Tar Camp
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 11 mi
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:04 UTC
- A night
- $26From, per site
- Sites
- 45All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Tar Camp Park is situated near Pool 5 Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River. The campground is known for its beauty and first-class fishing. Whether camping, fishing, boating or just relaxing in the sun, this area provides something for everyone. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground is popular among fishermen. There is excellent catfish fishing in the tail-waters of Joe Hardin Lock and Dam as well as Emmitt Sanders Lock and Dam at the upstream end of Pool 3. Anglers often catch bass, crappie and bream. Hunting is available in nearby forests, and there is duck hunting on the waterways. On shore, families enjoy picnicking and using the playground.
Facilities
Tar Camp Campground offers more than 50 sites, most with electric and water hookups. Each campsite has a movable lamp post and grill, as well as campfire rings and picnic tables. Two large group picnic shelters that can each accommodate up to 60 people each can be reserved for day use. A rock climbing wall and basketball court provide additional recreation opportunities.
Natural Features
The park is in a forested area along the riverfront, close to the rolling fields of cotton farms. It is 193 feet above sea level; winters are generally mild and summer temperatures reach the upper 90s with high humidity. Red fox are frequently seen in the park, and numerous species of waterfowl live in the water and along the shores.
Nearby Attractions
Little Rock, the state capital and largest city in Arkansas, is only a short drive away and offers many amenities and cultural attractions. The nearby town of Pine Bluff is the home for the Arkansas Railroad Museum, Pine Bluff Regional Park, the Martha Mitchell Home and other points of interest, as well as shopping and groceries.
What the agency tells you
Camping outside of the reservation season is first-come, first-served
Campground hosts are on duty 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Please check in at the gatehouse upon arrival
Everything else this campground posts · 3
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.
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.
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
- 45
- Hookups
- 45 electric, 45 water
- Longest rig
- 98 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 45
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Playground
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Boating
- Hunting
- Night sky · 145th darkest of 158 in AR
- Bortle 4
28 of 82 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:04 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
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.
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 16:04 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
47 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 47 mapped sitesAll 47 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 45 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.
| D | D-01 | standard electric | 34 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 128 ft | 225 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-02 | standard electric | 45 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 116 ft | 98 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-03 | standard electric | 42 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 69 ft | 18 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-04 | standard electric | 48 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 69 ft | 30 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-05 | standard electric | 63 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 52 ft | 46 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-06 | standard electric | 56 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 52 ft | 59 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-07 | standard electric | 51 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 56 ft | 89 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-08 | standard electric | 60 ft | 50 amp | yes | 77 ft | 155 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-09 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | yes | 87 ft | 199 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-10 | standard electric | 68 ft | 50 amp | yes | 62 ft | 159 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-11 | standard electric | 59 ft | 50 amp | yes | 62 ft | 147 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-12 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | yes | 131 ft | 127 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-13 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | yes | 69 ft | 133 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-14 | standard electric | 79 ft | 50 amp | yes | 67 ft | 124 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-15 | standard electric | 98 ft | 50 amp | yes | 67 ft | 93 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-16 | standard electric | 44 ft | 50 amp | yes | 69 ft | 88 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-17 | standard electric | 46 ft | 50 amp | yes | 69 ft | 74 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-18 | standard electric | 74 ft | 50 amp | yes | 55 ft | 111 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-19 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | yes | 55 ft | 109 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-20 | standard electric | 87 ft | 50 amp | yes | 71 ft | 145 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-21 | standard electric | 70 ft | 50 amp | yes | 66 ft | 87 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| D | D-22 | standard electric | 49 ft | 50 amp | yes | 66 ft | 88 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-10 | standard electric | 42 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 66 ft | 76 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-11 | standard electric | 51 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 66 ft | 81 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-12 | standard electric | 58 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 48 ft | 82 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-13 | standard electric | 42 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 48 ft | 43 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-14 | standard electric | 33 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 83 ft | 48 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-15 | standard electric | 46 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 70 ft | 71 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-16 | standard electric | 55 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 65 ft | 67 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-17 | standard electric | 48 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 65 ft | 67 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-18 | standard electric | 50 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 76 ft | 56 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-19 | standard electric | 35 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 60 ft | 51 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-20 | standard electric | 37 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 58 ft | 57 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-21 | standard electric | 50 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 100 ft | 137 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-22 | standard electric | 36 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 58 ft | 74 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-23 | standard electric | 38 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 82 ft | 99 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-24 | standard electric | 36 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 73 ft | 263 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-25 | standard electric | 36 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 63 ft | 245 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | A-26 | standard electric | 36 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 63 ft | 236 ftArkansas River | $26 |
| TCAM | C-05 | standard electric | 30 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 193 ft | 22 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | C-06 | standard electric | 56 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 55 ft | 45 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | C-07 | standard electric | 39 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 55 ft | 41 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | C-08 | standard electric | 46 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 63 ft | 68 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | C-09 | standard electric | 39 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 63 ft | 58 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | C-10 | standard electric | 37 ft | 20/30/50 amp | yes | 90 ft | 109 ft | $26 |
| TCAM | S-01 | day use | 15 amp | yes | 760 ft | 247 ftArkansas River | $75 | |
| TCAM | S-02 | day use | 15 amp | yes | 760 ft | 143 ftArkansas River | $75 |
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.
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.
25 of 47 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Willow Beach17 mi
Rising Star29 mi
Maumelle32 mi
Toad Suck50 miLake Sylvia Recreation AreaOuachita National Forest · 50 miFrom Redfield, Arkansas, take State Route 46 east to State Route 365. Turn left and go 1 block, then turn right and drive 4 miles to Tar Camp Park. Follow signs into the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Redfield, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 51°F, day 74°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 31°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
Tar Camp 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 →