Best Tent Camping near Kansas City, MO

Tent Camping Reviews near Kansas City, MO

509 Reviews of 8 Kansas City Campgrounds

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  Tom S.

  Guide

  Sep. 30, 2016

  Crow's Creek Campground

  A clean campsite on the lake

  I was looking for a decent place to camp near Kansas City during the weekend and found this spot on Smithville Lake. When I camp, I typically do it while on vacation and checking out a national park. This obviously isn't an experience like that. This was the first time I've camped over a weekend in years.

  The campsites are very spacious and there are even places with covered picnic tables. The bathrooms are also clean. If you're not the most adventurous type, you'll like this campground.

  The thing I enjoyed most about this campground was the trail around the lake. The trails are fairly low traffic and there wasn't too much noise coming from boats on the water. It was a peaceful location to camp and enjoy views of the lake.

  Overall, I recommend this as a quick place to go during a weekend if you're in the area and feel like camping. I probably wouldn't stay here for an extended period of time.

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• 

  Jennifer F.

  Traveler

  Aug. 21, 2020

  Blue Springs Lake Campground

  A local gem

  A campsite not to far from Kansas City but had a feeling far removed. The campground was super clean and well maintained. Out site was great near the entrance but on top a hill and the perfect tree coverage for shade. One of the best shaded spots in the campground.

• M

  Michaela M.

  Scout

  Jul. 17, 2018

  Watkins Mill State Park Campground

  Great campsite! We enjoyed our stay.

  Clean bathroom and shower facilities. The park and campsite are gorgeous. There's a lake but it's not anything to brag about, and the swimming beach is closed often due to bacteria in the lake.

  It's a short drive from Kansas City and one of my favorite weekenders when the weather is nice. We've always had a great time on our stays.

• 

  Sarah H.

  Guide

  Sep. 18, 2016

  Wallace State Park Campground

  Popular Park Tucked Away In The Hills

  My husband and I tent camped overnight at Wallace State Park. Woodsy tent camping sites were spacious and private. Large camping pads are lined with wood chips and are comfortable enough to sleep on without an air mattress. Covered picnic tables have an extra shelf for storage convenience. Even after setting up the tent and camping chairs there was still enough room for lawn games or for little ones to run around.

  Wildlife was abundant in the evening. We saw many deer, frogs and squirrels. At dark, nature sounds were unbelievable with songs of bullfrogs, owls, and flying creatures of all sorts. Be sure to bring bug repellant.

  Campground 1 had clean vault toilets, but the bath house near Campground 2 was even better. Showers were clean and in their own stalls with locking doors, shelves and ample hooks. The water got nice and hot and the shower heads were even and held good pressure. This bath house was seriously the best one we have ever visited and we have used dozens.

  For entertainment, there was a bustling playground, winding nature trails, horseshoes, lake swimming, and fishing. There was also a well kept laundry house with a dishwashing sink attached. Campground hosts and park rangers were friendly and busy keeping the park in great shape. Overall, this is a really nice place to camp!

  Gear Review: Lighthouse 250 Lantern and USB Power Hub We decided to try out our GoalZero lantern instead of our usual larger lantern. The lantern is compact enough to fit in a small bag with other electronics and is very light in weight. This saved us a little extra room which is a bonus since we take all of our camping trips in a tiny little Prius C. The Lighthouse 250 would be a good contender for bringing along on a backpacking trip, but you would want to pad it with some kind of protection as it seems that some parts might not hold up to a lot of banging around.

  We used the lantern 2 nights in a row without charging it and the battery life indicator still had over 1/4 of its power left. On this same charge, wee tested the phone charger by hooking up an iPhone 4 to charge for 10 minutes with the light on full turbo. The 10 minute charge boosted the phone's battery 12%. The hand crank charger was a little awkward, but would be sufficient in a pinch. Had we needed more power, we could have easily plugged the attached USB cord into our car charger. We don't usually pony up for electric sites, so on extended excursions, the Nomad 7 Solar Panel is a gadget we would consider purchasing.

  The directional lighting feature of the lantern came in handy for having dimmer light closer to sleeping times and brighter light for reading/boardgames in the tent. In the end, we will definitely bring the Lighthouse 250 lantern with us on future trips, and will leave our bulky older lantern at home.

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• 

  Chad K.

  Legend

  Jun. 1, 2017

  Watkins Mill State Park Campground

  Fantastic area close to KC

  Watkins mill SP is located a short distance from Kansas City off I-35 near Kearney. The park has a large lake that you can fish and boat as well as multiple hiking options. The historical site is a neat step back in time to the 1800'. The campground is broken up into 3 different areas with plenty of space for campers, RV's and tents. Park features include an updated showerhouse, large playground for the kids and helpful and friendly park staff. Thanks to the staff for giving us an heads up on the raccoons that are bold! Reservations are recommended on holiday weekends.

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  Leni K.

  Ranger

  Jun. 6, 2022

  Wallace State Park Campground

  Good Weekend Getaway

  Campground 1 is the ideal tent grounds. Heavily wooded some with better coverage than others. Campground 2 is the most spaces RV site. Campground 3 had five total sites in an open area. No privacy at all. Campground 4 was a tighter RV set up. All campgrounds share one very updated showerhouse, which did lead to some lines at the showers Sunday, but the trade off for quality bathroom is appreciated. All campgrounds and day use areas are also connected by a series of trails, so you're not far off from getting to a hike at any point. Campground 1 has four walkins that range from 80 to 300 yards in, starting with 28 closest and 31 farthest out. We stayed at 31, and whole remote, during the day picked up sounds clearly from other sites and at night the highway was pretty clear. Overall though the seclusion tradeoff was nice and it was an easy adjustment for us as car campers. We had a raccoon visitor who is a frequent flyer, while he got away with some hotdogs, we adjusted and ensured he didn't get additional treats. The main showerhouse was closer than the vault toilet on 1, which was still really well maintained. Overall crowds here seemed very respectful of quiet hours, space on trails and made for an improved stay. Camp hosts were always available and polite and friendly. Trails were maintained. Definitely would return again, to a similar site as a walk in.

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• 

  Whitney L.

  Guide

  Jun. 6, 2022

  Bluffwoods Conservation Area

  lovely, quiet camping near St. Joe’s MO

  Love this little area for camping! It’s well maintained, quiet, easy to access, has lots of grass for the dogs to play and we always see wildlife. People often leave trash so be sure to leave no trace so it stays nice for all to enjoy <3

• 

  Laura H.

  Legend

  Apr. 23, 2020

  Rutlader Outpost RV Park

  Great Campground

  We’re from Kansas City and there are very few options when it comes to Campgrounds. This is by far our favorite and their rates are very reasonable. We enjoyed our stay, staff was very friendly and the park was clean and easy to get in and out of. You’re also very close to Hillsdale State Park, but this location has a tornado shelter 🤣

  The park: great store, laid out well, gravel sites. Some are back in but most are pull through. Full hook ups- power/water/sewer.

  72 Sites: 30' wide, 60' long and level 24 Sites are pull thru All have 30 & 50 amp service

  You are within 40 minutes of southern Overland Park, and within approximately an hour (depending on traffic) to Kansas City.

  Amenities: Laundry Storm Shelter Showers Meeting room available for RV Rallies (Must Schedule) Fishing Lake

  Cellular: service was good, able to stream video, work, Facebook, etc.

  Rates as of April 2020 (from their site):

  -DAY RATE: $45.00 -CLUB RATE: $40.00 (Good Sam's, FMCA, AAA, Military) -WEEKLY: $215 -MONTHLY: $575 Back In $700 Pull Through (if not paid by due date, Day Rate will apply.)​

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• 

  Leni K.

  Ranger

  Apr. 7, 2024

  Prairie Clover Campground — Clinton State Park

  Relaxing Car/Tent Camping Spot

  Pros Off-season was quiet Open bathrooms were nice and well kept. Easy access to trails Lots of wildlife, vultures, deer, etc. Well marked and plenty of them spots Marina was a quick bike ride away and had a lot to offer during the season. Primate loops had some good spacing and tree cover, along with views of the lake. Inner loops not so much Potable water available year round. Was drinkable.

  Cons Signs marked closed bathrooms but not the closest open bathrooms. One per campsite was still open with heat and electric. Weirdly all vaults were closed Office and hosts were unavailable so we had to leave for Casey's for firewood. While before the season, someone told us it's typically impossible to get firewood because the office is usually closed. Signs to the entrance to park and n avigation were pretty small, impossible to read at night, not lit. Electric parking pass only issued one day pass at a time. Would do the paper pass across the parking lot next time. Spacing is definitely a bit crowded for tent camping privacy this time of year. Will be curious to see how it feels in the summer/fall.

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