Pendleton Bend Campground

We came here on a February weekday to try it out for one night. You need to check in online for a site. No pay post or envelopes for any first come first serve sites.

The friendly host at the gatehouse (if available) will help you reserve....or a direct oldfashioned landline phone located outside on the wall at the gate house will connect you to staff at recreation.gov

We liked it so much after one night, we went online and booked for seven more nights.

Three sites in the C loop are along the Arkansas River, and in our opinion the best sites in the park. Each one has a raised patio deck area with railing around, pergola covered cement picnic tables and nice fire rings. Each site has electric and water. Some sites are 30 amp, some sites are 50 amp.

The rest of the sites are across the road in the woods with easier access to the bath/shower house. There's also a playground area in day use picnic area with additional bathrooms. Large parking lot for access to boat ramp and garbage dumpster.

Viewing of big barges going down the river on their way out to the Mississippi is very interesting and they are very quiet. Not a disruption or disturbance.

Some vehicle traffic on road going through the park to the dam and the other campground further to the east. But not excessive.

Broadcast TV antenna pulls in approximately 9 stations, substations with retro sit coms or police crime shows.

LTE coverage in two to three bar range on my roaming cell phone with a Wisconsin plan. Husband's Verizon cell phone pulls in 2 to 3 bars 4G coverage. Enough to stream movies or upload photos.

We used our America the Beautiful Senior Access pass for half price, which brought it from $24 down to $12 for the prime waterfront sites in the C loop.

Stock up on your groceries and beverages before you come, no local shopping or stores within a reasonable distance. DeWitt to the north or Dumas to the south are the nearest cities with any type of conveniences. Camper and RV Propane available in DeWitt at Blue Seal Petroleum.

Sites are spaced generosly apart with level cement parking pads and grassy areas, as well as some shade trees along the waterfront. The rest of the campground is shaded and sites are a little closer together. We noticed some sites have water spigots spaced quite a distance from the center pads, so bring an extra hose. Dump station at entrance to the park.

We are here in February 2024 with a lot of beautiful birds singing and an occasional fisherman out on the river. Only three other campers in the campground besides the host.

Traveling in a Winnebago View 25-ft motorhome and cargo trailer.

We stayed here for a one night stopover. Arkansas 212 was a very rough and narrow road, yes it is driveable but it is not pleasant.

The actual campground was great, we were the only camper there beside the host (who was very helpful and kind), it was absolutely beautiful and very quiet. We took one of the three spots nearest the river, they are big and the view can't be beat. C-2 had 50amp, C1 & C3 have 30amp. We took a walk around the whole campground and didn't really see a site that looked bad. Cell service is very spotty we had enough to do some streaming but not much else. We would likely stay here again if we were driving through!

Nice campground. We got here in late afternoon, hardly anyone here. As I’ve read in reviews in other apps, the C01-03 sites on the slight rise to the left, right by the Arkansas River, are the prime spots IMHO. Bathrooms and showers are across the road in the B loop. No attendant on duty, but we did see a ranger patrolling from time to time. We were able to reserve and pay online at Recreation.gov. Occasional tugboat pushing barges up or down the river. :-) We barely had 1 bar of 4G/LTE for ATT, and even that dropped out occasionally. Bathrooms & showers looked clean. There is a good sized dumpster in the day-use area by the boat ramp.

If you like remote and not used by other RVers, this spot is for you.
PROs:
* 50A electric and water at sites in the A loop;
* 3 sites on Arkansas River in C loop had 30A electric but lack of shade for summer camping;
* Large shade trees at most sites in A loop and level.

CONs:
* No personnel for check in and only saw a 'COE' park truck once;
* Very remote and no RVers, fishermen or boaters;
* no dumpsters for refuse but did find one garage can by the showers, filled with building debrie and beer bottles;
* the shower facility was being worked on during the two days (roofing?) so didn't feel comfortable using facilities;
* no biking or walking trails;
* we use over the air antennae and there was no channels.