Jim Weaver Reviews Shady Lake, Arkansas

Texarkana Boy Scouts of American Troop 3 went on a campout the last weekend of August to Shady Lake, Arkansas inside the Ouachita National Forest. What a beautiful spot.

Check out the video below for a quick overview of some of the pictures and videos we took during our weekend trip.

Shady Lake has is a full range campsite with good bathrooms, showers in some areas, full hookups if you need those, right down to primitive camping areas as well. Being in the Ouachita National Forest, pronounced wash-eh-taw by the way, means the area is just as pretty as you imagine it is. An amazing variety of wildlife from deer to armadillos but virtually no bug problems, at least we didn't encounter any. Maybe we were just lucky this time.

The lake is supposed to be some pretty decent fishing, especially around the spillway, we didn't bring any poles so we can neither confirm or deny.

The swimming area for the lake was kind of a mess though, full of dead leaves and brush up to your knees. Not very enjoyable at this time. However the rivers and streams in the area are fantastic, full of swimming holes and very cold, clear water.

There area plenty of trails to hike for those that love to get out and chug up and down very hilly terrain.

Overall Shady Lake is a terrific place to get outdoors, enjoy the Ouachita National Forest and still be able to take a decent shower. That's a win, win for me!