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Two of America's clearest spring-fed rivers combine to create the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in the rolling, forested landscape of Akers. Visitors to the campground enjoy various water activities, as well as hiking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing.
The crystal-clear Current River flows past the campground, offering excellent canoeing, tubing, swimming and fishing. Over 130 miles of waterways exist within the park. Canoe and kayak rentals and outfitters can be found nearby. Several miles of hiking and horseback riding trails crisscross the region, include the Alley Overlook Trail, Chubb Hollow Trail, Ozark Trail, Cave Spring Trail and Big Springs Trail.
The crystal-clear Current River flows past the campground, offering excellent canoeing, tubing, swimming and fishing. Over 130 miles of waterways exist within the park. Canoe and kayak rentals and outfitters can be found nearby. Several miles of hiking and horseback riding trails crisscross the region, include the Alley Overlook Trail, Chubb Hollow Trail, Ozark Trail, Cave Spring Trail and Big Springs Trail.
Known for its caves, springs, sinkholes and losing streams, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways have over 300 identified caves within its boundaries. The caves range in size from a rock overhang to almost seven miles of identified passages. Eight caves, including an open sinkhole, have been designated as outstanding natural features. The Ozark forest is mostly White oak and Shortleaf pine, Missouri's only native pine species. Along the rivers, Sycamores, Cottonwoods, River birch and maples are common. Redbud and dogwood are also abundant, putting on a spectacular show during most spring months.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (573) 323-4236.
Scenic Round Spring Cave is nearby, with ranger-guided tours offered daily during summer months. Historic and picturesque Alley Mill and Alley Spring are nearby. The mill is open daily in the summer and ranger-offered tours are available upon request.
$25 - $65 / night
$5 / night
Noblett Lake Picnic Pavilion provides a sheltered place among forests, streams and wildlife, for groups to picnic near Noblett Lake. It is a great location for birding, canoeing and boating.
Noblett Lake is a popular location for boating, canoeing and fishing. Only electric trolling motors or non-motorized boats are allowed on the lake. Visitors enjoy the day-use picnic area and the Ridge Runner Trail, a 22-mile remote path that loops hikers through the scenic Ozark Mountains.
The pavilion offers seating for up to 75 people. If over 75 people, a special use permit is required; please contact Tray Hall at 417-967-4194. It is equipped with electricity, tables and grills. There is a vault toilet. Trash collection services are provided. There is no water available; visitors must bring their own. There is no overnight camping allowed in the day use area. Dispersed camping (no amenities provided) is allowed in area across from Noblett Trailhead (old Oak Hill camping area) and below dam (old Sycamore Loop camping area). A parking area for the pavilion and the adjacent trail is available.
The pavilion is set in a forest of oak and pine trees, on the Salem Plateau. It is near Noblett Lake and south of the town of Willow Springs.
West Plains, Willow Springs, Cabool and Mountain Grove are the closest towns.
$50 / night
$5 / night
McCormack Lake Recreation Area is located near Greer Spring and offers good fishing and boating. It is located on paved Forest Road 3155 off of Highway 19. This site has semi-developed picnic and camping facilities. There is hiking at McCormack Lake Recreation Area also. This is a trailhead for the 3.7-mile McCormack-Greer Trail, which ends at Greer Crossing Picnic Area and also connects to Ozark Trail. The 15-acre lake is stocked annually with panfish and bass being the catch of the day. The lake is a non-motorized area; boat motors are not allowed. An electric trolling motor is permitted. There is ample parking for picnickers and fishermen. The campground is primitive with limited picnic tables, firerings and lantern posts. A vault toilet is provided. No water is available.
Scout
I'd seen a lot of great reviews for this campground, so I had high expectations when we arrived for a night in early November. We reserved a spot in the 900 loop, just to be safe - a few of the camping loops allow reservations, and the rest are walk in. The loop was very open, spaces all fully visible to each other. The bathrooms were locked for the season after 10/15.
Since things were pretty empty, we moved to the 500 loop, which was more tree covered, near the river, and next to the shower house, which was the one park bath open for the winter. Bathrooms and showers were clean, though no camp host was present the night we stayed.
We were the only people on the 500 loop, so it was fine, but again - sites VERY close together. Some picnic tables were less than 20 feet apart. The 600 loop was the only heavily occupied loop when were there, filled with campers, presumably because of the electric access.
This is a NPS campground, so its amenities tend to be fewer than many MO state parks. I have other parks in this area that have more scenic and private tent camping. Just on the other side of the river is the Alley spring and mill, which are lovely - and ironically, some of the picnic sites are more spacious than these tent sites. I wish we could camp on that side!
Legend
Round Springs is a National Park campground. It’s about 12 miles north if Eminence MO on the Current River. There are only 50 sites, some have electricity. Most of the campsites are scattered along the road with lots of trees and privacy. The electric sites are in the center of the campground on the road with no shade. There are few walk in sites near the river. There is a shower and dump station.
LegendAlley Springs is a Natural Park campground. It’s located right on the Jacks Fork River just a few miles west of Eminence MO. The highway to get here is narrow, winding, and hilly! But it’s worth the trip.
There are 260 campsites some have electricity. Also a dump station. Sites are level, with shade. The campground is located on the flood plane, heavy rain may cause flooding and evacuation!
Legend
I’ve been coming to the Current River area for over 60 years, before the National Scenic Riverways, when Round Springs, Alley Springs, Big Springs, and Montauk were all state parks. They were great places for camping, swimming in the Current River, and canoeing. This new State Park at Echo Bluff is everything I would eliminate from a campground. Sites are packed close together, everything is concrete. No privacy, no shade , no natural beauty. A big modern lodge, cabins and townhouses. I made reservations for two weeks expecting a state park experience. Sorely disappointed! We left early. The staff mostly didn’t bother us. But we watched the cop that sat along the road partway down a steep hill almost every day and gave out tickets for exceeding the 20 mph limit. Showers/bathrooms were new, but not centrally located. Probably would not go back.
Traveler
Well kept state park and trout hatchery. Recently upgraded electric in campground 4, which was nice. Each campground has its own host, which is great when you need it. I hung out with friends in a basic group site, too, and there was plenty of room and a nice setting (site 116). Food at the lodge was better than anticipated and friends in the cabins had no major complaints either.
Guide
This camp ground is a little hidden gem and so pretty! It has running water bathroom and showers! They are so kind and aware. They make shuttling your personal watercraft SO easy! This camp are is very clean and family friendly! The river was pretty!
Traveler
Super friendly people, very accommodating. They offered to help us hookup when we arrived, so sweet, and specially since we are new to this. Gave us advice about where to eat around town. The site was nice and shady. The bath house was excellent - very nice showers and bathrooms, very clean, very private. Such a family feel. Very good value for the price! Thanks for an excellent stay. Would stay here again if we ever return to the area.
Guide
Fun trails and fishing from a fresh spring. Great and clean shower house. Well taken care of.
GuideWe stayed for 1 night, great trails to walk around, don’t forget bug spray! Good lookouts you can walk to as well. We didn’t do any fishing but saw plenty of people out enjoying the day!
TravelerPretty campground with river access and accessible restrooms. Showers were a little far from our loop. I wish the sites had tent pads as it was hard to find a flat spot to place the tent and several holes in the terrain. There is NO cell signal, so I highly recommend you take a weather radio. I wish we had.
GuidePositives: Tranquil little campground with beautiful spring and cave. Quiet, shady, has two points of river access, group sites, and steaming hot showers. Close to Echo Bluff State Park, Current River State Park, and Eminence, MO.
Negatives: Test sites are hit or miss. Sites 1-18 are fairly small and not very level. Sites 19-29 have larger, more level areas. 30-39 are kind of mixed. Many sites have steps up of down to the site from the road. There is no cell service available, so make sure you have made reservations before you get here. Closest cell service is up the road at Echo Bluff State Park.
Other info: You may get lucky and see otters on your way to the spring, or some of the wild horses in the area. Go in the early morning to the spring trail to watch the mist roll off the water and enjoy the wildlife - so otherworldly.
Cave tours are available June - Oct., but even if you visit is outside of this window, the walk to the cave is kind of magical.
If you walk to the spring overlook, you'll also encounter a portion of the Ozark Trail. About a half a mile down the Ozark Trail you can cross the Current River on a pedestrian bridge which is a pretty cool experience.
Bathrooms available on the upper camping loop, but the showers are located on the bottom loop (three family style showers). Fantastic water pressure.
Host was friendly even when he had to tell us we couldn't hang hammocks in National Park campgrounds.
While you're there drive down to Alley Spring for a nice hike, another beautiful spring and historic mill, and at the camp store you can get a National Parks Passport stamp (located in the screened in porch) for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
We stayed in site 13 which is located directly behind the bathrooms. Good if you have to go all the time, bad if you don't like to hear loud toilet flushes. Very shady site.
ScoutMy family used to stay here every year. Owners are just not very friendly. You get told 2 different prices over the phone compared to when you get there. Overall is a nice camp ground pretty quiet. Pretty river.
Scout
My family and I come here every year the owners are great. Camp ground is quiet and family friendly.
Traveler
Found this by accident-the site we originally were going to as dispersed was literally under water from all the recent rain. For a three night stay, we were the only ones there. Except the random cars who visited between midnight and three AM and just hung out. That was unsettling but nothing happened. A NFS Ranger did circle around once.
Popular spot on the weekend to launch boats. There is a vault toilet but that is all the amenities offered. Of the six sites, some are a bit wild, but usable. We stayed at spot three, which has a great view of, and access to, the Current River.
The Blue Springs Trail that is located at campground was flooded over about a third of the way in with no safe way around. The trail is also not maintained, with lots of downed large trees and copious ticks.
TravelerLove tent camping! Secluded and shaded. I want a few years back and it was lovely can’t wait to see if there have been updates!
Guide
Very small park but easily navigable. We had a great spot, for our 42’ motorhome and truck. It was a pull through and easy to get into. It’s close to US 44 so a bit of road noise. The owner was very friendly and gave us a map with perfect directions. Told us about the amenities and said if we needed anything to just yell. ☺️ We didn’t leave once we rolled in til morning due to pouring down rain. Would recommend!!
GuideThe manager/owner went above and beyond. We called and said we would be there at around 6:30 (the office closed at 6) and arrived a little later than that. He was waiting for us.
We got a spot down by the river, started a fire, had dinner and went to sleep to the sound of the river running. The place is beautiful and I wish I had more time to spend there. I will definitely be going back when I can spend three of four nights.
TravelerWe stayed on our way to Oklahoma for a night and this campground had great areas to walk around and things to see. Very shaded and level spots. The bathrooms were very clean and nice . Very impressed with the place.
Traveler
Great quiet site. Wasn’t a bad drive in. Decent amount of wild life hanging around. Will probably hear the beaver if you stay at one of the two sites by the pond. Only saw one other group camping here while we did. Be mindful that it is tick season now. We had a few on the dog by the end of the first day.
Scout
Ok place to camp, pretty secluded, old campground but most spots no longer seemed camp friendly, as new tree growth has taken over. Seems to be a guy living in a rv at the end of the road which is really close to the one camping friendly spot, kinda kills the dispersed camping vibe.
TravelerAlthough the old rv park across the water is nice and level, we ended up wanting to be closer to the water and there happened to be a trail. Easy to get in but could be tricky for a small car to get out (boulders, trees, incline and possible rain/mud) 4x4 recommend. Great spot right next to the dam. Very quiet. Lots of beavers in the pond. Fire wood is abundant. A few fire rings in place at location.
Scout
The cabin was disgusting 🤢 bugs crawling in the fridge, door was held together with a wire hanger. Rudest staff I've ever encountered.
TravelerEcho Bluff State Park is nestled in the heart of Missouri's Ozarks. This natural haven offers a perfect retreat for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers. The park boasts a stunning blend of scenic beauty, recreational activities, and comfortable amenities.
The first thing that strikes you about Echo Bluff State Park is its breathtaking natural beauty. The towering bluffs, dense forests, and the pristine Sinking Creek that meanders through the park create a picturesque landscape that's a joy to explore. Hiking trails like the Signal Hill Trail and Current River Trail offer hikers stunning vistas and the chance to encounter local wildlife.
For those looking to relax, the park offers a range of options. The modern campground facilities are well-maintained and provide all the comforts of home, while the cozy cabins offer a rustic yet comfortable escape. The Echo Bluff Lodge is a standout feature, offering a beautiful setting for meals and relaxation with its panoramic views of the park.
One of the highlights of Echo Bluff State Park is its accessibility to the Current River. Canoeing, kayaking, and fishing are popular activities, and the park provides easy access to the river. It's also a designated Missouri Trout Park, making it a paradise for anglers.
In conclusion, Echo Bluff State Park is a haven for nature enthusiasts and those seeking a peaceful getaway. Its natural beauty, outdoor activities, and comfortable accommodations make it a must-visit destination in Missouri. Whether you're an avid hiker, a water sports enthusiast, or simply looking for a tranquil escape, Echo Bluff has something to offer everyone.
Scout
The bathrooms were dirty. The showers only 2 worked. One smelled of pee and the other had massive hair on the walls. Laundry only 2 dryers one window broke. Washers only 2 worked. Laundry area dirty
ScoutWe called because we were just on the road and I could hear the lady in the background yelling at the camp host I was talking with. She was being very rude. We reserved a site and only gave us 2 options. Web said 20.00 to camp FHU. They also charge 10.00 a person so plan on spending around $50.00 a night. Doubt we will be back. Just not worth that.
ScoutFirst, the park hosts were so friendly, helpful and hard working. They kept everything spotless! Bathrooms and showers were a 10. Grounds were a 10. Location and surroundings were gorgeous. Sites were spacious and there’s not a “bad” site in the whole park. It was Peaceful and quiet at night. We walked through the walk in tent camping area and it was amazing. Sites were big, private and spread out through the woods with wooden platforms. Path through the area was gravel and very well maintained. The Betty Lea Lodge was close and had an awesome store and gift shop. We will definitely be back!
Guide
Some people showed up for day use, but the sites were empty. Totally alone with a gorgeous lake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Houston, MO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Houston, MO is Cedar Grove/Dee Murray Backcountry Camping — Ozark National Scenic Riverway with a 4.5-star rating from 2 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Houston, MO?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Houston, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
