Best Equestrian Camping near California, MO
Looking for a place to camp near California with your horse? Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. Find Missouri equestrian campgrounds with ease on The Dyrt.
Looking for a place to camp near California with your horse? Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. Find Missouri equestrian campgrounds with ease on The Dyrt.
The roar of ATVs and off-road motorcycles combines with the peacefulness of rolling hills at Finger Lakes State Park, one of two ATV parks in the state parks system. Built in a former coal mining area, Finger Lakes’ trails and motocross track are popular with users who come for the day, but often fall under the spell of the spacious campground, leafy trees and hilly terrain. The park is also the site of the challenging 2.75-mile Kelley Branch Mountain Bike Trail and a 4.5-mile water trail.
Finger Lakes State Park offers basic and 30-amp and 50-amp electric campsites.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
$10 - $25 / night
Heavily forested with a lake. Trails and camping areas in woods are setup for equestrian with good trails for hikers, bikers and horses. Camping at lake is open gravel or grass. Nice fishing lake with docks, boat ramp and vault toilet and the only one provided. Parked lakeside. Quite night with one fishing boat late morning. Get a brochure with park map at entrance as roads pass through park and private property.
Basic tent site, potable water was right near our site. Bathrooms were clean. There were some families staying nearby but overall was a quiet stay.
I've passed through Missouri numerous times, and their parks are always top notch. Clean and well maintained. As with most "green" places in the spring and summer, the ticks are outrageous. This time was no exception, use spray to keep the buggers off!
This one was easy in/out, plenty of room between campsites. Most sites looked level, but some are a bit wacky. We had a wacky one, and the host was nice, and quick to reposition us to a better spot.
Campground is on a short gravel road and sites are gravel. Sites are pretty level and WiFi is good. Contactless checkin is a bit confusing from map provided. There are a lot of long term users. Bathhouses are pretty new and adequate but a pretty long walk from the transit sites. I don’t think the baths are cleaned daily.
We pulled in at the end of a long day, hoping only for a place to sleep, and were happily able to secure a quiet spot for the night. The camp host was helpful and friendly. The bathrooms and showers were clean. We camped in a van. Other campsites contained small RVs and tents. Probably not a good location for larger RVs. This looks to be a good place for families to fish, ride mountain bikes, and enjoy the ATV trails.
We are homeless and we got a campsite for two week here and I got a special needs child. And my boy were up at the water and all I did was call then over to me and I get 3 cops at my site. When cross from me the people at that site start there car off and on all night and dog parks from 6 am to 8 am. But I get told if I am loud I get kick out. Thank you for the welcoming feel
This was a good stopover site on our journey. The campground reps were kind and great to work with. The registration online was seamless. We submitted an inquiry online, they replied within a day with the invoice to confirm our site and sent us confirmation details via email. Checkin was simple. The lots felt a bit tight but no big deal since it was just a stopover. It appeared there may be permanent residents who stay so if you’re looking for that, it might be an option based on the setups and work trucks parked at a few. Everyone was friendly, quiet and seemed to keep to themselves. Nice pond onsite that you can fish. We didn’t explore the grounds much but apparently we could’ve walked and seen the horses by the resort. The only thing I didn’t love was the gravel road all the way in. Our truck and camper was covered with gravel dust. So if you had anything exposed, it’ll get a bit dusty. But again overall a nice stopover and the employees were great to work with.
Quiet peaceful place for our overnight stop, would like to have extended stay to enjoy all the amenities. Friendly staff, very clean facilities, wonderful natural location.
This is a Good Sam campground.
Good for an overnight stay. Came in late, called number & lady gave us instructions to find site. Beautiful campground.
Peaceful campsites. They have added the sites in 300’s and 500’s this year. The 100’s and 200’s have been established for 3 years or so. Staff is excellent and do everything to help make sure you’re stay is enjoyable. Our site is a newer one so it’s got some final touches to be done but when I mentioned it they came right out to help. Super friendly! I will update this as we venture out to see the see entire resort soon.
The distance from the hiway is a big plus! This is a beautiful State Park. Serene, in April. The birds and frogs are amazing!!!! Site is paved, needed just slight levelling. We will return, love it!
Entrance to the park is not far off the road, but its 2 miles into the campground as you pass the swimming hole and rentals. We stayed 2 nights on a basic (no hook-ups) unlevel site with our 40' ft diesel. Now I say unlevel, if you dont have leveling Jack's and some boards you might be tipsy. We were able to get level, but to be fair for this review who may not have jacks, come prepared. We had 3 sites all were very unlevel. Our sites were private, primitive, and beautiful. We enjoyed our stay. The camp host was friendly and even delivered wood. Unfortunately the wood was went. Not his fault. If you have any atv, dirt bikes, this is the place to come. Trails all over. We were not bothered by anyone or the sounds, of course you could hear them but at dusk everyone had to be off the trails. Would return to this state park, maybe next time with an ATV.
Due to a family issue we needed to make the drive home (about 1,100 miles) in a few days. Hit the road and decided we’d had enough for the day. Called to confirm a site was available for one night. Drove down a dirt road to arrive to a fairly unlevel gravel pad. Sites are crowded with a shared water hookup. Wanted to pitch our trash in the morning, but no can, dumpster, bin, etc. was available. Just expected a lot more for $50/night!
Well what can I say. I had high hopes for this one. Only offers basic and electric sites in small camping are. One shower house that was ok. Very loud and not a family place to camp. Great dirt bike trails and sever lakes. You can kayak and fish. I wouldn’t recommend swimming even at the designated beach. Had one lake with kayak/canoe rentals. Could be fun for day use. Would be great for riding! All in all not a place I would camp.
The campground was average, as were the amenities- but the activities offered were enjoyable (kayak rentals, walking trails- these were shared with dirt bikes, horses, etc.) The lake water was fine for kayaking but we definitely did not want to swim in it. The Park Ranger was unfriendly, and we read reviews of similar experiences written in the campground office guestbook when renting the kayaks.
Not likely to return.
I have two dogs. They are friendly, but get rather rambunctious when they see other dogs. I prefer sites that I can keep them tucked away.
On the electric sites - sites 1-10 are in an area with lots of trees and shade, while sites 11-17 are more open, but still have a few trees for shade.
We stayed in the premium electric spot #15. It felt roomy and was close to the bathrooms. If your like me, and prefer a tucked away spot, go for #17 (no immediate neighbors to your left).
The park itself is delightful. There are hiking, biking and water trails. Hiking trail was really nice with a surprise waterfall! Because the majority of campers were out in their ATV’s, we had the hiking trail all to ourselves. The kayak/canoe loop trail is nifty as there is no need to park a car in another location.
Bathrooms were well kept. Shower house was just ok.
We will definitely be back.
Oh my as we drove in this place was amazing There were fishing ponds a retreat center and cabins Hiking trails Rv park w laundry Over 160 acres of land to explore on!!! A must stop if you are in Columbia MO
We enjoyed camping here. If you have dirt bikes or 4 wheelers, bring them! We didn’t bring ours here this last time we camped and we still had fun! They have a pump track that our four boys loved! Lots of ramps, hills, and a teeter totter to ride across. The campsites are nice and some of them are really close together. So if you want more privacy and don’t want to be close to your neighbors make sure you pick one that is more spacious. Our boys are already talking about coming back here again :)
This is one of my favorite places to fish and picnic that is close to home. It is quiet and always clean. The camp sites are well kept and the shower/bathroom facilities are always clean. Worst part is that many of the dirt bike/ATV guys riding the trails out there are obnoxious with their bikes.
First off there is camping here!!!! This Missouri Conservation area is a Swiss Army knife of rugged of the path camping. Rivers, Lakes, Gun range, Horses and hiking can all be enjoyed here. First come first serve basic camp area on the river. It has 1 fire ring in a gravel turnaround. Don’t let this fool you. This area has an abundance of wildlife equestrian trails and hiking. Getting too hot paddle on the lake located on the left Forck after entering. The area has a handgun, and rifle range with vault toilets. The pictures speak for themselves. Love this spot and will be planning another trip soon.
A rainy weekend didn't deter campers from spending the holiday weekend here at Finger Lakes State Park. I was lucky enough to get a site for a single night when rain was in the forecast. The campground is laid out in a series of small loops, with some loops in open grassy areas and others tucked into the trees. I had my pick between a site in either situation and so I picked the trees to get some shade. Sites are fairly close together, so you will get to know your neighbors. There is one nice and modern bathhouse with showers on one side and bathrooms on the other. It was very clean and well maintained, and they are in the process of putting in an additional concrete walkway. Over in the grassy loop there was an additional basic bathroom.
There is lots to do in this park if you are into canoeing/kayaking or ORVing as there are several marked trails for both. If you are a hiker, welllllll, not as much available here. There is a nice mountain biking and hiking trail, but you can still hear all of the ORV's running the many trails specific to ORVing. There is also a Motocross track with nice stands if you like to watch. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent (stop by and see the rangers near the entrance) and there are a couple of marked trails to take you from lake to lake.
More like a parking lot in the middle of an atv/gun range park.
Lakes are awesome water accessible in multiple areas. Campsites are close and used primarily by off road enthusiast. Loud and constant coming and going. Groups get wild at night.
Great for kayaking and fishing.
The camp grounds are not overly private and are not in the best of shape (ground is really uneven). Though the camp area itself is nothing to write home about, there is a lake about a mile or so that is great for fishing and kayaking as well as a swimming beach. There are also numerous lakes you can fish or kayak in around the park. You also must bring your own firewood!
Everything from fishing, shooting, and bicycling, but not a huge fan of the area to camp— it is just a giant concrete pad.
I grew up camping and swimming here! The beach usually is not crowded, which is really nice. I'm not a fan of the motorcross noise, but there is a noise curfew so it's tolerable. I have yet to float on the lake but I've heard that's really nice!
once an old strip mining quarry, finger lakes is full of activities. kayaking, canoeing, motocross, swimming, picnic, campground, fishing. just across the gravel road is a shooting range and more strip nines
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near California, MO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near California, MO is Finger Lakes State Park Campground with a 3.6-star rating from 22 reviews.
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