks and into the White River. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (870) 439-2502.
Nearby Attractions
The Buffalo River Trail runs through Steel Creek and offers great day hiking or overnight backcountry opportunities. Boxley Valley is nearby and is home to Lost Valley, an easy to moderate trail that leads hikers past geologic and water formations. Visit the park's Hiking Trails web page for more information.. Charges & Cancellations rules and reservation policies
What the agency tells you
All sites at Steel Creek are available by reservation only.
Sites 27 - 39 are equestrian camping sites only for campers with horses.
The facility is available for camping free of charge outside of the reservation season, generally November 15th to March 15th every year.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Climbing and/or diving from the bluffs is dangerous and highly discouraged.
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.
All park trails are closed to pets with the exception of the Buffalo River Trail, only on the section of trail between Ponca and Steel Creek, the Villines Homestead Trail at Ponca, the Mill Creek Trail (trailhead is at the Pruitt river access area in the Upper District), the Tyler Bend Campground trails (Spring Hollow, Buck Ridge, and Rock Wall in the Middle District), and all three Buffalo Point Campground trails (Forest Trail, Overlook Trail, and Campground Trail in the Lower District). For more information visit the Pets page on the park website.
Do not swim alone during high water.
Please be aware that some special events held at the pavilions or anywhere in the park (such as weddings, press receptions, concerts, et al) require a Special Use Permit in addition to the pavilion reservation. To obtain a Special Use Permit or additional information, please contact the Commercial Services office at (870) 365-2724. For more information visit the Special Park Uses page on the park website.
Please be advised that providing business services within an NPS unit is prohibited per CFR 5.3 without a written Authorization or Permit approved by the Superintendent. This includes services such as RV or tent delivery & set-up, firewood sales and delivery, shuttle (transportation) services, and guided hikes, floats, etc. For a list of approved visitor services and to learn more about working with Buffalo National River, please visit the Doing Business with the Park page on the park website.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 40 · 26 tent-only, 13 equestrian
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - seasonal · Vault Toilets - seasonal
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 30 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horse Camping
- Horseback riding
- Kayaking
- Picnicking
- Ranger Station
- Stargazing
- Swimming
8 of 39 sites open on Sat, Oct 17read 14:11 UTC
recreation.gov lists 39 of the 40 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
OpenBooked
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 · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $20 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.
“rules and reservation policies” · 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 14:11 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
40 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 39 mapped sitesAll 40 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 40 of the 40 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. 39 of the 40 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.
| Horse Camp | 27 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 33 ft | 538 ft | 965 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 28 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 31 ft | 552 ft | 935 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 29 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 31 ft | 559 ft | 905 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 30 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 35 ft | 576 ft | 873 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 31 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 35 ft | 590 ft | 841 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 32 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 36 ft | 609 ft | 808 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 33 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 37 ft | 616 ft | 774 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 34 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 37 ft | 613 ft | 740 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 35 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 608 ft | 702 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 36 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 582 ft | 662 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 37 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 596 ft | 610 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 38 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 34 ft | 595 ft | 578 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 39 - Horse Site | equestrian nonelectric | 34 ft | 591 ft | 550 ft | $20 |
| Horse Camp | 40 - Horse Site | type not stated | 587 ft | 517 ft | ||
| Main Loop | 01 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 62 ft | 312 ft | 531 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 02 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 65 ft | 277 ft | 589 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 03 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 62 ft | 250 ft | 531 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 04 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 115 ft | 154 ft | 606 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 05 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 53 ft | 285 ft | 475 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 06 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 53 ft | 257 ft | 434 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 07 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 251 ft | 379 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 08 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 74 ft | 154 ft | 432 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 09 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 220 ft | 347 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 10 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 68 ft | 137 ft | 375 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 11 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 52 ft | 227 ft | 296 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 12 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 135 ft | 317 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 13 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 178 ft | 274 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 14 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 61 ft | 111 ft | 262 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 15 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 65 ft | 191 ft | 210 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 16 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 61 ft | 145 ft | 202 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 17 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 59 ft | 156 ft | 159 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 18 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 59 ft | 97 ft | 216 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 19 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 86 ft | 209 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 20 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 122 ft | 176 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 21 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 67 ft | 77 ft | 239 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 22 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 71 ft | 108 ft | 259 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 23 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 64 ft | 165 ft | 329 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 24 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 64 ft | 214 ft | 364 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 25 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 54 ft | 261 ft | 450 ft | $20 |
| Main Loop | 26 - Tent Site | tent only nonelectric | 54 ft | 307 ft | 492 ft | $20 |
25 of 40 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Kyles Landing CampgroundBuffalo National River · 3.9 mi
Erbie CampgroundBuffalo National River · 7.6 mi
Ozark CampgroundBuffalo National River · 10 mi
Rush Campground17 mi
Carver Campground24 miHaw Creek Falls Point of InterestOzark National Forest · 25 miFrom Fayetteville, Arkansas drive north and take US Highway 412 East for approximately 42 miles (67.5 km) to the intersection with State Highway 21. Take highway 21 South for approximately 17 miles (27 km) to the intersection of State Highway 43. Here, take highway 43 East for about 5 miles (8 km) to the intersection of State Highway 74. Here, turn right onto highway 74 and drive about 2 miles (3.2 km) to Steel Creek Road. Turn left and drive approximately .5 miles (.8 km) down into the campground. At the bottom of the hill the main campground will be to your left and the horse camp will be to your right.
From Little Rock, Arkansas take Interstate 40 West for approximately 93 miles (150 km) to Exit 64. At Exit 64 take Business Highway 64 west through the town of Lamar for about 4 miles (6.5 km) to the intersection of State Highway 21. Take Highway North for about 48 miles (77 km) to the intersection of State Highway 43. Here, take highway 43 East for about 5 miles (8 km) to the intersection of State Highway 74. Here, turn right onto highway 74 and drive about 2 miles (3.2 km) to Steel Creek Road. Turn left and drive approximately .5 miles (.8 km) down into the campground. At the bottom of the hill the main campground will be your left and the horse camp will be on your right.
From Springfield, Missouri take US Highway 65 South for approximately 70 miles (112.6 km) to the town of Harrison. In Harrison, take State Highway 7 South about 1 mile (1.6 km) through downtown Harrison until you come to the intersection of State Highway 43 on your right. Follow highway 43 for about 25 miles (40 km) until to get to the intersection of State Highway 74. Turn left onto highway 74 and drive about 2 miles (3.2 km) to Steel Creek Road. Turn left and drive approximately .5 miles (.8 km) down into the campground. At the bottom of the hill the main campground will be your left and the horse camp will be on your right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Ponca, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 49°F, day 65°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 26°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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Steel Creek Campground 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 →