Tyler Bend Campground
2Heads uppark alerts
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:24 UTC
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 43All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Campers will delight in the picturesque river views at Tyler Bend. Located 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Marshall, Arkansas, Tyler Bend is set on a quiet, peaceful section of the great Buffalo National River. Known as the middle river region, the campground offers tranquil views of the river beside pastures. Keep reading
Recreation
Small-mouth bass, catfish and sunfish are the most popular fish to catch on the Buffalo River, but visitors should be aware that an Arkansas fishing license is required to fish anywhere on the river. The middle river location also allows for extended seasons for kayaking and tubing. If there's enough rain, the sports can go through mid- to late summer. Get a dose of history by hiking to the Collier Homestead, a restored Ozark dwelling from the 1930's. The homestead remembers one of the homes built by settlers in response to the Homestead Act of 1862. 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 The Tyler Bend Visitor Center is open year-round and has interesting exhibits on the history of flora and fauna in the Buffalo National River area. It's the primary visitor center for the region and provides several educational programs in the auditorium. The campground has 10 walk-in and 28 drive-in sites available, plus a day-use pavilion and five group sites.
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.
Nearby Attractions
The Buffalo River Trail is accessible from the Collier trailhead parking area. This trail joins the Ozark Highlands Trail at Woolum, 14 miles (22.5 km) upstream from Tyler Bend.
Charges & Cancellations
Rules and Reservation Policies
What the agency tells you
The facility is available for camping free of charge outside of the reservation season, generally November 15th to March 14th every year.
The Tyler Bend Pavilion has electricity, water, and flush restrooms available.
All campers must register at the registration station, located near the entrance to the drive-in loop, upon arrival.
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Generators are only allowed to operate from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm.
Climbing and/or diving from the bluffs is dangerous and highly discouraged.
Do not swim alone during high water.
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.
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.
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 vist 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 doing business at Buffalo National River, visit the Doing Business With The Park web page.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 43 · 15 tent-only, 5 group
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- 15 of 43
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - year round
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- SHOWERS on 43 of 44 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Stay limit
- 30 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- River Trips
- Swimming
- Visitor center
- Cell signal · Cell signal · Park Service says
- Yes
9 of 86 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:24 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.
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 · 16
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 16:24 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
44 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 43 mapped sitesAll 44 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 44 of the 44 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. 42 of the 44 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.
| Group Sites | G1 | group tent only area nonelectric | 127 ft | 386 ftBuffalo River | 423 ft | $50 | |
| Group Sites | G2 | group tent only area nonelectric | 127 ft | 355 ftBuffalo River | 297 ft | $50 | |
| Group Sites | G3 | group tent only area nonelectric | 127 ft | 302 ftBuffalo River | 174 ft | $50 | |
| Group Sites | G4 | group tent only area nonelectric | 159 ft | 263 ftBuffalo River | 134 ft | $50 | |
| Group Sites | G5 | group tent only area nonelectric | 159 ft | 201 ftBuffalo River | 291 ft | $50 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 01 | type not stated | 460 ft | 335 ft | |||
| Main Loop | Site# 02 | standard nonelectric | 82 ft | 515 ftBuffalo River | 410 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 03 | standard nonelectric | 62 ft | 441 ftBuffalo River | 431 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 04 | standard nonelectric | 53 ft | 388 ftBuffalo River | 450 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 05 | standard nonelectric | 39 ft | 363 ftBuffalo River | 446 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 06 | standard nonelectric | 44 ft | 349 ftBuffalo River | 432 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 07 | standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 428 ft | 314 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 08 | standard nonelectric | 95 ft | 406 ftBuffalo River | 359 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 09 | standard nonelectric | 39 ft | 336 ftBuffalo River | 458 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 10 | standard nonelectric | 104 ft | 302 ftBuffalo River | 462 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 11 | standard nonelectric | 95 ft | 323 ftBuffalo River | 436 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 12 | standard nonelectric | 110 ft | 213 ftBuffalo River | 545 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 13 | standard nonelectric | 78 ft | 206 ftBuffalo River | 580 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 14 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 282 ftBuffalo River | 503 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 15 | standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 210 ftBuffalo River | 595 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 16 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 321 ftBuffalo River | 482 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 17 | standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 253 ftBuffalo River | 590 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 18 | standard nonelectric | 91 ft | 337 ftBuffalo River | 555 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 19 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 394 ft | 424 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 20 | standard nonelectric | 82 ft | 408 ft | 480 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 21 | standard nonelectric | 82 ft | 328 ft | 413 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 22 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 216 ft | 296 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 23 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 278 ft | 313 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 24 | standard nonelectric | 102 ft | 145 ft | 173 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 25 | standard nonelectric | 95 ft | 247 ft | 235 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 26 | standard nonelectric | 115 ft | 282 ft | 203 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 27 | standard nonelectric | 109 ft | 306 ft | 185 ft | $20 | |
| Main Loop | Site# 28 | standard nonelectric | 109 ft | 385 ft | 259 ft | $20 | |
| Pavilion | Pavilion | day use | 484 ft | 471 ftBuffalo River | 139 ft | $50 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: A | tent only nonelectric | 71 ft | 278 ftBuffalo River | 588 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: B | tent only nonelectric | 71 ft | 285 ftBuffalo River | 627 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: C | tent only nonelectric | 79 ft | 205 ftBuffalo River | 716 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: D | tent only nonelectric | 79 ft | 216 ftBuffalo River | 761 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: E | tent only nonelectric | 134 ft | 265 ftBuffalo River | 813 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: F | tent only nonelectric | yes | 95 ft | 313 ftBuffalo River | 890 ft | $20 |
| Tent only | Walk-in: G | tent only nonelectric | 95 ft | 345 ftBuffalo River | 938 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: H | tent only nonelectric | 100 ft | 362 ftBuffalo River | 1,015 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: I | tent only nonelectric | 97 ft | 411 ftBuffalo River | 1,063 ft | $20 | |
| Tent only | Walk-in: J | tent only nonelectric | 97 ft | 445 ftBuffalo River | 1,129 ft | $20 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It files it as day use. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
25 of 44 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
WoolumBuffalo National River · 6.6 mi
South MaumeeBuffalo National River · 8.1 mi
Carver Campground8.9 mi
Spring Creek CampgroundBuffalo National River · 11 mi
Buffalo PointBuffalo National River · 13 mi
Buffalo Point CampgroundBuffalo National River · 13 miFrom Springfield, Missouri take U.S. Highway 65 south for 109 miles (175 km); then turn right at Ranger Road (follow signs) and drive another 2 miles (3.2 km) to visitor center and campground.
From Little Rock, Arkansas take Interstate 40 West for 34 miles (55 km), then exit "U.S. 65/Skyline Drive." From here continue on U.S. Highway 65 north for 74 miles (119 km) and turn left at Ranger Road (follow signs) to the visitor center and campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Gilbert, AR
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°F, day 73°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 24°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
Tyler Bend Campground is in Arkansas’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Rick Crawford (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 39 of 44 campsites here”