If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Clayton, look no further. With The Dyrt, it's easy to find Clayton campgrounds for you and your tent. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
This recreation area is part of Mississippi River - Pools 11-22
$6 / night
Visitors at John Spalding are in the perfect location for recreation on Mark Twain Lake. The day-use area is the only facility within reach of the sandy public beach. Its also directly connected to the Joanna Trail, a 32-mile multi-purpose trail for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
Tour the birthplace of world-famous humorist and writer, Mark Twain and explore the region that inspired his most beloved stories, such as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
The Salt River of north-central Missouri feeds Mark Twain Lake, the regions largest body of water, spanning 18,000 acres. A variety of recreation areas surround the lake, including the Mark Twain State Park.
Swim and enjoy the beach all day, or take a boat out for water skiing and fishing. For hikers and bikers, the lengthy Joanna Trail lines the northern banks of the lake.
The day-use area is equipped with a swimming beach, showers, pay phone and picnic shelters. Shelters have electric hookups.
Visit Mark Twains birthplace in Florida, Missouri or his boyhood home in Hannibal.
The David C. Berti Shooting Range is below the dam and M.W. Boudreaux Visitor Center is above the dam.
Missouris Spillway Recreation Area is tucked in a cove near the Wappapello Dam on Wappapello Lake. The area provides plenty of recreation for day-use visitors, including boating, fishing or playing volleyball by the lakeshore.
Click here to take a virtual tour of the facilities at Wappapello Lake.
Wappapello Lake has a seemingly endless string of secluded coves hugged by a winding, wooded shoreline. The public recreation area spans 45,000 acres in the southeastern Ozark foothills.
Boating and fishing are the most popular activities with largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass and channel catfish, among other species.
Pine Ridge Natural Trail, a 3/4-mile double loop, starts at the Spillway Recreation Area and provides an excellent way to explore the beautiful woodlands.
This day use area includes two large picnic shelters, 8 picnic sites, a volleyball court, playground, horseshoe pits and bank fishing.
The extensive 33-mile Ozark Trail, starts just south of Sam A. Baker State Park and winds along the west side of the St. Francis River and Wappapello Lake.
Traveler
Clean bathrooms, friendly staff, nice park across street for walking dog. Very cool old metal playground equipment.
Guide
Praire Lake Campground has 3 facilities on the lake. FAMILY camp for Rv, Tentand cabins. 1. 84 sites with Electric or 19 have FHU. 2. Primitive Camp has seven three-sided shelters to camp near or in for a fee of $6 per night 3. Group camp area. A separate location has the equestrian campground, Questing Hills, with 51 electric sites.
Guide
Level grass tent sites. Shade of trees. Electric outlets at sites. Water accessible. Bath house kept very clean. Plenty of hot water for showers. Picnic table & fire ring at site. Economical. Laundry. Ice bags available. Picnic shelter with sides, 3 picnic tables, small mini fridge, electric lights & outlets, ceiling fan, portable fan, water and deep sink available for campers to use.
TravelerAt one time this campground was a KOA campground so if you are familiar with KOA, you know the basic layout. We stayed here in our tent and while the tent area was closed for receding new grass the owner let us stay in a grassy area under the trees near the office. It was a great stsy and the restrooms and pool were nice and clean. We enjoyed ourselves and cooled off in the hot weather.
Scout
Friendly staff. Kayak and Pontoon to rent. Trails go all over the entire park! Clean showering facilities. Our furnished cabin faced the lake it was an incredible view. We had fun fishing and sitting by the campfire in the evenings. Overall definitely worth the 5 stars!!!! Thanks Ryan and all of the staff out there! We will revisit soon.
Guide
Pleasant campground with 2 loops. Clean bathrooms with showers. Choice of full hookup or just electric on outer perimeters of each loop. Small fishing lake. 2 campground host sites with wood and ice for sale.
TravelerWe have been here 3 Xs over the pas years as a stop over while traveling. They only have vault toilets, but clean. This time no water due to water break.issue. just a nice place on a beautiful lake. Nice for bird watching.
Guidehttps://camp.exploremoreil.com/ 84 electric RV sites all reservable except 21 First Come sites. 18 sites are full hookup. Several 50 amp sites but majority are 30 amp. Modern Shower house and 7 Vault toilet buildings. Newer Campground so Shade Trees are smaller still. Have camped here 4 times past 3 years. Like the quite agricultural Illinois environment but suggest shopping for your needs prior to leaving larger cities as most of the few small towns are limited to a Bar and Dollar store.
Guide
I stayed at the RV section right next to the rodeo arena. Full hookups for only $20 per night with a self-service registration box. I forgot to count but looked like maybe 20 spots max. I was here mid-November in town for work and there was no more than four other campers at any point. Pretty basic surroundings though. There's barrel trash cans, didn't see a dumpster. Didn't see any toilet or shower buildings. Hardly any trees near the sites. Decent playground close by though, and a heavily wooded park with trails beyond that.
Traveler
This site was so much better than what I was expecting! My friend, Kari, her 3 Doodles, my Beagle, and I camped out the first night in the group section, because there's hardly anyone there and we got there too late in the day to actually start hiking. In the morning, we loaded up our packs, put the little packs on the dogs (they have to carry their own food and water), and headed up the Red Oak Backpacking Trail. I don't know if we started at the beginning or not, but we parked by a little wooden bridge and the hill to start off our adventure kinda kicked my ass a little bit. After we made it up the initial incline, the landscape was beautiful and varied from flat areas to valleys and some creeks (which I was very thankful for after a few hours in 90° and 25 lbs on my back). We ended up setting up camp at a spot we thought was nice just before it got dark, because we didn't know where or how much further the primitive hike-in campsites were. The next day, we figured it out, but we wouldn't have made it there before dark. Towards the end, there were stairs built into the earth that were way too difficult to manage when your legs are jelly and your pack is heavy, so it was almost easier trying to take the side of the stairs and make your own little path, so just a heads up there. We had so much fun the whole time and I can't wait to go back for some snow camping later this year (they are open year round)!!!
Traveler
It’s actually the Ted Shanks Conservation Area. Dupont is a bit further north, no camping there that we saw.
. All sites fronting the river, shaded by trees. Mix of campers, fishermen and hunters. A few trains at night but not many. Vault toilets. No tables, no fire rings.
Guide
Came when all the water activities were closed for the season. Cannot wait to come back! Facilities very clean and family oriented. Very fun for kids.
GuideAlways a great experience at spring lake. Fishing, boat rentals, convenience store and shower house are all great. Beautiful and we’ll maintained.
Legend
We have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and stayed in site 33 for just 1 night in late June. This is a relatively small CG, 33 sites, and there were only a handful or so of sites available when we arrived on a Friday afternoon and they do not accept reservations. The showers were clean and hot. The electric and water hookups on some sites, at least ours, was at the back and on the wrong side. Our electric cord just reached the post. AT&T coverage varied, with 1-2 Bars of LTE service and speeds between 0.4 and 3.5 MB/s. We had a clear view of the southern and northern sky, so we were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site and Starlink had speed up to 12 MB/s.
GuideI tent-camped at Driftwood during a bike tour along the Mississippi River Trail. The showers and restroom were impressively clean. The hosts could not have made me feel more welcome.
Traveler
This campground use to be a great place to camp until it got new owners. They no longer offer tent camping and they completely shut it off from the public. My family has been going there for generations including having family reunions there. That place helped so many parents and kids get thru their summer breaks. Now you can't step foot on the property without having rented an rv spit.
GuideWe certainly didn’t expect the Prairie Lake Campground to be full in late October! Both loops were full, but there was just enough space for us to squeeze in for 2 nights! (A few spaces seemed to be filled with deer hunters who were up and out quite early.) Site has electricity with water centrally located in the center of the loop. We needed a 100 ft fresh water hose to fill up. Luckily a friendly neighbor had one for us to borrow! Nice warm bath house had push button showers with locks on the stalls with a dry space to dress inside the stall. Lake has boat dock with about 6 slips. The point on the lake was a beautiful setting for a fall wedding on Saturday! Lots of families with kids riding bikes around the loop and some playing wiffle ball in the open field. Each spot had a picnic table and fire ring. Our spot, #78 sat under a tree with great shade. Bagged ice is available at 1st host site for $4 and a bundle of firewood for $6
Ranger
Stayed here 2 nights, while we explored Hannibal. The campground is large, but half empty when we stayed. It meet our needs, always love having WiFi. My biggest complaint would be only 2 washer/dryers (one which was broken). The cave tour is interesting, but a little expensive. I would stay on the main street of Hannibal to see the Mark Twain sites, rest of the city is seedy
Guide
Several lakes and trails. Borders farm land. Very clean
RangerOur site (B14) was not at all level. Used all my blocks to compensate for the forward and passenger site down slope. Other sites in B section had similar problems. Fortunate that we carry an adjustable step for coach entry. Showers and restrooms were good, but shower curtains need to be replaced. Great water. Works great !
TravelerGood campsites for tent camping, can't speak to RV's. Wooded and shady, clean facilities, electric and water for tent camping. Good Price, nice location for fishing and kayaking. also.
TravelerThis is a nice campground by the Mark Twain Cave. The sites are spacious with nice big fire rings. The sites are gravel and are semi level but still need leveling. It was quiet and peaceful, a good nights rest passing through. The grounds are fairly tidy but could use some clean up. We had a nice corn hole area across from our site. Very easy to get to with GPS.
TravelerLots of full hookups. Sites a little close. Campground managers friendly and very helpful
Ranger
Wildcat is a very nice campground operated by the City of Hamilton, Illinois. Campground has only 17 RV slots of various sizes. We had room to put our 32 foot fifth wheel and room to park our truck alongside. Ours was one of a couple of sites large enough to handle our size.
Their website says the nightly fee is $15 for tents and $25 fir RV. When we arrived we were informed that it had gone up to $20 fir tent and $30 for RV.
Service excludes electricity of 30 and 50 amp. Water is also available at each site. A dump station is on site.
Also on site is a very nice public pool and interesting Disc Golf course.
Very quite and peaceful surroundings. Just a half mile off of the Mississippi River.
We will definitely return here when we get back to the area.
Traveler
While they were working on adding a bath house with toilets the campground is at the local golf course to use. 30 amp and water only. Gravel pads, mostly level. Shade and quiet in pm. During day you have golfers but not enough to bother you. A pavilion is available for use. Good area close to stores, fuel and off-site dump station.
Traveler
My best friends family stays out there and has nothing but great things to say about the place. I happen to agree with them. If you need a place to get away from city life but don't want to travel far away from town, you can't beat this place.
TravelerReal nice campground with bathrooms and showers. Only $5 to tent camp here! Great view of the lake and easy to hike trails. Only downside is that the mosquitoes will eat you alive!
Camping near Clayton, Illinois, offers a mix of beautiful nature and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a family-friendly adventure, there are several campgrounds to explore.
Camping near Clayton, Illinois, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. Enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Clayton, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Clayton, IL is Dupont Reservation Conservation Area with a 3.5-star rating from 2 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Clayton, IL?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 tent camping locations near Clayton, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
