Best Glamping near Harry S. Truman Lake

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.

We camped in campground 1 right next to the play ground. Super clean, had a view of the lake. Within walking distance of the marina. Everyone was very friendly. My only complaint is the first night we had super noisy neighbors. I'm all for music and a good time but past quiet hours I think one should tone it down a bit. I assumed the host would tell them to be quiet. It did take me complaining the next morning, and then the host went to talk to them. Rest of the trip was smooth as can be! Kayak trails on the lake...beautiful clean swimming beaches. Can't wait to go back :)

Campsite Review

This is quite a large campground, meaning it can easily cater to tents, car campers, and RV heroes. Each site had electrical hook-ups, and there was a common combination shower & laundry area. My campsite, like all, came with a picnic table and a fire pit. I definitely recommend ear plugs if you are a light sleeper since the bugs were very loud all night. This is one of a few campgrounds within the State Park and I chose it since it offered lakeside views – which were very pleasant. There was also boat ramp access. I had a nice bike ride from the campgrounds to a nearby campsite area near Racoon Ridge on some well paved roads, capped off with some different lakeside views. There was a few places to fill up drinkable water and use bathrooms.

Product Review

I won the Saris Feedom Superclamp 2-Bike bike rack from a contest held on The Dyrt's facebook page, so I decided after a few weeks and trips with the product to do a review.

So far the bike rack has been up to Jasper National Park from Boulder, CO with stops along the way in Grand Tetons, YellowStone, Glacier, Banff and Lake Louise National Parks as well as a roadtrip from Boulder to Toronto, ON through Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan. I've gone on various road conditions over the 5,000+ miles as well as in various driving conditions (city, highway, off roading, and country).

This bike rack is incredibly easy to use. It is what I call "micro adjustable" just because the bike is clamped to the rack with a bunch of slide-able wheel wells and tire arms adjustable at any position. It works with any bike type, and is super easy to install - no special tools needed. Your car just needs either a 1.25" or 2" hitch. Watch the video review here.

I also love that it comes with included, retractable bike locks to secure your crappy or expensive bikes to the rack, then another lock between the rack and your car's hitch. I can't fully open my trunk (although it looks like the new model EX2 solves this bit of trouble) when I have bikes on the back, which I would complain about if this didn't take any longer than 10 seconds to get the bike's off.

I was also impressed how well the rack held up when I went up Shadow Mountain with 2 on the rack to do some riding around the summit with the Grand Tetons as my backdrop. The bumpy road and constant rocking could've bent the frame, but it held up beautifully.

Shout out to Saris for putting some good material around the wheel clamps to keep any harsh contact points against my bike. My bikes are cheap, but someone with anything they care about will appreciate the care they took to keep their bike protected.

I'll do an update on this review after a few more weeks with the rack for my overall impressions, and so far so good!

ROAD TRIP!

And so the road trip to Canada with my dog Sirius begins! I hit the road a little late from Colorado, so I knew as I was driving that when I finally made it to Missouri I was going to be rolling into the campsite in dark. Luckily, most of the drive east once you leave the Rocky Mountains is flat and uneventful so anything I would have seen in the daytime wasn’t much better than blackness. There’s some vast prairie landscape along highway 70, so it’s not the worst scenery to have, but I’ve driven from Colorado to Chicago a few time and I was trying to avoid another one of those endless farm field drives you can find along highway 80. Oh well, more of the same I guess.

When I was researching places roughly 9 hours from home, Harry S Truman State Park looked like a fun place to check out near the Ozarks if you’re on the road and passing through. There are lakes plenty large enough for any water activities you’re creative enough to think up, and the many campgrounds found scattered in the parkland offer a great balance of seclusion and variety. I picked Long Shoal since it was near the water and promised some nice lakefront views. I was going to have to wait until the morning to find out if that promise was one the park could deliver on though, as I didn’t arrive into camp until close to 2am. I parked, popped up the rooftop tent, popped in my ear plugs, and hit the sack. The next morning I awoke to a large lake and a kayaker enjoying their morning paddle. My morning was spent cycling the 4 miles just past the welcome center, where I enjoyed some more lakeside views from Racoon Ridge. It certainly was convenient to have a paved road the entire ride lined with dense forest trees. I wish I saw some deer along the way, but I can’t always get so lucky. The heat was quite strong, so it was a nice coincidence that the ride was shaded and hugged the water’s edge. I took in the lake views, but I didn’t have long to enjoy the scenery, as I had another 8 plus hours in the car that day, since I wanted to get to Kentucky and spend my real play time of the trip checking out the Land Between the Lakes Recreation area.

Stayed 7/22/200 - $15/night

Site 97

Lake-view sites, beaches, flush toilets and showers, all for$15/night. Don’t have super high expectations.

PROS:

Great sites on the water. Good space with picnic table and fire rings with a grate. Site 97 was on a corner, with a neighbor to one side, and lots of space between sites to the other.

CONS:

Showers aren’t great. Cobwebs and mold. First door didn’t even lock. Wide gaps with no curtain. No soap in bathrooms.(During COVID). Can’t expect much for$15/night, but bathrooms/showers were disappointing.

You can setup in the grass, right by the water and enjoy the beach. The ranger also told us of beach access just outside the park, across the street. Bathroom/shower house was a bit of a walk from our site, but nothing crazy. Worth it for the views. No problems with AT&T cell service.

The weather is not under control of Long Shoal unfortunately. Our plans included some kayaking however the relentless rain and wind did not allow it. That aside I can see the park is well laid out with ample space between sites. Most will accommodate the largest rigs. The only service is electrical. A dump is provided, along with trash bins at the entrance. Potable water facets are scattered around. Some are close enough to sites to connect directly but that may not be allowed. The central rest room, shower& laundry building is typical for an aged facility. It does need updating. The town of Warsaw is close with many favorite retail and food services including Walmart.

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.

I staying for two weeks in the off season. So the park is very quiet with lots of trees for the camping feel. It picks ups on Friday and slows back down by Monday. It wasn’t until the Friday crowd showed up that I realized how tight the spaces are. While the spaces a bit tight had no issue navigating the paved roads in the park in 36’ motor home. The is a ranger station on the grounds which is nice as lots of staff present to ensure park works like it should. There is a nice play ground on site with a full size basketball court. Plenty of hiking trails and couple of little lakes for fishing of just a pick if by the water.