Best Tent Camping near Bonne Terre, MO

A great spot for a quick get away from St Louis. Beautiful park with lots to do not far from the campground. If you are tent camping you don't have to worry about generators from the RVs as there are two separate camping areas that share a really nice shower house, but have their own bathrooms as well. Be careful to not get a tent site in the middle, in the low area, as rain runoff will run down to the middle area. No tent pads, but plenty of grassy areas to pitch your tent. Activities in the park include swimming in the pool or the Big River, canoeing (rent at the Thunderbird Lodge), hiking, and petroglyphs.

Saint Francois is a tent and rv campground just 1 hour south of saint louis, MO in Bonne Terre. It also along a river which allows swimming at your own risk because there is no real entrance site. But plenty of gravel bars. I personally enjoy this park and its sites. The rvs and tents are separated which i love. And the tent sites have plenty of room for 2-3 tents plus games. They provide individual showers, out houses every 6 sites, flat areas for tents, ice, wood, and activities. Trails, parks, and lots of fields to play in.The only downfalls are (1) entering the park. You enter on a dangerous highway where you need plenty of room and stopping to enter but there is none. Getting out is the worst especially if you have a trailor and move slow. There is no lane for you to pull out. Cars are fine. (2) the river is monopolized by 1 company for rafting/kayaking/canoing. You have to make an appointment, they only accept cash, and the websites dont show correct equipment. But it gets the job done.

We typically prefer more dispersed-style camping, but this has actually become one of our favorite established sites in the Ozarks. It's VERY family-oriented (probably not for you if you want to party), with tons of games like volleyball and horseshoes, plus onsite programs and activities including scavenger hunts, movie nights, pancake breakfasts, etc. 

A little of everything when it comes to sites - there are pull-thru sites, full hookups, basic tent sites, you name it. We tent camped in sites 61-64 (now one huge site, but at one time they were three individual), which directly overlooks the river and sits on a very private corner. The sites on this end are a bit of a walk to the bathrooms/showers and camp store, but also extremely spacious and private. 

Great camp store and a large sandy beach with natural swimming holes, plus a seasonal pool. There's even so-so wifi at the store.

Float trips are a big deal here, and Indian Springs offers both boat rentals and shuttle services. We used their shuttling one day, then the second day, I drove my husband up to the put-in (less than 10 mins) and he floated back and took out here. The owners are really friendly and accommodating. Our top choice for float/camp trips, especially when we have our kiddos.

The campground has oddly shaped campsites causing a crowded feel.  The campground is also loud on the weekends especially if there are races at the nearby Bonne Terre drag strip.

Did a 2 night tent camp with my family and it was awesome. We had a great time on the trails and near the Mighty Missouri River.

I've seen some reviews say its outdated and I'm not sure where that comes from. On season they offer a variety of float and eat packages that are tasty and nicely priced. Cute little campground with "primitive", electric and full hook ups. All tent camping is still pretty close to the general store that also has coin showers! You have good options for a shady and grassy spot if you're tent camping too. Great folks working there, always very friendly and helpful.

The campground is located in a gym of a park located along the Missouri River. Reservations are required and the sites are in high demand. Tent camping only. There is water available in the park.

This Campground places you in the heart of Missouri Wine Country and there's a perfect base for visiting the wineries and restaurants along highway 94.

Robertsville is a nice little park on the Meramec River with about 25 campsites split fairly evenly between tent and electric hook up in a long loop. The hook up sites are on the inside of the loop and the tent sites are on the outside of the loop. You need to look carefully for a level tent site as some are fairly slopped. However, most of the tent sites have nice trees for hammocking and all sites looked clean. The shower house is newer and well taken care of. Seems that lots of people come here for the boat access to the river, but there are some really nice hiking trails you shouldn’t miss. On the weekends in the high season be prepared to reserve two nights in a row, which can make it more difficult to get a spot. But if you go during the week you can have the place pretty much to yourself. And the racoons. Just saying

Nice state park close to St Louis. Good, if short, trails. The campground is used a lot by RV and campers, not so much by tenters. Lots of campsites had electric. All had the standard pininic tables and fire rings, and the campground has a decent and clean shower house. You might end up pitching your tent on a parking pad as many tent sites don't have level grassy spots for your tent. Sites are not very private, and some are right on top of the next. I like sites 65 and 58 for their privacy or grassy tent spots.

Not a huge campground but, Its a really simple beautiful place to enjoy Missouri's rolling hills. It is located 1 hour from St. Louis and 30 ish min from Elephant Rock State park. If your in the area check out the other amazing Missouri state parks while staying here. The Missouri Mines state park is maybe a 5 min drive and a neat place to see. Tent sites, Bathroom and some hammock spots.

Stayed here for one night we toured the cave which was great. The park is very well kept and nice clean facilities. We tent camped and every spot had a good place to set up a tent.

Plenty of tent camping sites. There are primitive also. Great Lake to fish and plenty of trails to hike. Looks like the rv site can get booked up on weekends.

Sam A Baker has a large selection of sites. Perfect for tent camping or Campers of any size. Great trail selection, many moderate trails, but there are many options for those with young children as well.

Full hookups(electric/water/sewer) for rvs, as well as primitive tent sites. Facilities are bit on the older side, but 2 shower houses are available. River access within walking distance. Canoe and raft rental available.

We spent a Saturday and Sunday there camping in the electric site. They do have tent sites but we wanted to be closer to the river which was a 2min walk.

Great place, awesome people and kid friendly. Definitely will be back!

this ground is very well kept and is oerfect for tent camping. the only downfall is the amount trees. although the sites are very large, flat, and easy, you can see everyones business because there is maybe 1 tree in between each site. but there is a creek, trails, walk in sites, and lots of history to check out.

I like this camp site because you are within the trees the whole time. It is tent camping only. Where we camped, the ground was covered in moss. That made for very soft sleeping, except for the few large rocks spread over the area. We had room for two portable canopies and about 35 cub scouts and family members.

Johnson Shut-Ins State Park is an amazing park that combines the comforts of an RV park with the rustic side of walk-in tent sites. It is the best maintained park in the Northeastern part of the Ozark's. It has a store in the middle of the campground. The sites all have concrete pull-ins and the bathrooms and shower houses are all brand new, modern, and clean.

The sites are spread a part giving plenty of room to campers. There are several tent sites that you can walk into to get away from the concrete. There is a gear cart to help you get everything back from your car to your site.

This is a place where you could spend several days and have a lot of fun. This is the premiere campground in that area of the Ozark's.

The staff is also very helpful and friendly.

Typical Jellystone, lots for kids to do. Really small sites. Tent sites seem fairly flat. I’m in a site for small campers. The site is bowed front to back and not level side to side. You can hear highway traffic all night and the kids hit the playground, right outside my window, at 7:00.

The campsites are very nice. I don't mind the concrete pads they have for camping and parking. We have a camper but used cots when we tent camped so concrete was not a problem for us.

The kids loved the shut ins. We didn't even make it all the way to the back as it was a very long walk. We also visited some of the historical sites in the area.

We stayed here last minute for Labor Day Weekend and the staff were great with finding us a good tent site available. This is not a rugged style campground as there are many amenities such as a pool, putt putt golf, volleyball, and more. They also host daily kids activities and crafts. A very family friendly campground and would highly recommend if camping with kids!