Beaver Dam Campground

We're full-timers who stayed here for 2 nights in early November. The standard nightly rate is $15, although seniors and disabled vets with the national park pass pay only $9.50.

The sites are all back-in, with a generous long paved pad and a wide gravel space with large table and fire ring. Many of the sites are far from neighbors, surrounded by trees, and nearly all sites have a view of the water.

Shower houses and bathrooms are standard for public parks on national lands. Camp host was very friendly and circles the campground regularly.

This place was ok. My site was very large, although very exposed. Truck and trailer fit with plenty of room to spare but had to disconnect due to upward slope.

Only a few sites here have views of the lake and half the ones that do are right on top of each other. Lots of micro-trash all over my site (cig butts, bottle caps, tissue, wrappers, etc...). Odd host seems a bit territorial, got in his truck and followed me as I looked for a site and sort of acted like the place was full when it was not even close. Locked gates everywhere in early October. No access to dry camping area, day use area closed. No place to enjoy views of the lake. A couple barking dogs from neighbors but overall very quiet.

About 15 minutes from the town of Minden and Hwy 80. Minden is a little rough but has good food. While eating at Louisiana Fried Chicken, I befriended a gentleman who only half jokingly asked why I was 'hanging out in the ghetto'. Nice guy, though. Great chicken.

Best thing about this place was the price. $9.50 for a large site with electric (with pass-- $15 without) is a bargain. But there was a sign at the entrance with proposed rate hikes to $25 for electric (without pass). Hopefully, they use that money to clean the place, open up some lake access and replace their broken picnic tables or it really will not be worth the visit.

Not much Verizon here but went from 1x/3g to 2 bars of 4g with booster.

Beaver Dam Campground is located within the Caney Lakes Recreation Area in the Kisatchie National Forest. It consists of one loop containing 29 back-in sites with asphalt driveways. Nine of the 29 sites backup to the Upper Caney Lake. All of the sites have water and 50 amp power connections. There are no pull-thru sites. Flush toilets and showers are located in two locations within the campground. The first area is near site #13. The second area is near site #21. Both locations include parking for a few cars. The showers are free. The toilets and showers are in acceptable condition but could use some updating. Groups of trash cans are located throughout the campground.

We stayed at site #16 during our three night stay. The spacing between our site and adjacent sites was very generous. The site included a fire pit with a grate for grilling and a wood picnic table. Connections included a dual hose bid for water and 15, 30, and 50 amp power connections. There is no dump station within the campground but there is one near the entrance and exit to the recreation area about one mile away. The water pressure was about 40 PSI. The nightly rate was $15. With an America the Beautiful pass, the nightly rate would have been $9.50. The fee was payable in cash at the pay station at the entrance to the campground.

The length of our back-in driveway was probably 100 feet. We were able to fit our 39 foot motor home and Ford Edge without any problems and still have sufficient space for another couple of vehicles. Although none of the other sites had as long a driveway, I think that most of them could accommodate our motor home and tow vehicle.

Our site was relatively flat in all directions. Many of the other sites appeared to be the same.

During our Monday to Wednesday stay in early June, the campground was about 10% full. In general, the days and nights were quiet. Quiet hours were from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. In the early morning hours, it is possible to hear some road traffic from nearby state route 159 which is a two lane road. The campground is under the flight path of the adjacent Minden Airport. During our stay, I don't think there were more than a dozen flights per day during daylight hours. The planes were single or dual propeller type planes. There were no large commercial flights.

Upper Caney Lake has a fishing boat ramp about a half mile away. During our stay, I didn't see more than one boat on the lake at a time.

The day use area of the Caney Lakes Recreation Area is about one mile away on Lower Caney Lake. It includes a fishing pier, boat ramp for both fishing and water skiing, man-made swimming beach area, and numerous covered picnic tables. There are a couple of different hiking trails thought the recreation area.

The wildlife we saw was limited to a few different bird species, rabbits, squirrels, and deer. Upper Caney Lake is reported to have one alligator. We didn't see it.

The nearest town with the typical services (Walmart, gas, groceries, etc.) is Minden which is about 15 minutes away.

The roads that lead to the entrance to the campground were in good condition. The road within the campground was a single lane that was in good condition with very few low hanging branches.