Best Equestrian Camping near Defiance, MO

Campground Review: This is a nice little hidden gem outside St Louis in a great county park. If you are a Six Flags kinda person, the amusement park sits at the southern entrance to Greensfelder. The park itself has some great hiking and biking trails, but the big draw is equestrian in nature (including eventing jumps along some of the trails). This campground caters to the horse-set, with more campsites attached to the equestrian park than not, which means you should make reservations in advance as it is a busy little campground. The equestrian camping area has a standing stall type open barn, a round pen for turn out, and large campsites designed for horse trailers. All of the sites with electric are meant for horse trailers as there are no amenities for RV's. The showers and toilets are in the horse camping portion of the campground. The non-horse camping area seemed to be an afterthought, and is along side a park artery leading to a boarding barn and more trails. I did like that there were two trail heads on opposite sides of the camping lot, and the trails were well marked. Expect this campground area to be busy as it is the staging area for equestrians who use the park.

Product Review: In July I won some gear from Primus for reviewing some campgrounds I visited earlier this summer. This was the first opportunity I had to try out my Primus Profile Camp Stove. This is a nice car camping stove; at eleven pounds, it isn't something to carry far. Things I liked about it include the wind guards, the latching lid, and the fairly thin profile when collapsed. For a two burner stove, it really didn't take up much room in my trunk and it is sturdy enough that I wasn't worried about piling gear on top of it. However, while new out of the box, the igniter didn't work. Glad I always pack a lighter. It's not going to boil water in record time, but certainly held a steady flame and was easy to adjust. I have other stoves, but this one seems like it will be my go to when car camping with friends as I can cook more on two burners than one. https://primus.us/collections/camping-stoves

This is a perfect place to enjoy with the family. Plenty of gorgeous campsites and a lake to swim and kayak! And if you need a place to camp with your horse they have an entire equestrian section. Close to St. Louis but far enough out to enjoy peace and quiet!

This campground was packed, but it started off on the wrong foot. The entrance comes up quick and is right off a state highway with traffic moving between 65-80 mph so of course I passed the entrance and had to double back.

When I pulled into the park there was bunch of construction. There were a few trails but honestly it really seemed like an RV park with very few tents. The showers and bathrooms were clean but there were too many people, it was very crowded.

I should add as a positive that here were equestrian trails and a large parking lot to park your horse trailer.

St. Francois State Park is close to St. Louis so it is probably a popular destination, it just didn't feel like camping. I'm sure it will improve a little when the construction is completed, but I doubt it will be above three stars.

We have stayed here many times. It is busy and has a party atmosphere on the weekends but is nice and quiet during the week. There are some nice trails here that are around 3 miles and 1 long trail that equestrian friendly and also has a hike in camp site. I did score it down because the shower house is older and could use updating. The electric sites are nice. The basic area has some sites that are washed out and red clay is exposed so very messy in wet weather, There also seems to be a drag racing track nearby because you can sometimes hear the noise. Great place for wildflowers and butterflies.

There’s tie stalls under a roof and a round pen mounting blocks shower and bathrooms in camp. Electricity at each site and water nearby m. Kinda busy maybe make reservations when it’s a holiday. Trails are well marked maps available Awsome views and a cool trail by six flags this park is busy with hikers and bikers I’d say 90% of them are polite and yield to horses. Love this place!

I stayed from 9/4/24-9/8/24. I stayed in the primitive campground. It was very quiet and peaceful. My site was close to the camp host and the shower house. Shower house was nice with 4 separate showers with locking doors. Water pressure was great and they were clean. There is a handicap shower unit as well that had a bench and hooks and a shelf to keep your things dry. The bathrooms were separate from the showers with 4 locking stalls. These too were kept clean and toilet paper was always full. Four sinks and mirrors and one outlet close to the sinks for hairdryer etc. The grounds were clean and grass was nicely cut. My campsite had a picnic table a campfire with grill grate and a light post to hang a lantern. The camp host were very friendly and drove around often on golf carts to make sure ppl were ok or needed anything. There was a place to fill your bottled water containers. The checkin office sold ice, campfire wood and a variety of ice creams, stickers and t shirts and sweatshirts. The park has trailheads to hike and an equestrian area. River access for swimming and fishing. There is a separate area with electrical sites and also handicap sites in the electrical and primitive campgrounds. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and will be returning often.

Not a huge campground but, Its a really simple beautiful place to enjoy Missouri's rolling hills. It is located 1 hour from St. Louis and 30 ish min from Elephant Rock State park. If your in the area check out the other amazing Missouri state parks while staying here. The Missouri Mines state park is maybe a 5 min drive and a neat place to see. Tent sites, Bathroom and some hammock spots.

St. Francis is a beautiful Missouri state park, not to mention campground.  It features many access points to its anchor, the BIg River, picnic areas, multiple pavilions and some fantastic trails.  I grew up here, and I am biased toward it, but we camped many places, and it remains one of my favorites then, and now.  The campground has more of a communal vibe, for better or worse, depending on your perspective.  If privacy is your main concern, you may be better served looking elsewhere, but I have always enjoyed the friends I have made there, both young and old due to the proximity of the campsites and the many programs offered there by the Conservation Department.

This is a KOA, so you know what to expect. Pull through, level sites, lots of shade, dog park, pool, and a creek are all here. Have been here before, will be back!

This is a great place for kids and families traveling together.   We are a retired couple with no children and found the sites to be too close together (very small sites) and the park was too noisy for us.

Other than the entire campground losing power Sunday morning and frying my coffee maker, it was a good stay.

Good sites, mature trees, and plenty for kids to do. The pool has a deep end, which seems pretty rare these days.

Nice, clean campground, level pull-through sites - ours had a paver-patio and grill, a lot of shade throughout, dog park, and a creek to explore. This was our 2nd time here. Close to Saint Louis, Six Flags, and hiking.

Good location that is right off I-44 and right next to Six Flags St. Louis. It's about 30 minutes to downtown.

Spots are level and there is decent space. Nice benches at each site, cable TV hookup, good water pressure (40 psi) and 30amp connection. There are 50 amp sites available.

KOA store, restroom and showers are nice and clean. The staff were also very friendly.

One cool activity is to visit the wolf sanctuary. It's very close by.

Only complaint is KOA allowed a U-Haul and car to park next to us. They had 4 dogs, unleashed and they were using the water spigot (no hose) to cool their dogs off, which wouldn't have been a problem if the spaces were bigger. They also kept entering our outdoor space and allowing their dogs to run all the way up to my rig. Very little was done to rectify the problem, even after a phone call and going up to the office. The three solutions were to have us relocate to another site, ask them if they would move, but it would be up to the U-Haul party to relocate or refund us if we decided to leave.

This was the first time staying at a KOA and it basically negated the positives. We will not be returning to this site and will most likely stay away from KOA all together.

We actually didn’t hang out in the campground very much because we spent a lot of time in St. Louis. The campsite was very nice with lots of trees. It had a pool for the kids and some fun things for little ones to do there. The campsite is 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis, and a great place to stay if you’re looking to go check out the gateway arch or go to a Cardinals game.

We stayed here for one night on our way home from Colorado. After checking in at the office, an employee escorted us to our site. Site A13 was a combination of mostly gravel and soft ground. The site was not level front to back and we had to build a sizable pyramid with our blocks to get the rig leveled out.

The pool area was very nice. It was great to be able to cook off after a long day of driving. We’d definitely stay here again.