Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Bolivar, MO

Of all the KOAs I have visited I was very eager to check out this one.  Close to Springfield and not to far from the turn off to Wilson Creek Battlefield this one just kinda made sense for a visit.  

When I ventured to check it out I quickly noticed that the site spacing was not the best when it came to the RVs, it looked claustrophobic.   When it came to the tent sites I felt a bit more like I could breathe and stretch out.   Kind of strange that this was the case as usually the RV section at a KOA is more accommodating, in my own personal experiences.   

The staff was very friendly and helpful and the overall amenities were pretty inclusive.   Some of course obvious upgrades coming at additional charges while others were standard.

In true KOA fashion there is WIFI, which I personally always welcome because I work remotely and sometimes do not have the best of signal.    Additionally they had standard features such as a dog park area, playground for the kiddos and a pool, although the pool is not open year round like some.   

A few things that were a bit less common however, they had a pet play room which was pretty cool and though I don't travel with my pets found it to be a very friendly touch.    I also noticed that in addition to snacks you could pick up in the store they also had pizza during certain times if you were not wanting to use your own kitchen or the common space camp kitchens.

I was pretty impressed overall but with all the good there were those claustrophobic rv sites I just couldn't get past and the pricing of a KOA always hurts the pockets a bit more even with them being nice and the common kitchen area I was attempting to use and had a few issues, this could have been just when I was visiting so I don't want to completely hold that against them but it was having issued.

TIPS:

* Visit Wilson's Creek Battlefield to explore, learn and hike.  When you come to this KOA it obviously does not have any hiking, but the battlefield offers a lengthy system of trails .* Bass Pro's home is Springfield, MO so you will not only find the largest Bass Pro there but also a unique museum of all animals which is quite spectacular.

My wife and our children stayed here in the summer while we traveled for work and we were extremely pleased with both the grounds and the staff. They have great amenities and clean facilities as well as washers and dryers. They were so accommodating. The only drawback is a train close by. They have a small gated dog park and I huge open field. They have a seasonal swimming pool, kids playground, game room and few more things to keep the kids busy. Good WiFi and a shop that sells/makes/delivers pizza to your campsite. We will be visiting again in the future definitely.

Turkey Creek was a very nice campground for our month long stay.  The park is well maintained and clean.  It is very quiet!  There is a train track nearby, but we only heard it a few times during our stay.  

Amenities included full hook up, laundry room, bathrooms, showers and a fenced dog park where you 4 legged friends can enjoy some off-leash time.  We had 4 bars with AT&T and waffled between 1-3 bars with Verizon.  

The location is great for visiting local attractions such as Branson Landing, Silver Dollar City and Top of the Rock.  

Really appreciate the park manager, she was friendly and brought an overpayment to our attention and quickly issued a refund.

Great experience overall!

Kimmy’s is amazing!  Always friendly and clean. Lots of activities for any outdoor adventures. Hiking kayaking swimming and lots of laughs come with Kimmy’s crew. They go out of their way to make your stay wonderful! If the pond on site is not big enough Stockton Lake is just minutes away or maybe you enjoy kayaking the Sac River is very close as well. Shuttle service is right up the road if needed. Keep your eyes peeled you may just find a message rock or two. We frequent Kimmy’s several times each summer and by far our absolute favorite campground in Missouri. And they are pet friendly too!

After reading a couple of reviews on this new campground (CG), we called about availability and got someone at Lambert’s Cafe who was not much help. We arrived at this new RV park addition to Lambert’s Cafe from I-57 with no issues. Coming in from I-57, we followed the signs for Lamberts and J.T. RV Park on the left side of the road. The entrance to the RV area is the second entrance into Lambert’s main parking lot. You follow the signage back to the CG which sits off to the right and behind Lambert's. This CG is first-come-first-serve. There’s a sign at the kiosk that states sites 6, 7, 8, 9, 27, 28, 29, 30,& 31 are for stays of one week or longer. We selected and parked in site 25 with FHUs, and then went back to the kiosk and paid our$40. The sites are narrow and very close to each other but this was on a Sunday and the park was fairly empty. There were about five transients overnight along with the four long-termers so having someone next to you was not an issue. There is no fire pit, picnic table, cable, or WiFI. One of the long-termers told me there’s a plan to put in a shower house, restrooms, and other amenities. We do not know if this is factual as we did not see any camp-host type of person during our stay. The CG is in an industrial area and we heard backing beeps at about 2:00 AM for a few minutes but other than that it was not bad for this type of area near a main road. We noticed a long-term resident taking their dog out and not picking up after the pet, which seemed to be common based on the'land mines' we noted while walking our dogs around. There is a dump station here that is a $10 fee if not staying in the CG. Lambert's Cafe is within easy walking distance. We had good water pressure at 50 psi and 4 bars on Verizon. This place is pretty much a parking lot with no trees so no problem with satellite. We got a good variety of OTA stations as well. This CG was a little on the pricey side for what you get unless maybe you are a huge Lambert’s Cafe fan. No surprises at this new RV Park as the sites are pretty much level and the roads easy to navigate. However, this place worked for an overnighter.

Campsite Review

This is quite a large campground, meaning it can easily cater to tents, car campers, and RV heroes. Each site had electrical hook-ups, and there was a common combination shower & laundry area. My campsite, like all, came with a picnic table and a fire pit. I definitely recommend ear plugs if you are a light sleeper since the bugs were very loud all night. This is one of a few campgrounds within the State Park and I chose it since it offered lakeside views – which were very pleasant. There was also boat ramp access. I had a nice bike ride from the campgrounds to a nearby campsite area near Racoon Ridge on some well paved roads, capped off with some different lakeside views. There was a few places to fill up drinkable water and use bathrooms.

Product Review

I won the Saris Feedom Superclamp 2-Bike bike rack from a contest held on The Dyrt's facebook page, so I decided after a few weeks and trips with the product to do a review.

So far the bike rack has been up to Jasper National Park from Boulder, CO with stops along the way in Grand Tetons, YellowStone, Glacier, Banff and Lake Louise National Parks as well as a roadtrip from Boulder to Toronto, ON through Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan. I've gone on various road conditions over the 5,000+ miles as well as in various driving conditions (city, highway, off roading, and country).

This bike rack is incredibly easy to use. It is what I call "micro adjustable" just because the bike is clamped to the rack with a bunch of slide-able wheel wells and tire arms adjustable at any position. It works with any bike type, and is super easy to install - no special tools needed. Your car just needs either a 1.25" or 2" hitch. Watch the video review here.

I also love that it comes with included, retractable bike locks to secure your crappy or expensive bikes to the rack, then another lock between the rack and your car's hitch. I can't fully open my trunk (although it looks like the new model EX2 solves this bit of trouble) when I have bikes on the back, which I would complain about if this didn't take any longer than 10 seconds to get the bike's off.

I was also impressed how well the rack held up when I went up Shadow Mountain with 2 on the rack to do some riding around the summit with the Grand Tetons as my backdrop. The bumpy road and constant rocking could've bent the frame, but it held up beautifully.

Shout out to Saris for putting some good material around the wheel clamps to keep any harsh contact points against my bike. My bikes are cheap, but someone with anything they care about will appreciate the care they took to keep their bike protected.

I'll do an update on this review after a few more weeks with the rack for my overall impressions, and so far so good!

ROAD TRIP!

And so the road trip to Canada with my dog Sirius begins! I hit the road a little late from Colorado, so I knew as I was driving that when I finally made it to Missouri I was going to be rolling into the campsite in dark. Luckily, most of the drive east once you leave the Rocky Mountains is flat and uneventful so anything I would have seen in the daytime wasn’t much better than blackness. There’s some vast prairie landscape along highway 70, so it’s not the worst scenery to have, but I’ve driven from Colorado to Chicago a few time and I was trying to avoid another one of those endless farm field drives you can find along highway 80. Oh well, more of the same I guess.

When I was researching places roughly 9 hours from home, Harry S Truman State Park looked like a fun place to check out near the Ozarks if you’re on the road and passing through. There are lakes plenty large enough for any water activities you’re creative enough to think up, and the many campgrounds found scattered in the parkland offer a great balance of seclusion and variety. I picked Long Shoal since it was near the water and promised some nice lakefront views. I was going to have to wait until the morning to find out if that promise was one the park could deliver on though, as I didn’t arrive into camp until close to 2am. I parked, popped up the rooftop tent, popped in my ear plugs, and hit the sack. The next morning I awoke to a large lake and a kayaker enjoying their morning paddle. My morning was spent cycling the 4 miles just past the welcome center, where I enjoyed some more lakeside views from Racoon Ridge. It certainly was convenient to have a paved road the entire ride lined with dense forest trees. I wish I saw some deer along the way, but I can’t always get so lucky. The heat was quite strong, so it was a nice coincidence that the ride was shaded and hugged the water’s edge. I took in the lake views, but I didn’t have long to enjoy the scenery, as I had another 8 plus hours in the car that day, since I wanted to get to Kentucky and spend my real play time of the trip checking out the Land Between the Lakes Recreation area.