Charlton Recreation Area

The Charlton Recreation Area is a public use area of the Ouachita National Forest, located just north of United States Route 270 between Crystal Springs and Mount Ida, Arkansas. The area includes a campground and day use facilities for water-related activities on Walnut Creek, including fishing and swimming. The facilities are organized around a small artificial lake created in 1938 by a crew of the Civilian Conservation Corps by damming the creek. The stone Charlton Dam and Spillway, about 100 ft in length, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 1993, as was the stone Charlton Bathhouse, also built by the CCC in 1938.