Use of the park and it's campsites and facilities here requires payment of fees. Day use and overnight camping fees are nominal, however, and well-worth every penny.
A main pavilion, complete with bathrooms and shower facilities (without heated water, however), is available, too. A dock extends from the lake's shore, and another is situated outside a designated swimming area, just a few breaststrokes beyond the swimming area's outer border.
I grew up spending summertime weekends here with my family. This is a fantastic place to visit with your family or with friends and it's also well-suited to small groups. Ample camping spaces accommodate both tents, campers and smaller RVs.
Some nearby places to visit include Bard Springs, Little Missouri Falls, the Little Missouri River, Albert Pike and the more remote wonder of Winding Staircase. Gravel roads can be followed from Shady Lake through the mountains and valleys, winding alongside riverbed and creeks flowing through the mountain valleys.
I can't say how nice this place would be for camping. We were staying at Queen Wilhelmina and wanted to find a place for the kids to swim. Based on a recommendation, we found ourselves here. Alone. It was beautiful. We kept wondering why we were the only ones around. We soon found out. The. Lake. Is. Disgusting. There was what I can only describe as rotting plant matter that was really disturbing to stand in, so you had to find a clear spot, but everytime you moved you kicked up clouds of muck that attached to your skin, and you couldn't actually swim anywhere because if you went out where it was deep enough to swim, the vegetation filled the lake and made it impossible to move. We tried to make the best of it but gave up after about 20 minutes of complaining and laughing at our misfortune. A quick shower off (seriously, we got filthy just swimming in a lake), and we left, never to return.
The entire area is wonderful! The tourists seem to show up in summer, but spring and fall is the time. In winter you can have it all to yourself! The Caney Creek Wilderness just north of Shady is wonderful and people free in winter. Make sure you have good tires and a reliable vehicle as it's a long walk to a phone signal. I've been hiking it for years and love it! With the exception of summer, plan to be all alone! Fabulous and beautiful!!!
Absolutely gorgeous. It's so quiet and peaceful. Plenty of room and it's not too busy. The river is so clear and cold. My family loved it. The only downside is how remote it is. It's a long drive to anywhere with phone reception. Sometimes that's a good thing :)
Places like Shady Lake are few and far between, really. However, this area has more than a few treasures for those who will enjoy the Ouachita National Forest, nature, and the beauty of Arkansas' wilds.
My grandparents took all of their grandchildren here every year for many many years. Our family considers this place like a second home. We often had jobs like hauling water and cooking or cleaning up. This place is gorgeous and you are bound to make some wonderful memories.
Most of the camping loops are situated alongside the river, which feeds the lake. The river is usually shallow, but it can quickly fill to record levels when rainstorms shower the mountainside slopes and as the river takes on the slopes' runoff.
Wildlife here is abundant, and I have even been priviledged enough to see a few mink scampering about the grasses on the shore of one of the lake's hillsides. The real treat was seeing these mink again in the years after the first sighting.
The beautiful serenity of the mountain surroundings are, well, just exquisite. There's fishing for those who like to fish and there's a variety of game fish here. A particularly wonderful place to fish is just below the spillway or the damn, but the lake itself offers small flat-bottom boaters equally great fishing opportunities.
Shady Lake Recreation Area is a US Campground based in Mena, Arkansas. Shady Lake Recreation Area is located at Mena, AR 71953, USA.
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