Sam A Baker State Park

Clean bathrooms with hot water. Shaded camp sites. We had electrical hook up. The river was too low to kayak so we just played in the water which had some deep areas. You will wander water shoes as the river is all rocks. There are several hikes that look like fun but it was hot and not enough time. You will not have cell services in the campground.

As a senior citizen, I qualified for a nightly discount. We stayed in Campground 1, family site 095, which is in a large, shaded area directly across from the showers/restrooms and the water spigot. The water had a definite "taste", but we brought bottled water for drinking. I will bring my gravity water filter the next time. Because of limited space I had left it at home. There is shallow water access a short walk on paved areas on two sides or a swimming area a short drive or longer walk away. There are several hiking/biking and equestrian trails throughout the park. The park has scheduled activities on weekends, which were quite interesting. We definitely plan to come back but I will try to get an electric site the next time. Because of the heavy shade I was unable to use my solar panel to charge my power station, which runs my portable refrigerator. Minor inconvenience, ice is available at the camp store, but it's one of my few "luxuries"! Beware of the masked bandits (racoons) who will visit your camp during the night and raid your food supply! Food needs to be locked up securely in a car. We didn't see any bears, but we saw a lot of deer and even had a couple of deer looking at us from the woods as we sat around the campfire at night. It is also tick season so use insect repellent. All in all, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and we could have spent more time here.

Very old beautiful CCC park.

Campground #1 on the banks of the Big Creek where it meets the St Francis River is a nice roomy campground with easy access to a large area of stoney beach near the boat ramp. The sites are shaded by large trees and come in many sizes.We had no trouble parking our 38 foot toy hauler. The shower house is well maintained but there are no benches in the showers so bring a chair or stool to keep your clothes off the damp floor.

Campground #2 is near access to the Big Creek and the Store/Grill. The sites are closer together here but there are many with shade and some that a big rig can back into. The water accesses are packed on the weekend by campers and the locals bringing their kids to enjoy the water, so get a parking spot early and plan to stay all day. The store stocks all of the camp basics and some gift items. The grill has good sized menu of grill food in good sized portions so no need to waste time cooking.

There are many trails for hiking, horses and bicycles.The equestrian camping area of the park has not been updated in 100 years. One vault toilet and 6 hitching posts. Major update needed.

NO phone or WiFi signal for MILES.