America’s Camping Report Card
Arkansas
Better than 19% of graded states overall.
Graded on 27,741 written reviews from Arkansas - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades are this state ranked against all other graded states, topic by topic.
What campers praised
- beautiful park350
- beautiful place285
- beautiful campground232
- beautiful area224
- beautiful lake210
What campers warned about
- rainy weather6
- weather conditions6
- hot weather4
- lake level low4
- water level low4
- Praised by
- 46.6%
- Warned by
- 1.5%
- Rank
- Better than 62% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.452 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites208
- great campsite89
- nice campsites89
- large sites73
- nice sites67
What campers warned about
- sites too close together25
- unlevel site19
- sites close together16
- sites not level15
- unlevel sites14
- Praised by
- 36.1%
- Warned by
- 12.0%
- Rank
- Better than 12% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
More campers praised this than complained (36.1% vs 12.0%) — so it doesn’t score as a fail. It lands here because it ranks below most other states on this topic.
Net sentiment +0.240 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- very clean478
- clean418
- well maintained313
- clean bathrooms269
- well kept150
What campers warned about
- grass needed mowing23
- grass not mowed22
- bathrooms not cleaned14
- dirty bathrooms13
- bathrooms could be cleaner11
- Praised by
- 32.3%
- Warned by
- 10.5%
- Rank
- Better than 17% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
More campers praised this than complained (32.3% vs 10.5%) — so it doesn’t score as a fail. It lands here because it ranks below most other states on this topic.
Net sentiment +0.218 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- fishing93
- hiking trails55
- good fishing52
- great fishing52
- playground for kids38
What campers warned about
- not much to do8
- fishing not biting4
- fishing was slow4
- swim areas closed4
- bank fishing3
- Praised by
- 23.2%
- Warned by
- 1.7%
- Rank
- Better than 19% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
More campers praised this than complained (23.2% vs 1.7%) — so it doesn’t score as a fail. It lands here because it ranks below most other states on this topic.
Net sentiment +0.215 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff240
- friendly and helpful staff80
- very friendly staff72
- friendly hosts59
- friendly people57
What campers warned about
- no camp host13
- no attendant present9
- rude camp host6
- no camp host present5
- rude attendants4
- Praised by
- 24.4%
- Warned by
- 4.1%
- Rank
- Better than 43% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
More campers praised this than complained (24.4% vs 4.1%) — so it doesn’t score as a fail. It lands here because it ranks below most other states on this topic.
Net sentiment +0.203 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet643
- very quiet271
- quiet campground215
- quiet atmosphere205
- quiet and peaceful183
What campers warned about
- sites very close together17
- road noise11
- sites close together9
- train noise at night8
- barking dogs6
- Praised by
- 16.5%
- Warned by
- 6.6%
- Rank
- Better than 81% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.099 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bathrooms and showers115
- restrooms and showers108
- full hookups87
- hot showers77
- bathrooms60
What campers warned about
- no water hookups41
- no sewer hookups28
- no cell service25
- no full hookups24
- no showers24
- Praised by
- 22.6%
- Warned by
- 15.6%
- Rank
- Better than 10% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
More campers praised this than complained (22.6% vs 15.6%) — so it doesn’t score as a fail. It lands here because it ranks below most other states on this topic.
Net sentiment +0.069 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly47
- friendly people39
- friendly campers17
- friendly neighbors14
- family atmosphere11
What campers warned about
- disabled vet treated unfairly2
- less family friendly2
- patrons were not friendly2
- access for handicap campers1
- anti-american hostility1
- Praised by
- 2.9%
- Warned by
- 0.3%
- Rank
- Better than 57% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.027 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- great price22
- good price14
- affordable12
- reasonable price12
- very affordable9
What campers warned about
- paid full price3
- waste of money3
- better campgrounds available2
- bill too steep2
- budget problems implied2
- Praised by
- 3.1%
- Warned by
- 1.8%
- Rank
- Better than 55% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.013 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- close to town76
- easy access44
- close to home36
- easy to find25
- convenient location21
What campers warned about
- no cell service18
- hard to find6
- limited cell service5
- far from stores4
- remote location4
- Praised by
- 6.9%
- Warned by
- 7.6%
- Rank
- Better than 24% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.007 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- felt safe32
- safe19
- felt very safe9
- well patrolled8
- safe environment6
What campers warned about
- did not feel safe6
- no cell service4
- very dark at night4
- dead tree fell on camper3
- flash flooding risk3
- Praised by
- 1.7%
- Warned by
- 3.2%
- Rank
- Better than 21% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.014 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy check-in20
- easy reservations10
- already booked next trip5
- easy online booking5
- check-in easy4
What campers warned about
- hard to get a spot5
- check-in confusion4
- hard to get a reservation3
- hard to get a site3
- hard to reserve3
- Praised by
- 1.9%
- Warned by
- 3.4%
- Rank
- Better than 57% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.015 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- pet friendly26
- dog friendly16
- dog-friendliness4
- dog-friendly3
- quiet hours respected3
What campers warned about
- quiet hours not enforced9
- dogs off leash8
- rules not enforced6
- burn ban5
- burn ban in effect4
- Praised by
- 0.6%
- Warned by
- 3.3%
- Rank
- Better than 76% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.028 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no mosquitoes7
- almost zero bugs2
- bugs not bad in july2
- free from insects2
- howling coyotes2
What campers warned about
- ants everywhere12
- ants infestation8
- fire ants8
- ticks everywhere8
- fire ants everywhere7
- Praised by
- 0.4%
- Warned by
- 4.8%
- Rank
- Better than 67% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.044 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 27,741 written reviews, 77% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Arkansas and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained. Then we rank that against every other graded state and assign a letter grade on a curve (A = top vs other states, F = bottom vs other states).
The letter is bounded by what campers actually felt: a topic most campers praised won’t score a D or F, and one most campers complained about won’t score an A or B. Within those bounds, the curve — how it ranks against other states — sets the exact grade. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded. Scores are smoothed toward the national average (shrinkage k=500) so small samples can’t swing a grade, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval. The overall grade weights each topic by how often campers actually raise it.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v2-curve-shrink-k500-sniff-floor | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.