Best Tent Camping near Chaffee, MO

Tent camping options near Chaffee, Missouri include several conservation areas and state parks with basic amenities. Lake Girardeau Conservation Area offers primitive tent camping with about eight small sites, each equipped with a picnic table and fire pit. Apple Creek Conservation Area provides more secluded tent camping accessible via boat-in, hike-in, or walk-in routes.

Most tent sites in the region feature basic amenities with limited facilities. Lake Girardeau provides vault toilets but no running water, while Apple Creek offers picnic tables and trash receptacles but lacks toilet facilities. Sites typically have level ground with gravel surfaces that remain clean even in damp weather. Fires are permitted at most locations, though campers should check current restrictions during dry periods. According to one visitor, "It is secluded and nice to just get away, but each campsite is very close to each other so there is not a lot of privacy."

The tent camping experience in this region offers good access to water activities. Lake Girardeau Conservation Area provides tent campers with opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and canoeing on its no-wake lake. Apple Creek Conservation Area is situated near a creek that supports fishing, with a boat ramp available for kayak launches. The camping areas remain relatively quiet with minimal crowds. Based on reviews from The Dyrt, "It is a good area for fishing, kayaking or canoeing. It is a no-wake lake." Tent campers should note that while these conservation areas offer peaceful natural settings, they generally provide minimal amenities and require self-sufficiency for water and other essentials.

Best Tent Sites Near Chaffee, Missouri (15)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Chaffee, MO

402 Reviews of 15 Chaffee Campgrounds


  • S
    Oct. 7, 2020

    Giant City State Park Campground

    No privacy at tent camp, hike amazing!

    So first of all- I think it’s fair to state before I leave a review that my husband and I prefer primitive and private camping. The fewer people we see while we’re out, the better. We live in a city so when we camp, we want the opposite. If you enjoy RV camping or don’t mind not so Private spots, this is a decent spot to spend the night. If you like primitive/private camping- il fill you in below!

    We do tent camping and Saw there were walk-in sites and hike in sites at this campground. Usually walk-in sites are pretty private and dispersed well - atleast where we’ve been before. The 14 “primitive” camping sites were right next to eachothwr with little to no privacy at all. Good tree cover for shade but otherwise you’re basically setting up your tent and area in an open field. That was a little disappointing to us because it wasn’t what we thought we would find. The RV spots also seem super close together but again- we like things spread out so maybe it would be an OK place for some.

    The vault toilets near the tent sites were...as clean as vault toilets get! And we did not use tje shower facilities so can’t speak on that.

    If we had been just the 2 of us, we would’ve hiked in to do our camping along one of the hiking paths but we were meeting two other friends and were unsure if they would want to hike miles to a spot so we opted for the tent spots just after the RV campground. If you want more privacy for an evening of camping, you’ll need to come with your gear packed up decently enough to hike it out atleast a mile onto the trails. There is camping allowed along the trails as long as you are 100 ft from the trail so that was an option, but in certain spots along the trail it’s challenging to find a clearing (hammocks would be great along the trail). There is also an official primitive camping site halfway through the 12 mile loop of the Red Ceder Trail. We day hiked almost the whole loop but made a Weird little detour so we didn’t get to check these spots out.

    We were hoping to find a campsite that- as get as difficulty of accessibility level- was in between a 6 mile hike and the tent spots in the field but there isn’t any official spot like that even tho there’s tons of space and potential for it. Rant over about the campground. Let’s talk about the hiking! The hiking was truly awesome and felt like it balanced out my disappointment with the campground. Doing the whole 12 mile loop of tje Red Cedar Trail was a challenge for us! We really enjoyed it. In some spots, the trail markers are a little confusing, but overall it’s decently marked and the map is somewhat helpful just to kindve know vaguely where you are. The 2nd day, we went back and did about half rhe loop and also checked out the more popular section of the trails back there that include Giant City Nature Trail, Devils Stand Table, and a few others. Very cool rock formations. Pretty busy in the weekend over there but the test of the trails away from that area with those big landmarks was completely deserted and there are some super cool rock formations not on the map at all.

    Over all, this was a fun 4 days. We would return and plan on hiking out into the trails to camp for our evenings. If you like privacy around your campfire at night, I can’t recommend the campground.

  • M
    Oct. 11, 2020

    Asher Creek Campground — Lake Wappapello State Park

    Gorgeous in the Fall

    My group and I camped in two of the basic sites in Asher Creek campground and we couldn’t get enough of the front-row lake view! The sites closest to the lake are very level, and everyone in the campground is only a short walk from the cleanest park restrooms I’ve ever seen. If you’re like me and are just doing basic tent camping, I’d recommend a pop-up canopy for the table area since there is not a lot of tree cover in those sites. Overall, an excellent place to camp!

  • Leah H.
    Jul. 18, 2017

    Silver Mines

    Great Camping Near the River

    This camp site has RV hook-ups and tent camping. There are trees throughout the campground if you're looking to set up a hammock. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table and is a mix of grass and light gravel. Pit toilets, no showers. Water spigots throughout the camp ground. Keep an eye out for snakes though! I nearly stepped on a copper head in the outhouse! Camp sites are a 2 minute walk to the St. Francois River. Great hiking along the river and good fishing, swimming and kayaking in the river! Also not to far from the Castor River Shut-ins if you're looking to pack two rivers into one trip. We just celebrated my husband's birthday here last weekend, though we have been a few times before. Always a blast!

  • Napunani
    Jun. 26, 2022

    Trail of Tears State Park Campground

    Back-up to the Mississippi River

    PRO 

    Senior discount saving $6 

    Able to reserve on-line 365 days prior to arriving 

    Very friendly and helpful camp host 

    Unobstructed view of the Mississippi River 

    Great dark sky viewing 

    No highway/road noise, but... 

    Asphalt parking pad surrounded by grass 

    Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

    One hook lantern pole 

    Moveable wooden picnic table in the grass 

    Toilet/shower building.35 miles from campground very nice and very clean with ample TP and hand soap 

    Firewood for sale by camp host $5 

    Mississippi River Scenic Overlook was very nice V

    Visitor Center has small museum (no admission fee) on the Trail of Tears Native American tribal migration 

    Coin-operated laundromat on South Hope Street Jackson after the roundabout 12 miles from campground 

    Tractors Restaurant Main Street Jackson very good diner type restaurant 

    CONS

    $8.50 reservation fee for online self made reservation 

    Sites that back to the river very close to each other. We stepped out our door onto the neighbors stinky slinky. Insufficient space to deploy awning. 

    Electrical utility connection is on passenger side of the campsite#6 

    Sewer connection was high above ground so drainage was up hill. Camp host warned us upon arrival we may need to use dump station to get tanks totally drained. 

    Site 6 not level side-to-side 

    Lots of trains, day and night with train horn blaring due to road crossing at campground Lots of river barge noise 

    Only one single unisex pit toilet in campground 

    No park headquarters or entrance gate office for check-in. Sign in campground informing how to conduct virtual check in. 

    No security gate closed overnight 

    No ranger patrolling campground

    No WiFi 

    2 bars Verizon LTE

  • FThe Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 8, 2024

    Sulphur Springs Dispersed

    Beautiful River site for parking or dispersed

    We stopped here chasing the 2024 eclipse. Easy to find. No cost. About 20 parking spaces, a vault toilet, and a boat launch. Open for solar panels, but tree cover around the lot. Only about 5 parking spaces are not on a slant. Places in the trees for tents. Absolutely beautiful views up and down the river. A single fire pit on the river’s edge. No road noise to speak of because it is way in the distance and rare at night. Fireflies and owls into the night. Mist on the water in the morning: just beautiful. T mobile service has 3 of 4 bars. There is no apparent Verizon service.

  • Cameron
    Oct. 1, 2020

    Bean Ridge Pond Campground

    Free, primitive campground, loud partiers

    Got here on a Saturday night in late September and both of the campsites were available. Campsites consist of a clearing with a fire pit and a picnic table. No litter. No toilets. Very slow and spotty AT&T service: I was able to text but not access the Internet. The area is very pretty. Soft ground for staking a tent. Bugs were alright, no need for bug spray. There’s water access at the pond, but it’s obviously stagnant and very brackish. Big downside was a convoy of Jeeps full of partiers rolled down to the pond at 12:30am and hung out down there blasting music for an hour, which is a real sleep ruiner. This might be a local party spot, so be aware and maybe pack earplugs if you’re coming on a weekend. Upside is that it’s in a National Forest, so if both sites are taken, you can always dispersed camp

  • Doug W.
    Nov. 4, 2021

    Greenville - Lake Wappapello

    A great COE campground

    If you've camped before at a COE campground you expect a quality experience. This one is no exception. It has paved drives and paved sites with a concrete pad for the fire ring and picnic table along with a hook for your lantern. They are also full hookups.

    The place is very clean as well as the restrooms. There are plenty of things to do right from the campground including a paved bike trail into Greenville. We spent two days in early November and just about had the park to ourselves.

    Cell service was adequate but not great.

  • Katie B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 3, 2025

    Dutchman Lake Camp

    Great stop for the night

    We pulled in around midnight and left at 8 am. There’s a large turnaround that could fit many vehicles, but someone was already parked there and we didn’t want to disturb them and also wanted our privacy. There a space for a vehicle to pull off and walk around some boulders to set up a camp, complete with a fire ring. Some bike-packers were already set up there. Close to the lake there is another spot for one or two vehicles. The lake surface had a lot of bug activity - no thanks! We ended up choosing a grassy space next to the curve in the road in between our neighbors. Very peaceful! No bugs.

  • Mara F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 1, 2018

    Huzzah Valley

    Ranger Review: Nature’s Coffee Kettle at Huzzah Valley Resort

    Campground Review

    Huzzah Valley Resort (HVR) is not a typical campground. It’s a place built for and specializing in float trips. If you are picturing serenely paddling down a pristine river in a canoe listening to the sounds of birds and insects, you are in the wrong place, at least on a Saturday during the summer. This is more like a float trip with frat parties floating on by you, complete with loud music, floating cooler, floating beer pong tables, loads of drunk people and of course the antics of these drunk people. Not really the best place to take your kids on those summertime Saturdays. I knew this going into the weekend. Really, with campsite prices from $12.79 (for the family camping area) to $16.00 (for the loud area with no quiet hours, nicknamed the Zoo) per person, per night most people not looking for this experience are weeded out by price alone. All that being said party-barge type float trips are pretty much a rite of passage in Missouri.

    My Husband and I went on this trip with a group of friends that are not as experienced campers as we are and opted to stay in a cabin. This was about $90 per person for the weekend. Our cabin sleeps 8 people with 1 queen bed in a room, 2 queen beds in a loft, and a double sofa sleeper. It included a kitchenette, full bathroom, fire ring, BBQ grill, picnic table. Aside from a microwave and a full size fridge, the cabin didn’t really offer any other amenities. We brought our own sheets and campstove. It was nice to be able to set up a crockpot before we got on the river and have dinner ready when we got back though. The cabin was reasonably sized and not a bad experience.

    It was nice on Sunday morning to just get to enjoy our coffee as we watched hundreds of hungover people in the campground try to take down tents.

    We floated from Scotia to Ozark Outdoors, which is a very pretty 5 mile float in the Huzzah. This meant we had to be bussed from HVR to the put in and from the take out back to HVR. The river was packed!! There were people as far as the eye could see and the raft/canoe/kayak traffic never broke up during our whole time on the river. Since it was not a holiday weekend, we were a little surprised by how crowded it was. This didn't stop is from having a great time though! We floated in a raft and a kayak and both experiences were very good.

    The campsite offered tent sites as well as sites with full hookups for RVs. Each campsite has a fire grate and picnic table. There is a camp store on site that sells everything you could possibly forget, from matches to fishing poles to beer.

    Product Review

    As a Ranger for the Dyrt I get to try out products from time to time. One this trip I tested out Nature’s Coffee Kettle, which is billed as top quality coffee that you can take anywhere. They give you a reusable kettle bag and a filter bag of coffee. You can purchase refill packs to use in the same kettle bag. Kettle bags get up to 4 uses. You place the filter pack at the top of the bag, pour some boiling water over it and let it sit for a few minutes, then you pour the remaining water over the filter and wait a few more minutes for it to brew through the filter bag and drip into the bottom portion of the bag. Once it is done, you can pour yourself a cup of hot joe.

    The coffee is very good. Even though the brewing process is a little complex (adding 1 cup of water, waiting a few minutes, adding 3 more cups, waiting more), it isn’t that difficult. The closable pour spout is nice to keep your coffee hot while you drink your first cup. The bag is a little flimsy and I was afraid the kettle would fall over while brewing, but it held up.  The kettle and bag are lightweight and can fold down pretty small. These are definitely much easier to use than an old school percolator, and take up less space. I feel like car camping is where these will shine. Although you do still have to pack a pot to boil the water.

    They are even practical enough that I might try to take them backpacking at some point. I can’t imagine they will replace Starbucks Vias as my go-to coffee for backpacking though. It is still bigger, creates more trash, and you have to make 4 cups at once even though it is tastier.

    Pros:

    • Delicious coffee in a variety of roasts and types
    • Lighter, smaller than traditional percolator
    • Reusable kettle bags
    • Screw cap to keep coffee hot
    • They offer coffee, tea, and hot chocolate

    Cons:

    • Can only make 4 cups at a time
    • Thin bag- makes it too hot to touch and have to be careful not to let it fall over while brewing
    • Not light, small enough to take backpacking regularly

Guide to Chaffee

The tent campsites near Chaffee, Missouri sit in the southeastern region of the state where several small waterways flow into the Mississippi River. The landscape features a mix of wooded hills and farmland at elevations of around 350-450 feet above sea level. Tent camping opportunities include primitive sites that require more self-sufficiency than standard campgrounds with variable access depending on seasonal flooding conditions.

What to do

Fishing access: Dutchman Lake Camp offers decent fishing opportunities in a peaceful setting. According to a visitor, "Great little spot right off the interstate. Lots of nice scenery and decent fishing."

Hiking trail exploration: Ferne Clyffe State Park provides multiple trails for different skill levels. One camper noted, "There are several hiking trails that looked pretty, but we didn't get a chance to walk them. Overall, this is a nice and quiet campground."

Kayak and canoe launching: The tent sites at Apple Creek Conservation Area provide direct access to creek waterways. A camper mentions, "Apple Creek is a very short distance north on the gravel road. The creek is a good place to fish and you can launch a kayak at the boat ramp."

Wildlife watching: Several campgrounds in the region support diverse bird and animal species. Mornings typically offer the best wildlife viewing opportunities with multiple species active near water edges.

What campers like

Privacy levels: The Backpack Campground at Ferne Clyffe State Park offers secluded tent sites. One camper shared, "The walk up primitive sites are secluded, wooded, and within a pit toilet and water source."

Lake activities: Whippoorwill Lake Campground Resort provides both tent camping and lakeside amenities. A visitor mentioned, "Lake has sandy beaches. Small playset in the water for kids."

Clean tent pads: Gravel surfaces at many conservation areas help keep tent sites clean in wet conditions. At Apple Creek Conservation Area, a camper found "a level spot with gravel, so it's a 'clean' place in damp weather."

Quiet atmosphere: Most tent sites in the region remain uncrowded, especially on weekdays. One camper at Ferne Clyffe noted, "Very peaceful! No bugs," highlighting the tranquil camping conditions available.

What you should know

Bathroom facilities: Toilet options vary significantly between locations. At Ferne Clyffe's Backpack Campground, campers report, "Not a lot of tent sites, but enough. Nice wooded primitive sites with easy access to water and toilets."

Water sources: Lake Girardeau Conservation Area offers limited facilities. According to a reviewer, "Nice little primitive campground with about 8 small spots. Has a nice sized lake good fishing if you are using a boat, or kayak. Spots have a table and a fire pit. Vault toilets, and a pavilion on site."

Firewood availability: Some locations have limited firewood access. One camper at Ferne Clyffe observed, "Only issue I found at all was firewood is surprisingly difficult to come by."

Reservation requirements: Most conservation area tent sites operate on a first-come basis without reservations, while established campgrounds may offer online booking systems.

Tips for camping with families

Water play options: Wanderers End Sanctuary offers creek access perfect for kids. A visitor reported, "We had so much fun playing in the creek learning about Aztec and their gardening methods. Very adorable, baby goats and baby chicks that were just all over."

Cave exploration: Ferne Clyffe State Park features kid-friendly cave features. A camper recommended, "Make sure you take time to explore the waterfall and other short trails nearby."

Animal encounters: Some private campgrounds offer farm animal interactions. Families with children often enjoy these educational opportunities during spring and summer months.

Simplified camping: For beginners, sites with basic amenities reduce setup stress. Conservation areas typically provide flat tent pads with minimal landscaping obstructions.

Tips from RVers

Small rig limitations: Most tent-focused areas near Chaffee have limited facilities for larger vehicles. A Ferne Clyffe camper noted, "There's a large turnaround that could fit many vehicles, but someone was already parked there and we didn't want to disturb them."

Accessibility challenges: Turkey Ridge Campground offers RV options but with some limitations. A visitor explained, "Stayed here 3 nights in travel trailer. Water available to fill your holding tank and in couple of locations in campground."

Level parking: Finding level spots can be crucial for comfortable vehicle camping. One Apple Creek visitor appreciated that sites are "level" with adequate space for standard camping vehicles.

Seasonal considerations: Spring camping often means higher water levels that may affect creek crossings and low-lying campsites. Fall typically offers drier conditions and fewer insects at most locations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chaffee, MO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chaffee, MO is Lake Girardeau Conservation Area with a 3.5-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Chaffee, MO?

TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near Chaffee, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.