Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Defiance? With The Dyrt, it's easy to find Defiance campgrounds for you and your tent. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Defiance, Missouri's most popular destinations.
$50 - $75 / night
Little Lost Creek is a partially spring-fed Ozark stream, characterized by clear water and a rocky stream bed. Campers are limited to 14 consecutive days in a 30-day period. Groups of more than 10 campers need a special-use permit.
Pitch your tent in one of four widely spaced sites. Each site has enough room for multiple tents and includes a fire pit and picnic table. The sites are just a short walk from our shower/restroom facility. The fishing ponds are just a quarter mile walk from the campsites, and access to the numerous trails throughout our 940-acre property is directly from the campsites. While we have four designated sites, it is rare for all to be full, and likely that you'll be the only campers here most days. We are located in a very remote/rural part of Illinois in a county nestled between the Mississippi& Illinois Rivers, but only 75 miles north of downtown St. Louis. We have been included in John Shirle's"The Best in Tent Camping: Illinois."
The McCully Heritage Project is a 940- acre environmental center located one mile south of Kampsville in beautiful and remote Calhoun County. We are a private non-profit left as the legacy of Howard and Eva McCully.
$20 - $100 / night
The Brazil Creek Recreation Area serves as a trail camp for the 24-mile Berryman Trail and the 40 mile Courtois Section of the Ozark Trail. The Berryman Trail traverses 24 miles of scenic Ozark countryside starting at the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp of 1937 and winding through timbered stands and fields. This section of the Ozark Trail is part of the over 200 mile through-trail. For more information about these sections of trail, visit www.ozarktrail.com . Camping, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding here offer the recreationist a pleasant measure of solitude and quiet.
Indian Camp Creek Park, located at 2679 Dietrich Road, Foristell, is St. Charles County’s largest park with 603 acres, including more than 10 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, biking, and equestrian use. Camping, disc golf, fishing and a large destination playground are just some of the amenities found there. Climb to the top of the observation silo, and discover the beautiful prairies, vast wooded hills, and protected habitat found throughout the park.
Sage Mountain is a recreational area located in the heart of Missouri wine country. Located between Hermann and Washington on the south side of the Missouri river. Our 50 acres of virgin forest is home to an abundance of diverse wildlife, 3.6 miles of hiking trails, bolted climbing and bouldering routes established, and a large impressive cave. We are located near the Katy trail for more hiking and biking. Access to the Missouri river nearby for boating and fishing. On site we have an abundance of areas for back country camping, or we allow car camping in our open parking lot.
$25 / night
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Legend
A great spot for a quick get away from St Louis. Beautiful park with lots to do not far from the campground. If you are tent camping you don't have to worry about generators from the RVs as there are two separate camping areas that share a really nice shower house, but have their own bathrooms as well. Be careful to not get a tent site in the middle, in the low area, as rain runoff will run down to the middle area. No tent pads, but plenty of grassy areas to pitch your tent. Activities in the park include swimming in the pool or the Big River, canoeing (rent at the Thunderbird Lodge), hiking, and petroglyphs.
Guide
Lovely wooded spot. There are about 6-8 sites. Can back in a camper. Outhouse building. Only had one other camper. Shaded, wooded. We had a lovely night but woke up covered in ticks! Lots of ticks here. We ride our motorcycles here to tent camp. Sites are close. Fire rings , no picnic tables.
Traveler
Did a 2 night tent camp with my family and it was awesome. We had a great time on the trails and near the Mighty Missouri River.
Guide
Peaceful tent camping on Walkers Island at $8 per day.
GuideThe campground is located in a gym of a park located along the Missouri River. Reservations are required and the sites are in high demand. Tent camping only. There is water available in the park.
This Campground places you in the heart of Missouri Wine Country and there's a perfect base for visiting the wineries and restaurants along highway 94.
Traveler
Doesn't allow pets for tent sites
Legend
Robertsville is a nice little park on the Meramec River with about 25 campsites split fairly evenly between tent and electric hook up in a long loop. The hook up sites are on the inside of the loop and the tent sites are on the outside of the loop. You need to look carefully for a level tent site as some are fairly slopped. However, most of the tent sites have nice trees for hammocking and all sites looked clean. The shower house is newer and well taken care of. Seems that lots of people come here for the boat access to the river, but there are some really nice hiking trails you shouldn’t miss. On the weekends in the high season be prepared to reserve two nights in a row, which can make it more difficult to get a spot. But if you go during the week you can have the place pretty much to yourself. And the racoons. Just saying
Scout
A small and not crowded place to camp with all you need and hospitality. Great for tent camping and hiking.
Legend
Nice state park close to St Louis. Good, if short, trails. The campground is used a lot by RV and campers, not so much by tenters. Lots of campsites had electric. All had the standard pininic tables and fire rings, and the campground has a decent and clean shower house. You might end up pitching your tent on a parking pad as many tent sites don't have level grassy spots for your tent. Sites are not very private, and some are right on top of the next. I like sites 65 and 58 for their privacy or grassy tent spots.
Legend
This new little (and fast expanding) campground has it all. A short 5 minute walk to “downtown” Defiance, the campground is right next to the Katy Trail. Forgot your bike? Walk 3 minutes away and rent one. Want to float the Missouri? They have a canoe outfitter on site. Need a cold beer or hot coffee, it’s right next door at the local brew pub and coffee house. Want to hear live music? You’ve got two biker bars (with pretty good burgers and barbecue to pick from and the wineries are just a short drive or Uber away. Firewood for sale on site, really clean new shower house, and great night sky viewing. And for all the locals, you can get your Ted Drews frozen custard just up the street too. Tent sites back up to woods and the Katy Trail and the rv sites are out in the open meadow. Warning, this place will likely flood if it rains heavy. Which means the mosquitos might be plenty if they don’t spray for them.
Guide
Stayed here for one night we toured the cave which was great. The park is very well kept and nice clean facilities. We tent camped and every spot had a good place to set up a tent.
Ranger
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.
Traveler
This was a great campsite with water and electric hookups. We tent camped and floated the 6 mile float. Bathrooms we're clean and we'll maintained. Showers needed quarters to operate. Nice restaurant for breakfast and a great store.
Guide
This park is beautiful. Located about 25 minutes from St Louis. They have paddle boats and bikes and group bikes for rental. Located right next to a lake with a lot of RV and tent camping spots. Kids had a blast riding bikes. Even finding a few little frogs jumping around and fireflies at night.
TravelerWe spent a Saturday and Sunday there camping in the electric site. They do have tent sites but we wanted to be closer to the river which was a 2min walk.
Great place, awesome people and kid friendly. Definitely will be back!
Guidethis ground is very well kept and is oerfect for tent camping. the only downfall is the amount trees. although the sites are very large, flat, and easy, you can see everyones business because there is maybe 1 tree in between each site. but there is a creek, trails, walk in sites, and lots of history to check out.
Legend
Hermann is an amazing village of old world charm nestled into the Missouri River Valley. Picture book clock towers and church steeples among 19th century era brick cottages adorn the historic German immigrant influenced village with plenty of restaurants, shops and galleries for wandering pleasure. Hermann is right in the heart of Missouri wine country with two stunning wineries within walking distance of the campground; Stone Hill and Hermannhof...these are not to be missed. For cycling enthusiasts...the 240 mile Katy State Park Trail(nation's longest Rails to Trails Project) is just across the river from Hermann and follows the Missouri river through countless little river towns rich in history. A short distance south on highway 19 is the Swiss Meat Company, well worth a visit. The city park has an amazing campground operated by the City of Hermann. They offer full hook up sites(water, electric and sewer), water and electric, electric only, and tent camping. 18 full hook up sites are paved with grass areas and fire rings, 25 full hook up sites are on a paved parking lot(big rig friendly), and 8 electric only sites are on grassy area. A bath house with showers and restrooms are available, along with a dump station.To make a reservation please call the City Office, 573-486-5400, Monday-Friday between 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Full hookup(water, electric& sewer)…..$30.00 Water and electric…..$25.00 Electric only…..$20.00 Tent camping…..$15.00 This is a great spot for an overnight...but don't cut yourself short...it's absolutely great for an extended stay. http://hermannmo.com/campground/
Legend
There are 10 or so primitive tent sites and an area that will accommodate about a dozen RV’s. There are no services here and no hook ups, but it’s free. The primitive tent sites are spread out along the main road through the conservation area, which means that in the daytime you will get road noise and dust, but its pretty quiet at night. Only a couple have picnic tables, but all seemed to have at least a level spot for the tent and a fire ring. I noticed some sites had a bit of trash in the fire rings, probably from day use or partiers. There is no trash service, so plan to pack out your trash. The best site (already taken, too bad) was set on the edge of the woods next to a fishing pond. The campers that were there let me take some pics of their site since it was so pretty. The only downside to that site was its proximity to the RV lot and their generators. There are some nice hiking trails here to explore.
Traveler
Typical Jellystone, lots for kids to do. Really small sites. Tent sites seem fairly flat. I’m in a site for small campers. The site is bowed front to back and not level side to side. You can hear highway traffic all night and the kids hit the playground, right outside my window, at 7:00.
ScoutEasy to book online even the day of. Choose your spot ahead of time and pull in, easy as that! There are RV & tent sites, bathrooms with hot showers. Had no problem booking around 7pm the day of and arrived around 1 am quietly set up in my previously reserved spot. Check out is at 2 pm
Guide
Great location for a weekend getaway, only 1 hour from the city! Hiking trails, level lots, full hookups available, There are 2 loops, the tent camping side is well shaded with a lot of room between sites. The full hookup loop has a lot of room, but can be a challenge backing in, as the camp sites are at a 90 degree angle to the road. Would love to return.
Guide
We discovered this gym. On our way home. Just needed to stay overnight, but will definitely be back. The little details make it very homey. Sites are well laid out and easy to maneuver. Full hook ups or tent sites are available to meet the needs of the camper. Clean facility and family friendly.
GuideWe stayed here last minute for Labor Day Weekend and the staff were great with finding us a good tent site available. This is not a rugged style campground as there are many amenities such as a pool, putt putt golf, volleyball, and more. They also host daily kids activities and crafts. A very family friendly campground and would highly recommend if camping with kids!
Scout
Lost valley happens to be one of our favorite camp grounds. They are extremely family friendly, they have an indoor pool, hot tubs, and sona, an outdoor pool and hot tubs, inflatable jump pillows, concerts almost every weekend, full hookups, plenty of tent camping sites as well, two swim beaches and several lakes on the property. If that's not enough try the horse back riding, or indoor mini golf, or grab a meal or a drink at the on site restaurant and bar.
RangerWonderful state park with paved roads and level concrete pads. We were nestled up against a beautiful creek. Could barely keep the dogs out of it. Nice,clean bathrooms. Nice play area for kids. We hiked one of the many hiking trail available. Tours are offered throughout the day in the two onsite caves. They were amazing. Natalie was our Gide and really knew her stuff! Park also offer kayaking, swimming, rafting and just a whole bunch of fun. There was a large camp of boys scouts and several other tent camping. Would recommend this park everyone. 10 out of 10!
RangerLots to do for all ages, including swimming and hikes of any difficulty/length. Famous for petroglyphs and other history too. Green rolling hills that would be ideal to visit in the fall. The electrics sites are closer to the river, the tent sites are more private in trees in a separate area.
Yay: Rent a canoe/kayak/tube to enjoy the river (on site!).
Nay: Make sure to get away from the developed part of the campground to enjoy this nature. Surprise: Petroglyphs are the icing on the cake here!
Scout
I took my daughter and a friend on their first camping trip here. We stayed the last weekend of the season (10/29-31). It was quiet with only two RVs on one end. We picked a tent site at the other end, right on the river. The girls ran all over the camp ground. The ranger was super friendly and shared information about the area. Since it was the end of the season, the coyotes were coming back closer to the area and serenaded us all night. We can't wait to go again next year
Tent camping near Defiance, Missouri offers a variety of scenic spots perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. With well-maintained facilities and access to beautiful trails, these campgrounds provide an ideal getaway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Defiance, MO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Defiance, MO is St. Charles County Klondike Park with a 5-star rating from 4 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Defiance, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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