Best Tent Camping near Fredericktown, MO

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.

Tent camped here during the week in June and the campground was only about 1/3 full. Quiet and the restrooms and showers were very clean.

Plenty of tent camping sites. There are primitive also. Great Lake to fish and plenty of trails to hike. Looks like the rv site can get booked up on weekends.

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.

Sam A Baker has a large selection of sites. Perfect for tent camping or Campers of any size. Great trail selection, many moderate trails, but there are many options for those with young children as well.

This is a very basic campground with some shade. No hookups, really good for tent camping. The new picnic shelter is beautiful and there is seating around a fire pit. This forest does a great job of keeping restrooms very clean.

Small lake. Has tent camping or cabins. All roads are gravel. We have stayed in the cabins. It was a double bed and also had a set of bunks. So plenty of room. Lake has sandy beaches. Small playset I the water for kids.

We typically camp just at the end of season and have this is our favorite place to camp. We always tent camp with minimal supplies. It is has always been clean and even during peak season I felt there was plenty of space between campsites.

We 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!

I like this camp site because you are within the trees the whole time. It is tent camping only. Where we camped, the ground was covered in moss. That made for very soft sleeping, except for the few large rocks spread over the area. We had room for two portable canopies and about 35 cub scouts and family members.

this 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.

Johnson Shut-Ins State Park is an amazing park that combines the comforts of an RV park with the rustic side of walk-in tent sites. It is the best maintained park in the Northeastern part of the Ozark's. It has a store in the middle of the campground. The sites all have concrete pull-ins and the bathrooms and shower houses are all brand new, modern, and clean.

The sites are spread a part giving plenty of room to campers. There are several tent sites that you can walk into to get away from the concrete. There is a gear cart to help you get everything back from your car to your site.

This is a place where you could spend several days and have a lot of fun. This is the premiere campground in that area of the Ozark's.

The staff is also very helpful and friendly.

The campsites are very nice. I don't mind the concrete pads they have for camping and parking. We have a camper but used cots when we tent camped so concrete was not a problem for us.

The kids loved the shut ins. We didn't even make it all the way to the back as it was a very long walk. We also visited some of the historical sites in the area.

This is a great little state park that has plenty of options whether you enjoy tent camping or enjoying your Rv. Some of the144-151 sites can be pretty tight to get into because there are so many trees so double check the pictures on the reservation website to make sure you can get yours in. Ours is 40’ and it was pretty hard to get in but we managed. Nice shower facilities and laundry as well as river access within walking distance

If you are looking for a beautiful RV or tent site on the water, look here. There is a massive lake, perfect for a quiet day on the water. We kayaked out to an island and did some fishing. We didn’t catch anything, but it was relaxing. Campground was oddly quiet, especially after dark... we were the only site with a fire going.

Hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Boat and jet ski rentals in season.

My group and I camped in two of the basic sites in Asher Creek campground and we couldn’t get enough of the front-row lake view! The sites closest to the lake are very level, and everyone in the campground is only a short walk from the cleanest park restrooms I’ve ever seen. If you’re like me and are just doing basic tent camping, I’d recommend a pop-up canopy for the table area since there is not a lot of tree cover in those sites. Overall, an excellent place to camp!

Lots 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!

Very simple campground lets you feel close to the lovely nature here. The trail options are either a short loop or a loooong out and back along the famous Ozark Trail. Not much else to do (no water activites) so if you’re not planning to hike a lot or just hang out/grill, you might want to plan some time off site.

Yay: Trails through all kinds of forests, waterways and waterfalls. Educational displays.

Nay: TENT CAMPING ONLY!!! My friend had been turned away on a previous trip! (There are some other parks nearby if you are in an RV.) Fills up fast.

Surprise: Hike the tallest mountain in MO, not a long hike. Endless green rolling vistas! Also had deer at our tent.

The campground is based off first-come first-serve. They offer vault toilets and water and only tent camping.

Taum Sauk Mountain is known for being the highest peak in Missouri but has a lot more to offer with its breathtaking views. There are three trails that are within Taum Sauk Mountain and you don’t want to miss out on these views!

Taum Sauk Mountain- Missouri‘s highest point trail is not a long hike, just a little under 2 miles and rated moderate.

Mina Sauk Falls trail is a little under 4 miles and rated moderate. Best to hike after a heavy rainfall to see the waterfall but don’t let that stop you if it hasn’t rained in awhile, still beautiful to see.

Ozark Trails meets with Mina Sauk Falls and then runs off on own again. Its about a 14 mile trail and rated Hard.

Be sure to wear good hiking shoes!

I downloaded the AllTrails app, which if you dont have I highly recommend downloading it. This app is very helpful finding trails near you and even locates where you are at on the trail.