wordiks12 wrote: No reason in particular on Arkansas, other than I know of no public lands in Texas that are desirable to camp on ...
Ever try Davy Crocket National Park in East Texas? Or the Wilderness Area next to it? Both open to dry camping, heavily wooded with a great 20 mile hiking trail. About the same distance from Dallas as the Talamena area in Ok/Ark.
wordiks12 wrote: No, I sure haven't.. Thanks for the tip.. That might just work!
I should have written Davy Crocket National Forest (not Park). The south end has a formal campground by the lake. I prefer the north end which isn't improved, open to dry camping and has some nice parking spots. Great view from the bluff overlooking the river, especially in the early morning when there's fog coming off the river. There are pit toilets there too. At night if you watch closely you'll see flying squirrels jumping between the trees too. This whole area was once logged so there are logging roads cutting all which ways thru the forest which has now grown back. Because of this there are a number of places where there are clearings open to camping. The Wilderness Area next to the Forest has an oxbow lake on the river so if you're into canoeing you can launch, paddle down the river and come back out at the same point you launched without having to backtrack.
Not trying to put down Arkansas though. There are some fantastic places there, like Pettit Jean State Park. For dry camping the Talamena/Winding Stairs area can't be beat for the forests and hiking trails.
Check Out Quachita National Forest in Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas - never knew Oklahoma was so beautiful - Windy Stair is a great tent campground - no electricity - and on Talimena Drive Scenic Byway - a great scenic drive - if you want electricity go to Cedar Lake - also placeshttp://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/recreation/campgrounds/windingstair.shtml to boondock if you explore
Just returned from a Father's Day visit to East Texas. I did a bit of siteseeing on the return. Winding Stair Campground,Quachita NFS. Kiamichi Mountains on the Talimena Scenic byway, looked fantastic. Great Views all around, nice sites, no hookups. Bathhouse solar powered, but closed for some reason on Monday. Sewer contection for Campground Host, but none there.
Jon in S/W Ohio
2002 Damon Daybreak 2750, Workhorse with 8.1 L,
1999 Jeep Cherokee Toad
Offline
