Tom Sawyer's RV Park - West Memphis, Arkansas (May 2018)

We were heading west to join a WBCCI (Wally Byam Caravan Club International) caravan and one of our goals for our second day of travel was to find a campground west of Memphis, Tennessee. We didn’t want to drag Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer through morning rush hour traffic there, so we planned to stop for the night after passing through Memphis.

Crossing the bridge into Arkansas

We used the AllStays app on our iPhones to find the Tom Sawyer's RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas. The reviews were positive so we decided to take a chance on this park. 

Our confidence in our choice started to wane as we turned on the access road to the campground. We were hoping that our GPS wasn’t taking us down some poorly graded roads that we would have to back out if we hit a dead end. Even the sign announcing the campground appeared to need some maintenance.

The sign announcing Tom Sawyer's RV Park

Our tune changed once we were escorted to our campsite. Rosie ended up being parked about 25 feet from the Mississippi River. The views outside Rosie's windows were amazing. 

For example, we enjoyed watching the tugboats push barges loaded with coal toward New Orleans. We were also amazed at the number of fallen trees being carried down river by the swift current.

Tug boat headed down the Mississippi River

Tug pushing barges

What a jewel of a campground!

One of the most frequent comments from other campers in the park was about the incredible location along the Mississippi and the views. 

Needless to say, we were glad we continued down the access road and stayed in this park. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• The voltage was low during the afternoon when everyone’s air conditioners were running full blast
• Our site had a water connection with 42 pounds of pressure 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• We think the park had a dump station, but we didn’t find it (we didn’t look too hard since we had a sewer connection)
• Our site had a concrete pad. We still needed to use our leveling tools to correct a slight lean 
• The park provided free WiFi, but it was embarrassingly slow
• AT&T provided two bars of 4G voice and data over our site
• There were two bathhouses in the park. Since the park floods nearly every year from the Mississippi River and the bathhouses were underwater three months earlier, we can cut the park a little slack on the condition of the bathhouses. They were clean and maintained. It appeared that the walls were freshly painted black to hide the water line from the most recent flood, which was only three months before we arrived
• The park had a laundry for guests to use 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and NBC using Rosie’s TV antenna. We also received digital channels Antenna, Escape, Get, Grit, H&I and ME
• This is a pet friendly park 

It cost a few extra dollars to get a site along the mighty Mississippi River. It was well worth it and this is a park we would stay in again when traveling through Memphis.

Tug on the Mississippi

Tug heading up the Mississippi

Hawk sitting along the bank of the Mississippi River

Rosie at sunset along the Mississippi River

Bathhouse