Searching for a tent camping spot near Cape Girardeau? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Cape Girardeau, including sites, reviews, and tips. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Turkey Ridge is for campers who want a serene outdoor experience. It is a Class C walk-in campground that includes camp pads, picnic tables, cooking grills and showers. Drinking water and toilets are located near the parking lots.
$18 / night
Private property sunken into the Shawnee National Forest.
$20 - $125 / night
Jackson Falls offers many opportunities for technical climbing and is a beautiful scenic area of the Shawnee National Forest. It is in the general forest area located east of the small town of Ozark, IL. This non-developed area has a small trailhead with a vault toilet. A short trail leads from the trailhead to the top of Jackson Falls. There are high dangerous bluffs in the area, visitors should be cautious and aware of their surroundings. Camping is allowed here at no cost, since this is part of the general forest area and not a developed campground. Access: A narrow gravel road leads to the Jackson Falls Trailhead, but then the road becomes dirt and deadends past the trailhead.
Apple Creek Conservation Area is located in northeast Cape Girardeau County, three miles east of New Wells on Route CC. The Missouri Department of Conservation created Apple Creek Conservation Area in 1986 with the purchase of 2,100 acres from several landowners. Steep hills and narrow valleys characterize this area, and approximately 2.5 miles of Apple Creek stream frontage forms its northern border. The Conservation Department has created watering ponds and planted food plots and agricultural crops within the forest to provide additional food sources for wildlife.
Backpackers enjoying their commune with nature will appreciate the solitude of the individual campsites in the Class C Backpack campground. Located a half-mile from the Turkey Ridge primitive campground parking lot, these woodland sites have cooking grills, toilets and showers. Water and trash receptacles are available at the Turkey Ridge parking lot. You're reminded to be careful with your fires and to pack out what you pack in.
ScoutTent camping back away from the RVs & we were the only people. Gorgeous river to view just a few steps away & the night sky view was fantastic. LOVED the bathroom & shower facilities!
Legend
Beautiful small campground with large sites. Restroom was emaculate. Clean park with a boat launch. Electric only spots and dispersed. Water and dump are on site.
Scout
This campground provides large spots, drinking water, vault toliets, dumpsters, picnic table, lantern hook, fire ring, and contactless check in. I also appreciate the value of these sites. It really is a reasonable rate for forest camping.
Traveler
Love this spot! It's easily accessible by all rig types. Backs up to the open forest and you pull right back onto the highway.
Traveler
We opted for this site on our way west as a stopover because it was free and not a parking lot. There are a couple of loop trails and we walked one of them. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon. The locals use the area for fishing and walking and it was somewhat busy in the afternoon. A couple of guys fished at night until about nine. There was only one other couple camping. Very quiet and peaceful. There was a portable toilet but we didn't investigate.
The cool thing was that the loop trail was forested by hundreds of paw paw trees. It must have been just past the season and we saw only a couple of decaying ones, but the entire trail smelled of apple cider vinegar and was quite pleasant.
If you consider this waypoint, two things:
1. The last mile is good, but very dusty, gravel road.
2. No cell coverage in the parking lot for T-Mobile, some coverage on loop trail.
Scout
Great little spot right off the interstate. Lots of nice scenery and decent fishing.
ScoutVery quiet and secluded. Campsites are roomy and some firewood is supplied.
Legend
Large park with not many large RV sites. Lots of tent and dispersed camping. Disappointing store. Equestrian area. Beach and boat launch.
Ranger
This is a little gem of a refuge within the Shawnee NF - about 30min from Marion, down a beautiful country road before nestling among the trees around the lake. The drive is paved/gravel the whole way, so very easily drivable for anyone in anything. Plenty of camp sites, both with electric and non-electric, double and single. Bring bug spray - horseflies and ticks. Beautiful lake, beautiful biking trails, etc. Firepits w/ grates are spacious and nice, fees are online. 1 bar verizon at camp, can get up to 3 bars within the area.
Ranger
Stopped here for the night driving through the area. Nice campground, clean, safe, and right off the interstate.
TravelerTent camped here during the week in June and the campground was only about 1/3 full. Quiet and the restrooms and showers were very clean.
Scout
We stayed 4 days and had a great time. The camp was clean and well maintained. The staff are very friendly and helpful and was more than happy to offer places to visit in the area, places to eat and provide assistance as needed. The trails are paved so we had a nice area to walk (twice around the lake from our site was 3 miles). :) We plan to visit again!
TravelerBeautiful spot with easy access and not far off the highway
ScoutGreat little stop, everything is clean and a fresh shower was refreshing.
GuideWe camped here during the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse and it was also the overflow site which at that time was the side of the camp entrance road. Fast forward to April 7,8 & 9 2024 We are again on overflow campground where this time was their group camping site which was much better than the side of the road. The overflow site has 4 unisex bathrooms but no showers (showers are at the main campground) there is dining (open) pavilion with a fireplace and a filtered well water system. We had a blast watching the Total Solar Eclipse.
Scout
Location is everything and this is well in the middle of a great area in Shawnee National Forest. Garden of the gods, Bell Smith springs, Ferne State park, and on and on. You can spend a week here and not see everything.
There are primitive and electric (with water) sites. There are no sites with sewer hookup. There is a dump station at the entrance.
Sites are generally level and well kept. Very large rigs (35+) will be challenging, but I've seen them - more towards the front. There are some lake front spots that can be had. Sites are first come and there are no reservations taken. During the week, no problem. Weekends would be iffy.
Large lake with swimming, fishing, kayaking. Also has a bike trail around it - maybe 2 miles.
Shower houses are kept clean, but as of this posting, they need some maintenance work.
All in all, this is a must stop if you want to enjoy what the area has to offer.
Legend
Getting there: Easy access off Illinois 13 East of Carbondale
Check in and staff: Campground is now under the egis of recreation.gov& reservations through them are a must. This is new& when planning the trip the website said“first come first serve” so we arrived on a Friday evening(4pm) with no reservation. The sign said RV sites all taken. The host was wonderful! He has been here 9 years and steered us to a nice site for the one night we will be here. The online experience with recreation.gov was not pleasant, impossible in fact. So I had to call. This took quite awhile. Once I got a real live person it was great, and we got our site with no problems.
Amenities: Bathrooms: clean, paper towels& air dryers.
Site: A-35. In the middle of the A loop and therefore not on the water. Still, very nice. After all, beggars can’t be choosers! Sites are somewhat spacious, but not terribly private.
Guide
We had so much fun playing in the creek learning about as Aztec and their gardening methods. Very adorable , baby goats and baby chicks that were just all over and loving living. ❤️ My family and friends found out that I was going there and she was more than happy to help us be accommodated for so many people. I kept adding and she was like no problem. Thank you so much for making it easy and affordable. We will definitely be back to visit. I feel that we have actually found some true lifelong friends. Thank you Ivy
Guide
Way to crowded tiny sites
Scout
You're welcome to at longbranch!
Please make your reservations.
Only 16 spots left!
Ava Illinois +1 618-318-6734 Text your name and number of people on your campsite to reserve your spot.
The Solar Eclipse Event "PARK @ THE MOON"
Extended or early arrivals welcome. Just simply request more information in the text. We will get ahold of asap with a more information and a confirmation number.
#ShareThisPost #solareclipse2024
Ranger
This is a convenient and pleasant campground, just off exit 3 on I24 in Paducah. The staff was friendly and walked us to our site and showed us the hookups. He gave us a lovely spot in the shade by the little lake. Have not used the showers yet so can't comment on that. We stayed on a Sunday night. The park was about half full. Seems to be a nice quiet family place.
They are across the street from a Mexican restaurant. There is a liquor store next door. Other businesses nearby.
Noise from the nearby traffic may bother some, but we didn't mind it and it was not loud enough to hear inside our RV.
It is a good place for us to stop on our way from MN to visit friends in FL. Also convenient for visiting the National Quilting Museum. We will stop here again.
GuideBeautiful little spots as you come in. Quiet and easy to get too.
GuideStayed here on the way to and from Florida (home in Minnesota). Very nice campground. Well maintained, big sites for our 40ft fifth wheel, great sunrise/sunset views, and the bathrooms are very clean and well lite. The gentleman/host that greeted us at the office upon arrival was polite and helpful. Will definitely stay again!
Legend
Jake from the Dyrt here! We're excited to have this campground on the Dyrt and ready for you to book, check them out and make sure to leave a review!
Guide
We stayed at Giant City in February on a very cold weekend. It was still a fantastic trip! The campsites, fire pits and pit toilets were well maintained. The shorter trails in the park were beautiful even in the winter. The Lodge also had excellent food and a very cozy feel. Definitely visit the Lodge!!
Guide
We stayed at the campground on the north end of Pyramid. The campsites were close together but we visited in February so we were the only campers. The fire pits were a little run down but the sites were nice and level with a table. No lantern posts. Pit toilets that were decent. The park office is a pretty long drive from the north end campground. The hiking is limited but the campground was peaceful and close to the lakes. Probably covered in bugs in the summer. Overall pretty nice stay
Guide
Great campground away from roads and noise. Goreville is small local town with grocery store and service station for supplies. South LOOP sites 1-23 are first come sites. NORTH LOOP SITES 24 - 59 Reservable at https://camp.exploremoreil.com/ Some 50 amp sites (4, 6, 18, 32, 36, 38, 47, 48) rest have 30 amp. See map in photos. WATER potable at Dump Station also 5 hydrants scattered amongst camp sites. TENT and Equestrian camps take road to the south west of lake.
Camping near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful getaway or an adventure-filled trip, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to check the specifics of each campground to make the most of your trip!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Cape Girardeau, MO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Cape Girardeau, MO is Turkey Ridge Campground — Ferne Clyffe State Park with a 4.3-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Cape Girardeau, MO?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 tent camping locations near Cape Girardeau, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
