Best Tent Camping near Chadwick, MO

This is one of the largest KOAs I've stayed at and the kampground itself is very nice. The staff were great ands check in was super quick. Also, there's a rugged little trail that goes behind the kampground. It was a great little walk for the dog and I to stretch our legs after our long drive. 

The tent sites are all located at the back of the kampground around a circular pavillion. Each tent site has its own water facet, electricity, and fair internet which are somewhat redeeming for the negatives below. It's nice to have a covered picnic table and the lattice provides some privacy from the picnic tables of the other campers. Other than the traffic is very quiet in by 7:30 or so. Everyone seems respectful of each other. 

The tent sites are disappointing to me. They're small, close together, and nearer to the highway than makes for a good night's sleep in a tent. That makes them kind of pricey for what you get.

I'm tent camping because I want to be distanced from other people. I put mine up as far to the side as I can go, but I'm  still literally only 10 feet from the next tent. Other users mentioned grass on the sites. I haven't seen any grass around and site 5 has only stones on the tent pad. This site also has probably the worst view. It faces out toward one of the kampground roads and is in full view of the street light. The back sites seem darker.

I'd highly recommend this KOA if you're visiting Branson in a trailer or RV. The kabins also look really cute (and there are lots of them!). If I visited here again in a tent, I'd pick one of the two sites that face the woods.

Park is clean and well run. Along the beautiful White River, trout heaven. 3 “cabins” available, these are park model RVs in permanent spots along the River. Tent sites with no hookups available, but not at rivers edge. You can put a tent on an RV spot. Programs available from park rangers. Store in campgrounds has most of what you may have forgotten. Tent sites have trees for setting a hammock, some better than others.

Went tent camping with the family (6 of us ages 1-33) during the offseason. Just a beautiful place. Kids had a blast.

Went here for a Jeep Jamboree and had a great time. There are several areas to tent camp and have great amenities as well. Toilets, showers, food, etc. The hosts are very hospitable and treat you great!

Mainly an RV campground with some tent sites. Camped with our camper van at site #35 along the White River. Long walk to the restroom from here. The RV sites have paved drives & offer views of the river. Most sites are small, feels crowded, although there were many unoccupied "Reserved" sites. No privacy between most sites; can easily hear conversations from neighboring sites. Table, firepit, water & electric hookups included. The restroom/shower house is clean & warm. Campground is popular with fishermen. Big Bluff hiking trail nearby; excellent trail. T-Mobile service is very good. Campground is clean & well maintained. To us, the layout of the RV sites along the river had a mobile home park feel to it. The 20 tent sites are in a wooded section away from the river. These sites appear to be spacious- more so than the RV sites.

We had a great time camping Memorial Day Weekend. We tent camped. The campsite was really nice and everyone was very friendly. The visitor center is awesome and the park had several activities available. We went to an owl talk and a bear talk that was very informative. We also did the lake cruise. I would highly recommend this park.  This is my favorite camping spot.

We stay here 3 or 4 times a year, they have lots to offer. Bike/hiking trails, horse shoe pits, basketball court, a very large picnic area a store with thing's if you forget something, very nice bathrooms with showers. They offer tent camping area that's pretty nice, and rv camp site with Full hook ups and some with just water and electric. It's a must see, also, some site are available year round

I’ve camped here 2x for Jeepstock in September. Brandon, the owners closes the park for the event but it’s still maxes the facilities capacity. The tent camping is questionable, but lots of great electric sites. Generator camping is far away from everyone else so that’s nice.

There’s limited bathrooms and showers but I think that’s going to change soon with additions to the grounds. Nice new cabins are being added yearly. If you ha e a chance to visit SMORR, I would recommend it!

We tent camped in Campground 3 at lot 168. We are more of the hiker, woodsy, adventure type people. If I would have known better I would have chosen Campground 1 for tent camping, as it seemed less groomed. Campground 1 was tucked up in an inlet that went back into the valley. It dead ends at a wonderful trailhead. The west side on CG#1 is lined by a beautiful creek that runs into the rotating river. Lots 54-77 are close to the bathrooms and well shaded, and I have them noted in my phone for our next trip. Reservations required and easy to make (1-877-422-6766)

Campground 3 was very open and didn’t feel very “woodsy”. However it was still a very nice spot with a short walk to some awesome fishing spots. It is also near the two longer trail heads, which we enjoyed. If you have ATT you won’t have any cell service here. BUT.. there’s WiFi. Yes. In 2021, you can get WiFi at your campsite. I don’t really like this, but it was helpful for my partner who is a businessman and needs to be able to send emails. (This was only from CG#3 in my experience) 

Campground 2 seemed like a nice in between of 1 and 3. It was a little more shaded, but seemed to have more traffic. 

Every campground offered basic, electric, or all the fancy stuff. We like to rough it, so that wasn’t for us. We will be back for sure!

We loved staying at Campbell Point campground. The whole place was very well maintained and clean. The camp host was very friendly and relaxed but clearly cared a lot about keeping the grounds free of trash and the bathrooms well stocked and clean. Our large family tent camped on site 51. There was a slight slope to pretty much all of the sites but it wasn't a big deal. 

There was a nice playground and beach, swim area that the kids loved to visit though it was too cool to swim. The marina store was very nice and well stocked, though pricey. 

The vibe was a lot of older folks and families so it was very relaxed and pretty quiet overall. Though the actual sites were fairly close together the tree coverage helped make it feel a little bit more private. 

We are already planning our return trip.

I have been floating on the James River many times. Always a great experience on the river.

Campsite PROS- Very large grassy sites for tent camping with RV sites also available. On site general store for various floating items, alcohol, food etc

Campsite CONS- VERY STRICT camping rules when camping with minors... We were all well over the age of 21 ( 30 years old +) with the exception of my brother who was 20 at the time. He was DENIED an overnight site due to his age and the alcohol sold on the premises. Even with my father present . Also their shower/ bath room is poorly maintained and always dirty. They have one bath and toilet for men and one for women for the entire campground, which has well over 40 sites. They are unorganized when it comes to drop offs and pick ups and could use more staff to help get on and off the river for floating.

This campground offers RV camping with full hookups or tent camping. The RV sites are a little small and close to each other, and you can tell some people are long time campers. That being said, it’s a very nice area by the river with lots of fishing, floating, and swimming opportunities. A few things to keep in mind-if it’s been raining a lot it does tend to get muddy, we don’t have 4WD and got stuck, luckily some others there did and helped us out. Once it dried up it was no problem. (It had been over for over a week, so it was out of the norm) The exit to get out is a hill with gravel so again not having 4WD that was a little tricky, the visibility is also not great because of curves so you just have to hope people aren’t going too fast. The last thing is this place is also a canoe rental so there are vans/buses with canoes going back and forth all day so it can be noisy.

My family stayed in the African Treehouse Lodge. It was a great weekend getaway. The kids loved that the upstairs was up a ladder and running across the swinging rope bridge. The playground has a zipline that all the kiddos had a blast using. We were able to "rent" for free a couple of movies from the office and the staff was really friendly and helpful. The trails made for a good afternoon family walk. Some trails were more cleared out than other but the variety is a plus in my book. They are not overly long trails but still very enjoyable. They have plenty of RV sites and some cabins and treehouses. Me and my wife will be coming back to one of the couples only treehouses for sure! There are not a lot of tent sites and they are all in one crowded area with little seclusion or cover but this place is clearly more geared to the RV's and Cabin getaways. Would be great for family reunions or family trips to the Branson area.

When it comes to this location I liked the overall spacing of sites and the shaded tent area.  This was so appealing when I pulled in.  At first I had eyed just a site by the water but when I saw these they were a bit further away but seemed to be just what I was looking for in the midst of the heat.

Many people come to this area to put a kayak in the water and enjoy, and while I wanted to do that it seemed a bit crowded for my liking as a novice.   You wouldn't expect that from the water but I get turned around easily and I didn't want to be out there in the way.   Instead I enjoyed the other activities and just being at camp itself.

A bit more about the options for water recreation.   They do have rentals and a shuttle service to accommodate you returning following a paddle, that seemed very reasonably priced.

Camp was very nice with lush green grass, access to fire rings and picnic tables.    It wasn't to loud although you could hear the sounds of campers around you pretty easily.    

They also had cabin options here, I didn't explore them this time around but they looked nice and the placement wasn't to close to one another.  The RV area was well spaced and had great areas for leveling out with ease, shade coverings for the exposed sites and similar amenities to the tent camping.

Family style theme campgrounds are always fun.   Not really so much about the hiking and outdoors as many other camps in the area but the amenities and attraction of the campgrounds are usually the selling point.  

I have seen many Jellystone Parks in the past, and I will say this one is a bit less themed than others.  However what it lacks in theming it does make up for in charm as the cast and staff are extra friendly and involved.   They ensure that children have interactions with Yogi and that there are plenty of fun activities for the entire family to enjoy!!

They host daily activity times for foam parties, scavenger hunts, interactions and crafts which is really fun and makes for a great family style outing especially for the younger kiddos.   Additionally they have a splash pad, swimming pool, hiking areas which are a bit less challenging, playground and ranger station.    

Though they do have an all inclusive style approach to entertainment they also have show tickets available for purchase for venturing into Branson itself, a great touch for additional entertainment as there are many things the entire family will enjoy.

Tent camping along with RV camping and Cabins is available but something unique to the park is the RV rental service where you can rent an RV to stay in, something not to many parks in Branson offer.

When I visited the park, some of the amenities and special attractions were currently closed due to the conditions going on in the world, but they still made sure to make it an exciting experience for all staying there.