Best Campgrounds near Eldon, MO

This is the third time staying here. This time wife and I took our small camper just to get away for the weekend. We stayed in campground one because it is the only one open during the off season. You can make reservations online before going to ensure you have the spot you want. Campground one is in a flat spot down by the water and it is actually rather open and built for large rigs to fit in. If it was full I imagine it would be crowded and not much privacy but because we went in the winter there was only four other campsites taken. We were surprised when we found that there was Wi-Fi available for free at the campground. One negative is we only found one toilet for the entire campground. It wasn't a problem at this time because there was hardly anybody there, but I imagine if you wanted to use the toilet during the regular season you would find yourself with a line or going somewhere else.

This is a beautiful area with a lot of camping spots. Campground 1 is down by the water and really meant for the big rigs. Most of the other campgrounds (5 total) also have plenty of space to spread out. We saw plenty of 5th wheels up in the other campgrounds. Many had electric, though don't think many have water. Which is fine for a long weeked or something - just fill up the freshwater before heading out. 

Of course if you like fishing this is a wonderful place. Not my thing, but I enjoyed people watching.

Asked for a lake view cabin. We were the only ones here since it was a weekday after labor day so all cabins were open. I go to check in and it's a long sidewalk between narrow rails. Not at all easy if you are disabled and with my COPD, I had to stop several times. 

I get cabin 6. If you go here DO NOT GET CABIN 6. It's the only one you can't park in front of as it's down the side of a hill. You must traverse several levels of steps down a steep grade. The office hours are over by now so I hauled what we needed down. 

The lake view was somewhere past the forest so I'll take their word on that.

The refrigerator was filthy and we had no hot water. Since it was after hours all we could do is clean the fridge, make supper and wait till 9 in the morning to call maintenance. 

Maintenance arrives and determine the elements are bad. At about 10:30am they started working. Spent most of our only full day watching them fix the water heater. The maintenance guys were very nice but I'm not leaving my stuff with strangers. 

So basically, I spent $200 to sit on a deck with acorns falling on us or on the world's most uncomfortable couch as they worked on getting me hot water. Early morning fishing was shot.

They did say we could now switch cabins but I would need to move our stuff back up Mt Fk-That just to move it again into the new cabin, then back out again tomorrow. 

It is a lovely area and the people are friendly but they need to do better. Also, warn people that cabin 6 is more cliff side than lake side.

Check-in was quick and easy and we proceeded to pull through site 83 with FHUs. The gravel pad was very long and we had plenty of room for our 40’ rig and F450. The utilities were in the middle of the pad and water pressure was decent at about 40 psi. As we were on the end of a row, we had a lot of front yard space. The sites here are very close together, but long-term guests kept their sites nice and well organized, and overall this CG was very clean. There are mature trees so satellite placement could be challenging. We were able to place our Starlink in the yard area for a good shot to the north sky. We got 4 bars on Verizon and their WiFi worked well for a campground of this size. At the office, they have a nice store and gift shop with one of the best selections of camping shirts etc. that we have seen.

During our stay at the campground, we found several positive aspects. The pricing was reasonable, the staff was friendly, and the pool was cute. The bathrooms and showers were clean, and the overall environment was pretty quiet and well lit. Additionally, our site was mostly level. However, there were also some drawbacks to our experience. The pond on the property was essentially a large ditch with standing water, which attracted bugs. The distance from our spot to the bath house was quite far, and we were disappointed by the lack of a clear view of the river. While the campground may be enjoyable for longer stays, we found it to be nothing special for a one-night stop during our travels. NOTE- I don’t think the contact info on this listing is correct.

Large campsites. Quiet at the site. Restaurant on the campground

My favorite place to camp!! Can't wait to go again.

The campground was quiet and low key. No internet available so bring your own or purchase WiFi from their system. Shower house was ok, the smell made me dry heave, smelled like old meat. Small fenced area for dogs to play / go to the bathroom in. No playground for kids. Our site was level, it stormed during our stay but staff was quick to clean up downed trees and regrade the roads. The location was perfect for visiting Branson and its attractions. I got the vibe that it was more of an older generation camping campsite with more long time campers. We’d go back and stay if our focus was the attractions at Branson, not to hangout at the campsite.

Very small park but easily navigable. We had a great spot, for our 42’ motorhome and truck. It was a pull through and easy to get into. It’s close to US 44 so a bit of road noise. The owner was very friendly and gave us a map with perfect directions. Told us about the amenities and said if we needed anything to just yell. ☺️ We didn’t leave once we rolled in til morning due to pouring down rain. Would recommend!!

We came just at the start of season, so we took advantage of a family spot to relax and get some extra privacy. There were maybe 5 other campers in Wild Ridge, and it was a ridge coming in, narrow roads leading into the peninsula.

Vault toilets were well kept, and well light at night.

We hiked to check out the other campsites that were also well spaced for privacy.

There was a desire line down to the lake, with a rocky shore to walk, the beaches themselves a bit wider.

We had a nice clearing to set up at our location, likely used for a second tent that lended well to privacy.

Beautiful campgrounds. Hiking trails. Super showers & toilets. Clean. Friendly staff.

PROS 

Senior discount 

Check-in via text was easy and fast 

Beautifully maintained state park 

Quiet during week 

Pull-thru Site 102 level, concrete pad surrounded by grass 

Site sufficient length for trailer and tow vehicle 

Metal frame plastic plank picnic table metal fire ring with cooking grate 

Dark sky friendly except for campsites 101-106 

Trash dumpsters throughout campground 1 

Firewood for sale $5 at entrance gate house 

Huge park store! 

CONS. 

1 toilet and 1 shower for 48 campsites in Campground 1. Both door locks did not work. There were lines for the one toilet most of the time!!!

$6.50 Reservation Fee 

Site 102 had a wonderful view of the entrance gatehouse that had blaring lights all night, the one lane dump station and a dumpster 

Campground 101-106 sites slammed together; our campfire ring was 15 feet from neighbors sewer outlet 

Site 102 campfire ring was 2 feet from site unmovable picnic table 

No privacy from any other sites 

No security overnight gate closures 

Would not recommend Park restaurant

We liked this place. It was a good place for an overnight camp on our travels. No restroom that we could find. No water or power. Camp is free. It has an old boat ramp so you can get down the the river easier, but water was way too low for a boat when I was there in September of 2023. Down a gravel road a few minutes off the highway in some corn field area. There are only a handful of spaces on the grass. So hopefully you get one or someone is willing to share. We had the place to ourselves.