Best Tent Camping near Frohna, MO

Tent camping options near Frohna, Missouri include several established campgrounds within driving distance, including Apple Creek Conservation Area and Lake Girardeau Conservation Area. These conservation areas provide primitive tent sites with basic amenities in natural settings. Ferne Clyffe State Park, located in neighboring Illinois, offers both walk-in tent sites and backpacking campgrounds with trail access.

Most tent sites in the region feature gravel or dirt surfaces with minimal site preparation. Apple Creek Conservation Area provides level gravel spots suitable for tent camping with picnic tables and trash cans available. Lake Girardeau Conservation Area offers approximately eight primitive tent sites with fire pits and picnic tables, plus vault toilets and a pavilion on the grounds. Water availability varies significantly between locations, with many conservation areas lacking potable water sources. Campers should verify seasonal restrictions and fire regulations before arrival, as these can change based on conditions.

The tent camping experience in this region offers good access to outdoor activities, particularly fishing and hiking. One camper noted that Lake Girardeau is "good fishing if you are using a boat, or kayak." At Ferne Clyffe State Park, the backpack campground provides secluded, wooded primitive sites within reach of water sources and toilets. The park features numerous hiking trails with varying difficulty levels, including paths that lead to bluffs, caves, and waterfalls. Tent campers at Apple Creek can access the creek for fishing or kayaking via a nearby boat ramp. Most tent sites provide adequate separation from neighboring campers, though privacy levels vary by location and season.

Best Tent Sites Near Frohna, Missouri (16)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Frohna, MO

462 Reviews of 16 Frohna Campgrounds


  • S
    Oct. 7, 2020

    Giant City State Park Campground

    No privacy at tent camp, hike amazing!

    So first of all- I think it’s fair to state before I leave a review that my husband and I prefer primitive and private camping. The fewer people we see while we’re out, the better. We live in a city so when we camp, we want the opposite. If you enjoy RV camping or don’t mind not so Private spots, this is a decent spot to spend the night. If you like primitive/private camping- il fill you in below!

    We do tent camping and Saw there were walk-in sites and hike in sites at this campground. Usually walk-in sites are pretty private and dispersed well - atleast where we’ve been before. The 14 “primitive” camping sites were right next to eachothwr with little to no privacy at all. Good tree cover for shade but otherwise you’re basically setting up your tent and area in an open field. That was a little disappointing to us because it wasn’t what we thought we would find. The RV spots also seem super close together but again- we like things spread out so maybe it would be an OK place for some.

    The vault toilets near the tent sites were...as clean as vault toilets get! And we did not use tje shower facilities so can’t speak on that.

    If we had been just the 2 of us, we would’ve hiked in to do our camping along one of the hiking paths but we were meeting two other friends and were unsure if they would want to hike miles to a spot so we opted for the tent spots just after the RV campground. If you want more privacy for an evening of camping, you’ll need to come with your gear packed up decently enough to hike it out atleast a mile onto the trails. There is camping allowed along the trails as long as you are 100 ft from the trail so that was an option, but in certain spots along the trail it’s challenging to find a clearing (hammocks would be great along the trail). There is also an official primitive camping site halfway through the 12 mile loop of the Red Ceder Trail. We day hiked almost the whole loop but made a Weird little detour so we didn’t get to check these spots out.

    We were hoping to find a campsite that- as get as difficulty of accessibility level- was in between a 6 mile hike and the tent spots in the field but there isn’t any official spot like that even tho there’s tons of space and potential for it. Rant over about the campground. Let’s talk about the hiking! The hiking was truly awesome and felt like it balanced out my disappointment with the campground. Doing the whole 12 mile loop of tje Red Cedar Trail was a challenge for us! We really enjoyed it. In some spots, the trail markers are a little confusing, but overall it’s decently marked and the map is somewhat helpful just to kindve know vaguely where you are. The 2nd day, we went back and did about half rhe loop and also checked out the more popular section of the trails back there that include Giant City Nature Trail, Devils Stand Table, and a few others. Very cool rock formations. Pretty busy in the weekend over there but the test of the trails away from that area with those big landmarks was completely deserted and there are some super cool rock formations not on the map at all.

    Over all, this was a fun 4 days. We would return and plan on hiking out into the trails to camp for our evenings. If you like privacy around your campfire at night, I can’t recommend the campground.

  • Leah H.
    Jul. 18, 2017

    Silver Mines

    Great Camping Near the River

    This camp site has RV hook-ups and tent camping. There are trees throughout the campground if you're looking to set up a hammock. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table and is a mix of grass and light gravel. Pit toilets, no showers. Water spigots throughout the camp ground. Keep an eye out for snakes though! I nearly stepped on a copper head in the outhouse! Camp sites are a 2 minute walk to the St. Francois River. Great hiking along the river and good fishing, swimming and kayaking in the river! Also not to far from the Castor River Shut-ins if you're looking to pack two rivers into one trip. We just celebrated my husband's birthday here last weekend, though we have been a few times before. Always a blast!

  • Napunani
    Jun. 26, 2022

    Trail of Tears State Park Campground

    Back-up to the Mississippi River

    PRO 

    Senior discount saving $6 

    Able to reserve on-line 365 days prior to arriving 

    Very friendly and helpful camp host 

    Unobstructed view of the Mississippi River 

    Great dark sky viewing 

    No highway/road noise, but... 

    Asphalt parking pad surrounded by grass 

    Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

    One hook lantern pole 

    Moveable wooden picnic table in the grass 

    Toilet/shower building.35 miles from campground very nice and very clean with ample TP and hand soap 

    Firewood for sale by camp host $5 

    Mississippi River Scenic Overlook was very nice V

    Visitor Center has small museum (no admission fee) on the Trail of Tears Native American tribal migration 

    Coin-operated laundromat on South Hope Street Jackson after the roundabout 12 miles from campground 

    Tractors Restaurant Main Street Jackson very good diner type restaurant 

    CONS

    $8.50 reservation fee for online self made reservation 

    Sites that back to the river very close to each other. We stepped out our door onto the neighbors stinky slinky. Insufficient space to deploy awning. 

    Electrical utility connection is on passenger side of the campsite#6 

    Sewer connection was high above ground so drainage was up hill. Camp host warned us upon arrival we may need to use dump station to get tanks totally drained. 

    Site 6 not level side-to-side 

    Lots of trains, day and night with train horn blaring due to road crossing at campground Lots of river barge noise 

    Only one single unisex pit toilet in campground 

    No park headquarters or entrance gate office for check-in. Sign in campground informing how to conduct virtual check in. 

    No security gate closed overnight 

    No ranger patrolling campground

    No WiFi 

    2 bars Verizon LTE

  • AC
    May. 16, 2021

    Washington County State Recreation Area

    Shady Rest campground

    Really great campground. Good mix of tents and RVs. Bath house was very well kept and clean. Showers ran cold at first but after a few mins it gets warmer! There were plenty of pit toliets through out the campground and trash cans. My tent site was clean, good flat spot for tent, picnic table and fire pit with attached grill.

    The Concession building in the park is closing. No boat rentals, selling everything he has on the shelf.

    Caught a few bass and and good amount of hiking. Large trail around the whole lake, smaller trails lead to sites around the different campgrounds.

  • Stephanie O.
    Jan. 27, 2023

    Hawn State Park Campground

    Just About Perfect

    Took the youngest kids for their first camping trip, and it could not have been better. Plenty of space, site was level for our tents and had a nice, soft carpet of pine needles, facilities in great shape (didn't use the showers, but they looked decent and were fairly popular), nice sink in the laundry room we used to fill our dish-washing tubs, good neighbors, nobody too noisy and folks generally kind and friendly. Really enjoyed being on the tents-only side of the campground--allowed for a clear, wide view of the landscape and the fall colors. Hiking is some of the best in Missouri.

    I will say that the "walk-in" sites didn't seem to have much privacy and weren't very far from the parking lot, if that matters to you.

    All in all, you can't get much better for tent camping.

  • Cameron
    Oct. 1, 2020

    Bean Ridge Pond Campground

    Free, primitive campground, loud partiers

    Got here on a Saturday night in late September and both of the campsites were available. Campsites consist of a clearing with a fire pit and a picnic table. No litter. No toilets. Very slow and spotty AT&T service: I was able to text but not access the Internet. The area is very pretty. Soft ground for staking a tent. Bugs were alright, no need for bug spray. There’s water access at the pond, but it’s obviously stagnant and very brackish. Big downside was a convoy of Jeeps full of partiers rolled down to the pond at 12:30am and hung out down there blasting music for an hour, which is a real sleep ruiner. This might be a local party spot, so be aware and maybe pack earplugs if you’re coming on a weekend. Upside is that it’s in a National Forest, so if both sites are taken, you can always dispersed camp

  • Chelsea D.
    Apr. 23, 2020

    Pine Hills

    Beautiful new Picnic shelter, quiet campground

    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.

  • Mara F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 1, 2018

    Huzzah Valley

    Ranger Review: Nature’s Coffee Kettle at Huzzah Valley Resort

    Campground Review

    Huzzah Valley Resort (HVR) is not a typical campground. It’s a place built for and specializing in float trips. If you are picturing serenely paddling down a pristine river in a canoe listening to the sounds of birds and insects, you are in the wrong place, at least on a Saturday during the summer. This is more like a float trip with frat parties floating on by you, complete with loud music, floating cooler, floating beer pong tables, loads of drunk people and of course the antics of these drunk people. Not really the best place to take your kids on those summertime Saturdays. I knew this going into the weekend. Really, with campsite prices from $12.79 (for the family camping area) to $16.00 (for the loud area with no quiet hours, nicknamed the Zoo) per person, per night most people not looking for this experience are weeded out by price alone. All that being said party-barge type float trips are pretty much a rite of passage in Missouri.

    My Husband and I went on this trip with a group of friends that are not as experienced campers as we are and opted to stay in a cabin. This was about $90 per person for the weekend. Our cabin sleeps 8 people with 1 queen bed in a room, 2 queen beds in a loft, and a double sofa sleeper. It included a kitchenette, full bathroom, fire ring, BBQ grill, picnic table. Aside from a microwave and a full size fridge, the cabin didn’t really offer any other amenities. We brought our own sheets and campstove. It was nice to be able to set up a crockpot before we got on the river and have dinner ready when we got back though. The cabin was reasonably sized and not a bad experience.

    It was nice on Sunday morning to just get to enjoy our coffee as we watched hundreds of hungover people in the campground try to take down tents.

    We floated from Scotia to Ozark Outdoors, which is a very pretty 5 mile float in the Huzzah. This meant we had to be bussed from HVR to the put in and from the take out back to HVR. The river was packed!! There were people as far as the eye could see and the raft/canoe/kayak traffic never broke up during our whole time on the river. Since it was not a holiday weekend, we were a little surprised by how crowded it was. This didn't stop is from having a great time though! We floated in a raft and a kayak and both experiences were very good.

    The campsite offered tent sites as well as sites with full hookups for RVs. Each campsite has a fire grate and picnic table. There is a camp store on site that sells everything you could possibly forget, from matches to fishing poles to beer.

    Product Review

    As a Ranger for the Dyrt I get to try out products from time to time. One this trip I tested out Nature’s Coffee Kettle, which is billed as top quality coffee that you can take anywhere. They give you a reusable kettle bag and a filter bag of coffee. You can purchase refill packs to use in the same kettle bag. Kettle bags get up to 4 uses. You place the filter pack at the top of the bag, pour some boiling water over it and let it sit for a few minutes, then you pour the remaining water over the filter and wait a few more minutes for it to brew through the filter bag and drip into the bottom portion of the bag. Once it is done, you can pour yourself a cup of hot joe.

    The coffee is very good. Even though the brewing process is a little complex (adding 1 cup of water, waiting a few minutes, adding 3 more cups, waiting more), it isn’t that difficult. The closable pour spout is nice to keep your coffee hot while you drink your first cup. The bag is a little flimsy and I was afraid the kettle would fall over while brewing, but it held up.  The kettle and bag are lightweight and can fold down pretty small. These are definitely much easier to use than an old school percolator, and take up less space. I feel like car camping is where these will shine. Although you do still have to pack a pot to boil the water.

    They are even practical enough that I might try to take them backpacking at some point. I can’t imagine they will replace Starbucks Vias as my go-to coffee for backpacking though. It is still bigger, creates more trash, and you have to make 4 cups at once even though it is tastier.

    Pros:

    • Delicious coffee in a variety of roasts and types
    • Lighter, smaller than traditional percolator
    • Reusable kettle bags
    • Screw cap to keep coffee hot
    • They offer coffee, tea, and hot chocolate

    Cons:

    • Can only make 4 cups at a time
    • Thin bag- makes it too hot to touch and have to be careful not to let it fall over while brewing
    • Not light, small enough to take backpacking regularly
  • Jessica R.
    May. 18, 2020

    Shawnee Forest Campground

    Quiet

    The sites are nice and level. Quiet in the area. Picnic table and fire ring at every site. Park offers firewood. Pond for fishing so bring your poles. It's catch and release. Manager is very friendly and accommodates you as possible.


Guide to Frohna

Frohna, Missouri, offers a variety of tent camping options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. With scenic landscapes and well-equipped campgrounds, it's a great destination for a weekend getaway.

Tips for tent camping near Frohna

  • Apple Creek Conservation Area provides a level gravel spot for camping, making it a clean choice even in damp weather.
  • Lake Girardeau Conservation Area features a small primitive campground with a nice-sized lake, ideal for fishing and kayaking.
  • Turkey Ridge Campground offers a peaceful escape with nearby grocery stores for supplies, ensuring you have everything you need for your stay.

Local attractions for outdoor activities

  • Whippoorwill Lake Campground Resort has sandy beaches and a small lake, perfect for swimming and relaxing with family.
  • Backpack Campground at Ferne Clyffe State Park boasts beautiful trails and waterfalls, making it a great spot for hiking and exploring.
  • Buck Ridge - Lake Of Egypt is known for its serene environment, providing excellent fishing opportunities and a peaceful atmosphere.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • Willow Springs Campground features drinking water, showers, and firewood, ensuring a comfortable camping experience.
  • Mandolin Grove allows pets and has reservable sites, making it convenient for families traveling with furry friends.
  • Dutchman Lake Camp offers a beautiful setting with no need for permits, allowing for a hassle-free camping experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Frohna, MO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Frohna, MO is Apple Creek Conservation Area with a 3-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Frohna, MO?

TheDyrt.com has all 16 tent camping locations near Frohna, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.