23 Recreation.gov campground listings say camping goes free in the off-season. Nine are on one Arkansas river.

Out of 5,445 campgrounds in Recreation.gov’s index, 23 listings say camping becomes free once the paid season ends. We read every one on October 14, 2026. Nine of the 23 are on the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The rest are Corps of Engineers lakes and a handful of national forest sites.

Where it is published

Buffalo National River, Arkansas (National Park Service), 9 listings. Steel Creek, Erbie, Kyles Landing, Ozark, Carver, Tyler Bend, Buffalo Point and two separate listings for Rush. Most use the same sentence: camping is free “outside of the reservation season, generally November 15th to March 15th.”

The park’s own pages give different dates. The camping page, updated September 25, 2026, says Upper District fees run “March 13, 2026 through November 16, 2026.” The fees page says “approximately March 15 - November 14.” Plan on November 17 and read the self-pay station when you arrive.

Water goes off and a vault toilet stays open at most of them. Two exceptions, per the fees page: Buffalo Point’s B-Loop keeps a flush restroom and drinking water, and Tyler Bend’s drive-in loop keeps water and showers. Steel Creek’s walk-in sites, Kyles Landing, Carver and Rush are tent-only, with no trailers, motorhomes or vans.

Corps of Engineers lakes, 4 listings. Longdale at Canton Lake, Oklahoma: “From November 1 - March 31, the water will be turned off. Camping is free during this time.” Big Bend, same lake: “No charge for camping” November through March. Star of the West at Lake Greeson, Arkansas: free “From November to March.” Nancy’s Boat to Shore at Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania, charges no fee November through March, but it is boat-in only.

National forests, 10 listings. Five Shasta-Trinity dispersed areas on Shasta Lake, including Gregory Beach, say no fees are due “in winter months typically Mid September to Mid May,” so they are already free. Pines and Pines Group in the Stanislaus: “In winter, camping is free but water and toilet paper are not provided.” Blowout and McCoy Creek in the Caribou-Targhee: “No Fee after Fall Closure.” Cassidy Bridge in South Carolina is free during big game season, October 1 to December 31.

Free is not unlimited

The Corps rule does not care about the fee. 36 CFR 327.7(b) prohibits camping more than 14 days in any 30-consecutive-day period at one project without written permission. For the Park Service and Forest Service sites, the stay limits shown on Recreation.gov are booking rules (Buffalo’s listings carry 30 nights a year), and nothing we read says how they apply once booking stops. Ask.

Free also means unserviced. Water off, flush restrooms locked, trash service often stopped. Haul in what you need. And the dates say “generally” and “typically” for a reason: weather moves them.

Twenty-three is what the listings publish, not every free campground. Campgrounds that are free all year are not in this count, and neither is any campground that goes free without saying so on its listing.

What to do

Pick from the list, then call the park, lake or ranger district office to confirm the date and the stay limit. The posted sign at the entrance and the land manager’s current guidance beat any website, ours included.

For free camping that does not depend on a campground, our Arkansas free camping page covers the Buffalo’s gravel bars and the 30-day national forest stays, and our Army Corps land guide covers what the Corps allows. Last month we covered when campground water shuts off.