Best Equestrian Camping near Columbia, MO

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.

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.

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.

Finger Lakes is one of few places in Missouri for campers to also be able to enjoy riding their ATVs. Helmets for riders and flags for vehicles are required for riding, and there is a variety of terrain for hours of fun. Camping is generally quiet with ample space to relax in your lawn chairs, cook and dine outdoors, and fellowship with others. Most camping sites have at least some shade.

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.

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.

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.

The campground has large campsites and is quiet.  The bathrooms are clean and a short walk from most campsites.  

There is a dock close to the campground for canoeing and kayaking.

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 :)

We will definitely be back.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

I'm not motocross guy, but this sport apparently has a huge draw to Finger Lakes State Park. There are special trails for atvs and motocross if you are into that thing.

There are some small lakes that clearly have a draw for fishermen and for those who like to canoe and kayak. Did you forget your canoe at home, no problem you can rent one.

The campground isn't very big. There are a lot of campers and RV's and a large green space. The grass was cut and well maintained and the bathrooms were clean.

Checkout my video with the campground host, Bill, talking about all of the great things in Finger Lakes State Park.

I think that if I was into motocross/atv this would be a wonderful place to camp! But I had mostly come for the lake/swimming/camping and it was pretty loud and the lake was unswimable even at the beach access.

This park is one of my favorite nearby spots to take the kayak out and just float. Paddling through these channels is such a dreamy experience. Kayaks and canoes are available to rent as well. I have yet to camp out here but I'd love to crawl out of my tent and spend dawn out on these waters.

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

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!