Gillham Lake · Arkansas

Big Coon Creek — how to get a site when it's sold out

Overview Big Coon Creek Campground sits along the lush banks of Gillham Lake in southwest Arkansas. Nicknamed the "Bright Spot on the Cossatot," Gillham Lake is a recreational oasis for outdoor enthusiasts. Recreation Visitors enjoy the lake for its vast boating opportunities, and a boat ramp is provided for easy water access.

🏕️ 32 sites 🚐 Standard

Booking Big Coon Creek

Sites at Big Coon Creek are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.

Site facts

Total sites32
Site typesStandard
HookupsElectric hookups at some sites
LocationGillham, AR
Book throughRecreation.gov
Official listingRecreation.gov

The cancellation play at Big Coon Creek

Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.

itOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Big Coon Creek around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.

Other campgrounds in Gillham Lake

Cossatot ReefsCancellation alerts available
Little Coon Creek ParkCancellation alerts available

Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Big Coon Creek; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.