Best Cabin Camping near Franklin, MO

We stayed at Camp Takimina on our first shakedown trip with our Popup camper.  It was amazing.  It was about 5-10 minutes from I-70, super easy to get to. The camp was quiet, private, and peaceful.  There are no hookups, but water was right next to us near the parking lot, and the picnic tables near the lodge were shaded most of the day.  Portapotties were clean and well stocked.  We brought our dog and two children and the had an absolutely fabulous time!  We hiked a lot in the woods, played in the creek, and had plenty of time and space to figure out our new to us popup camper.  There aren't actual spots for to park in, it is just a big gravel lot with a couple designated areas for campers if the lot is full (it wasn't full at all).  We reserved Arrow Hill also, which is a huge site right next to the parking lot, so we had a campfire ring to cook on.  Most of the firepits have benches that surround them, which was very handy not to have to move chairs around all the time.  The tent sites were huge- easily would fit multiple tents at each site, and we will absolutely be back to tent camp, and with the popup too!

PLEASE NOTE THIS REVIEW IS FOR "RV" PARK ONLY. WE DID NOT USE THE EVENT CENTER AND BED & BREAKFAST. We pushed ourselves to stay 2 of our scheduled 3 nights. This is a trailer park with RVs. All hands off for reservations and parking. Stopped in at the office and they could have cared less. Parked us next to someone that yelled at everyone she was on the phone with and although dog had a leash on was loose. We like dogs but this one was not too interested in being friendly. Maybe construction at entrance is complete now but was a mess when we were there. Wifi stunk. So this 1 star is a 0 star.....first one I have ever given.

Knob Noster State Park is close to Whiteman AFB and towns nearby for amenities. The park is clean and quiet. Weekends often mean a nearly full campground so make sure to reserve ahead! Weekdays there are few campers. The park is well shaded and it includes primitive and electric sites with water pumps within easy access to all sites. There are two sets of campground bathrooms—one is near the front and is brand new (2018); the other bathrooms are half way to the back of the campground. A dump station is at the front of the campground with a pull through drive. Ice, small grocery items and items are all available for purchase from the camp host. You can also rent kayaks either hourly or by the half or full day. There are lots of great trails for hiking, weekend park programs at the campground amphitheater, a playground and basketball courts. There is no WiFi in this park yet but I hear it’s coming soon. This is a great little park!!

We camped the last weekend in September picking a late reservation where kayaks were available for our first tent test run were our main goals, which the site met. Kayaking was wildly available, due to the small lake and difficult launch, we can see why, but still very enjoyable. Site was very sizable for our tent, as most are suitable for campers. Lots of even ground, with decent distance. Facilities could do with some updates, but there were a number of bathrooms on site, spaced so no site seemed far, including the vault toilet and a lot of people masking up while going into bathrooms as well, which was appreciated. Current host was super nice and helpful to first timers. The tiny market has a number of random items, including a collapsible fork which was the only thing we hadn't overpacked, and wasn't overpriced. Fire pits on our site were adjustable, making grilling food easier to control.

Our first camping weekend this year, only 1 mile from home. Testing our 24' Forrest River Salem Cruise Lite pull behind camper systems, support supplies and food supply inventory. It was a spectacular weekend with our of town and our of state family. Knob Noster State Park is a great park for the grandkids to ride their new bikes on the level smooth campground road in safety, and for the adults to catch up over some cold beverages. The campground host this year - 2018 is ran by a couple from Illinois, and although a stickler for all the established park and campground rules - parking on the grass - they did a great job patrolling and managing the campgrounds so everyone was safe and the parks integrity was preserved. The park honored our disability rating and gave us a discount - $22.00 for 3 days & 2 nights. If you require electrical hookups, it is getting to be more common to plan ahead and submit a reservation in state parks as more and more young people are catching on to the camping experience. We didn't reserve a spot and had to take one of the last 5 'non-electric back in sites as all the many electric sites were already reserved and filled up fast. But, we were ok, as we had onboard water, sewer and DC power for lights, radio, awning, and jacks, we just switched our refrigerator to LP. We had a wonderful time and cooked everything on a portable LP grill outdoors in the amazing weather. The park offered a brand new shower house this year. Water and sewage dump sites were always available and no waiting. Next to the campgrounds was a nice medium sized lake we took our 3 canoes on with all the kids and grandkids. The only downer was that the only trash dumpster the campgrounds had and centered in the campground was already full beyond capacity when we checked out on Sunday - we were forced to carry our trash back home to disposes of it properly.