Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Laclede, MO

Long branch SP located in north central Missouri is a fantastic state park. The campground is well situated on the banks of long branch lake. The walk in sites are 50 feet from the lake and are level. The park has a swimming beach along with boat ramps and as we were told great fishing. The majority of the camp sites have lake views and are far enough from the highway that it is quiet at night. There are several hiking trails, from a prairie hike to a forest hike. The facilities are updated and clean. Talking with the park ranger, this park does fill on up quickly and reservation are recommended.

As a Conservation Area, it has very limited amenities. Only primitive camping is allowed on or immediately adjacent to the parking areas. Having said that, the CA is large consisting of over 8,000 acres. There are hiking trails throughout the CA that connect to the parking areas of which there a quite a number. In addition, two of the parking areas are noteworthy and clearly marked on the materials on the Missouri Department of Conservation web side regarding this CA. One has bathroom facilities and large grassy areas suitable for tent camping along with fire pits. The other has a boat ramp for access to a small lovely lake in addition to bathroom facilities. I'm giving this 3 starts primarily because the camping is limited and the location is somewhat remote. If you're ok with the primitive camping and don't mind the drive to get there, it would be nice.

We camped out here for the weekend. 

The campground is one circular lot with I think around 18 spots. Some are basic just for tents and some have water and or electric. 

The ones on the inside of the circle have more space and are more open but you don't have any privacy. Most spots on the outside of the circle, especially on the north and west sides have more privacy but not as much space. 

The grounds are well kept with grass while maintained. 

I hiked on most of the trails in one day. I missed the memorial trail and boardwalk. Home that I walked on will maintained. Some of them are more difficult than others but none of them too strenuous. 

Note about the lake - Once you get to the parking lot for the lake you'll see nothing but trees. On the east side of the parking lot (next to the state park signage/billboard) there are two trail heads. Take the one on the left. There's a quarter mile hike down to the lake. The way back is mostly uphill. Not too steep, but steep enough you might feel it if you don't do much hiking/walking. 

Playground It had a nice playground for small kids including a little play area and some swing sets. 

Restrooms There were two bathrooms present. One was a traditional drop toilet. It had a solar fan so surprisingly it did not have any smell. The other bathroom has a shower and the women's had two toilets and the men's had one toilet and a urinal. Everything was clean. 

Dog-friendliness We did not take any dogs but we saw plenty of people who had dogs.

The Thousand Hills campsite it great I have camped here on multiple occasions using a tent and a pop-up camper. They offer basic and electric sites. All the sites are a nice size and many provide shade as well which is nice during the hot summer. All the sites include a firepit, lantern holder, and a picnic table. There are multiple waterspouts throughout the campsite so you never have to walk far to collect water. There are also multiple outhouses within short walking distance of all the sites, they are clean but they have no lights so if you need to use it during the night you will need to bring a flashlight or lantern. The main bathroom however, though it may be further away then the outhouses for most sites, it is not unreasonably far away. At most it is probably a 5 minute walk from the sites that are further from it, and the walk is quite easy. The main bathroom has lights, outlets, toilets that flush, sinks, and several showers which you can control the temperature and are nice for camp showers. There is a camp store down at the marina where you can get firewood, food, and camping supplies. You can also rent pontoons, kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddle boards for a decent price. If you rent anytime before noon Monday-Friday you can rent boats for half off which is a great deal. The park has a nice free beach which you can drive to or access through a trail which starts at one of the campsites. The park has two playgrounds and there are many trails, some that are light and easy, some moderate, and a long one that goes around the lake. Which has a backpacking campsite. I have not used the cabins here but they look like they are nice and they have easy access to the lake and docks right next to them for easy access to your boat.