John F. Kennedy Campground

This was our first time to stay at a Corps of Engineers campground & we were impressed. We were here over a weekend so each site was occupied plus there were day visitors for the famous fishing. Our site was huge, level, shady, & backed up to some woods with plenty of grass & trees all around. Some of the other sites are a little more closely spaced. Overall, it has a nice family feel to it- like the REAL campgrounds I remember as a kid tent-camping. In addition to the beautiful cold, clean river, there are a few fun little trails into the woods & a playground for the kids. The trout hatchery is within walking distance and the dam overlook & a visitors center are a short drive away. It's also a quick drive to Walmart but you feel like you are really out in the woods while at JFK. One bathhouse with showers is newer & nicer than the other but they are all just OK. Make your reservations early & bring your fishing tackle!!

This COE campground is located just below the Greers Ferry Dam in Heber Springs, Ar. Most of the sites are typical water and electricity sites however there are sites with 30 amp service only. Our site was electric only. The dump station is located at the park entrance and there are several fresh water fill sites located throughout the park. Camp sites in A sector are generally along the Little Red River with B and C sections across the road from th River. Section D is there newest section and the sites are level, paved and spaced decently from each other. We liked this section due to lack of traffic, nice shaded sites, and newer bathhouse.

I used to stay at JFK Campground in Heber Springs, AR when I was a kid. Very little has changed since then, typical of a COE campground (that isn't necessarily a bad thing). It's on the lower side of the Greers Ferry Dam and the trout fishing is excellent. The facilities are a little older but very clean, except the usual weekenders influx hits. Still not bad, though.

During the week, it isn't very busy at all and you can usually get a prime spot with no trouble at all. Fridays and Saturdays get very busy and the place fills up very quickly. We lucked up and got our spot on a Saturday with some help from John at the front gate - he is super-nice and will do whatever he can to help you out.

Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, lantern post, and a curbside trash can. The cans fill up quickly since they are only emptied weekly, but there are plenty of them scattered around the park so it isn't a big deal.

The dump station is in a bit of a weird spot with a hard right turn required to get into it, but I did it in a 31' class A and had plenty of room. A 40'er could probably do it with no problem.

Cell phone service is near nothing because the park is way down in a valley below the dam. 1 bar on AT&T and T-Mobile if you're lucky and 4G at best. We have a WeBoost and that gave us a bit more. With the booster, it is usable to stream Netflix on one TV and I was able to work using it (VPN, GotoMeeting, etc).

We'll definitely be back and would recommend this park to anyone.