Best Tent Camping near Ironton, 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.

Was a great secluded tent camp site. Liked that they had wagons to help haul our gear to the site. Family of 7 so we have plenty of stuff to haul. Was a really fun time. Spent lots of it in the water and got to see some wild horses so that was exciting.

The people of Missouri gave a wonderful gift to the people of the United States.  A gift I did not know about or had never heard of till we made the decision to camp in Missouri.

Big Springs was Missouri's first state park.  The CCC did a lot of construction on the park and so much of the buildings are still there.  In much need of repair and I do hope the federal government will restore.  Big Spring is off of Missouri Highway 160.  Turn onto State Route 103 to Big Spring.  The spring has a wheelchair accessible pathway that will lead right to the spring.

The campground is large and open.  Tent sites along with with RV sites but the RV sites are small and very close together.  Some RV sites had electric but no water or sewer.  There is a dump site.  During the summer I think I would get a reservation for the RV sites if you need electric.  If you have the ability to generate your own electric stay in the open tent site area.  The tent site area is large and open to the sun.  Big Springs has flush toilets and hot showers.

There are picnic areas with tables and grills scattered throughout the park along with two group shelters.

The Ranger programs are well worth checking out.  Take advantage.

The Current River makes a wonderful backdrop for nature lovers.  You have the options of hiking, biking, fishing, camping, floating, kayaking, and all sorts of boating with a ramp in the park.

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Leave No Trace

Better Than When You Found It

I've seen some reviews say its outdated and I'm not sure where that comes from. On season they offer a variety of float and eat packages that are tasty and nicely priced. Cute little campground with "primitive", electric and full hook ups. All tent camping is still pretty close to the general store that also has coin showers! You have good options for a shady and grassy spot if you're tent camping too. Great folks working there, always very friendly and helpful.

Love 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!

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.

This is a really nice spot for tent camping - even though it’s clearly geared towards RV camping. Make sure to book a walk-in campsite if you’re tent camping, otherwise you’ll be in the lot with the RVs (no trees, no privacy etc see first picture). You’ll have to carry your gear to your site, but not too far. Each walk in site is fairly isolated and separate from the other site by trees. Each site has a wood tent pad, picnic table, and fire ring with grate. If you want you could even go to the lodge (walking distance) for a meal and skip the cooking! Book your spot in advance as it seems like they fill up quickly.

Stayed here for one night we toured the cave which was great. The park is very well kept and nice clean facilities. We tent camped and every spot had a good place to set up a tent.

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.

We enjoyed clean well-maintained bathrooms. Men’s showers were hot and the women’s were cold! The grass was mown well, so it was easier to tent camp. Staff was very helpful and accommodating. Scenery was spectacular.

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.

Full hookups(electric/water/sewer) for rvs, as well as primitive tent sites. Facilities are bit on the older side, but 2 shower houses are available. River access within walking distance. Canoe and raft rental available.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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