Stephens Park to be upgraded to ‘premier’ campground

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to upgrade the camping area at Stephens Park, located on Lake Hamilton just below Blakely Mountain Dam, to a “premier” Class A campground.

Stephens Park Campground will be temporarily closed for the maintenance upgrades, according to Amy Shultz, a natural resource specialist with the Lake Ouachita Field Office. Stephens will be open for camping on or before May 1, after the upgrades are completed.

Stephens Park day-use area, including the pavilion and playground, will remain open during that time. Crystal Springs and Denby Point campgrounds on Lake Ouachita are currently open for camping.

Water, sewer, and 50-amp electrical service will be installed at all nine campsites at Stephens Park, along with two nightwatcher security lights.

Stephens was previously a Class B campground — it did not have a dump station or water to the sites, and only had 30-amp electrical service, according to Shultz.

Once the upgrades are complete, Stephens Park Campground will be the only Corps of Engineers campground on the Ouachita project that offers sewer to each site, she said.

“The other Class A campgrounds only have sewer hookups on campground hosts (workers) sites — not to the individual camper sites. They have dump stations in each campground,” Shultz said.

“This is the reason the prices will be higher at Stephens than our other campgrounds,” she said.

The current charge to stay at Stephens is $14 per night.

Camping fees will increase to $30 per night when the renovations are complete. The fee will be $15 per night with America the Beautiful discount cards or Golden Age/Access cards.

“It was probably going to increase a little this season, though, as most of our campsite prices are increasing a few dollars per night,” Shultz said.

Fee increases occur every few years to keep up with price increases in utilities and material costs, she said.

Brady Mountain, Joplin Park, Tompkins Bend, and Little Fir campgrounds will open for the season March 1.

All camping will be on firstcome, first-served basis until May 1, when the reservation season begins. Reservations can be made by visiting https://www. recreation.gov/ or by calling 877-444-6777.

Call the Corps of Engineers’ Lake Ouachita Field Office at 501767-2101 for more information.