The best DISPERSED camping near
Holliday , MISSOURI

First thing, the new owners have some work pending that I trust will make a huge difference to the traveling campers soon. However, we didn’t get to enjoy those improvements.

The good: The reservation process was friendly and they accommodated our after hours arrival. The electrical connections were great with 50/30/20 amp receptacles. Location was convenient and easy to access.

The not so great: The date was in late December so we expected some winterizing. So the water was off at the site. It was also off at the bath house. No water for bathing, washing hands, toilets or washing dishes. The sewer connection was missing a cap and thus covered by a rock. It took us a while to even find it. The dumpster was overly full and needed dumped. The site seemed to be a storage for various materials, not if they where project related or not.

We camped during Covid so the swimming beach and playgrounds were closed but everything else was great! Nice big lots, everyone has full shade. Each loop has a big bathroom with massive showers. One of our showers even had a handheld nozzle! And each loop has their own dumpster. 

This campground is out in the boonies so you'll want to stock up before you pull in. Here's a rundown: 

25 min from Walgreens 

45 min from Walmart 

40 min from laundromat 

2 hours from Target and CVS 

The trails are wide and there are multiple water access points to get to the shoreline This is a reserve only now so be sure to pick your spot before you show up. I haven't seen an attendant though I did see a couple kids cleaning the bathrooms. There is a paid wifi option that's$20/week but I just used Sprint roaming as a hotspot for my laptop and it was perfect. So try the free route first. The photos for each spot are accurate on recreation.gov=)

The access road off the Interstate initially had us second-guessing our decision to stay at this campground. However, we were quickly put at ease when we got onto the state park property (only a short drive down the access road). The park itself is very well maintained. It is heavily wooded with lots of shade at most of the campsites. We stayed in Site 48, which was a back-in site that backed-up to a large green area that our kids truly enjoyed playing in. The weather in early October 2020 was perfect for a camp fire and the stars really stood out at night. There are several trails to hike, including the one to the cave. We would definitely stay here again.

Stayed 10/29/2020 with only a few other campers in the campground. Close to the freeway but not really noticeable noise except on hikes. Paid $21 for 30 amp electric site, water and dump are available but not at individual sites. Bathroom and shower, dumpster, recycling and firewood also available. All sites had red tags stating reservations recommended but were not required. There were plenty of sites available when we were there. There are a few flat sites but many were not level.

Hikes were nice, lots of deer, the cave itself is blocked by chainlink but still pretty cool. Dogs ok on leashes. 

AT&T and Verizon cell service adequate.

I absolutely love this core campground. Amazing level concrete campsites! Majority of them are full hookups with paved roads throw out Everyone is friendly and fun! We have always stayed at the little Blue Stem side, but just had to do a review on this side. Absolutely loved it. Great clean shower house. Close by places to Kayak, swim, fish and play. Fish cleaning stations which I had never seen beforeThe best of camping.

We stayed here one night. We had a concrete pad for our RV which was nice and a decent amount of room to roam.

Huge area to explore, alot of little ponds but no distict trails. Alot of hunters that took over the camping spots. Toilets everywhere in parking areas which was nice. Alot of the roads were closed off to service.

Our site was a good ways away from the road, and they're pretty generous with their firewood. Their bathrooms are pretty old though. All in all we enjoyed our stay.

This place was very very disappointing for camping. Very very little spots available for tent camping and a very dilapidated 5th wheel was parked at the end. You have to go down some very back roads onto a private lane to get to this parking area. There is a very shotty sign pointing the way, otherwise you end up in someone's front gated entrance. Trails were over grown and definitely needed some maintenance. Did not spend the night.

We camped at campsite 82 in Little Blue Stem. From Wednesday night through Sunday and the weather was fabulous.  Nice clean area. Nice campsite.