If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Louisiana, look no further. You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Louisiana, Missouri's most popular destinations.
Pitch your tent in one of four widely spaced sites. Each site has enough room for multiple tents and includes a fire pit and picnic table. The sites are just a short walk from our shower/restroom facility. The fishing ponds are just a quarter mile walk from the campsites, and access to the numerous trails throughout our 940-acre property is directly from the campsites. While we have four designated sites, it is rare for all to be full, and likely that you'll be the only campers here most days. We are located in a very remote/rural part of Illinois in a county nestled between the Mississippi& Illinois Rivers, but only 75 miles north of downtown St. Louis. We have been included in John Shirle's"The Best in Tent Camping: Illinois."
The McCully Heritage Project is a 940- acre environmental center located one mile south of Kampsville in beautiful and remote Calhoun County. We are a private non-profit left as the legacy of Howard and Eva McCully.
$20 - $100 / night
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation's website for more information.
Missouris Spillway Recreation Area is tucked in a cove near the Wappapello Dam on Wappapello Lake. The area provides plenty of recreation for day-use visitors, including boating, fishing or playing volleyball by the lakeshore.
Wappapello Lake has a seemingly endless string of secluded coves hugged by a winding, wooded shoreline. The public recreation area spans 45,000 acres in the southeastern Ozark foothills.
Boating and fishing are the most popular activities with largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass and channel catfish, among other species.
Pine Ridge Natural Trail, a 3/4-mile double loop, starts at the Spillway Recreation Area and provides an excellent way to explore the beautiful woodlands.
This day use area includes two large picnic shelters, 8 picnic sites, a volleyball court, playground, horseshoe pits and bank fishing.
The extensive 33-mile Ozark Trail, starts just south of Sam A. Baker State Park and winds along the west side of the St. Francis River and Wappapello Lake.
Little Lost Creek is a partially spring-fed Ozark stream, characterized by clear water and a rocky stream bed. Campers are limited to 14 consecutive days in a 30-day period. Groups of more than 10 campers need a special-use permit.
Visitors at John Spalding are in the perfect location for recreation on Mark Twain Lake. The day-use area is the only facility within reach of the sandy public beach. It's also directly connected to the Joanna Trail, a 32-mile multi-purpose trail for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Tour the birthplace of world-famous humorist and writer, Mark Twain and explore the region that inspired his most beloved stories, such as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Swim and enjoy the beach all day, or take a boat out for water skiing and fishing. For hikers and bikers, the lengthy Joanna Trail lines the northern banks of the lake.
The day-use area is equipped with a swimming beach, showers and picnic shelters. Shelters have electric hookups.
The Salt River of north-central Missouri feeds Mark Twain Lake, the regions largest body of water, spanning 18,000 acres. A variety of recreation areas surround the lake, including the Mark Twain State Park.
Visit Mark Twain's birthplace in Florida, Missouri or his boyhood home in Hannibal. The David C. Berti Shooting Range is below the dam and M.W. Boudreaux Visitor Center is above the dam.
$30 / night
Indian Camp Creek Park, located at 2679 Dietrich Road, Foristell, is St. Charles County’s largest park with 603 acres, including more than 10 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, biking, and equestrian use. Camping, disc golf, fishing and a large destination playground are just some of the amenities found there. Climb to the top of the observation silo, and discover the beautiful prairies, vast wooded hills, and protected habitat found throughout the park.
Guide
Lovely wooded spot. There are about 6-8 sites. Can back in a camper. Outhouse building. Only had one other camper. Shaded, wooded. We had a lovely night but woke up covered in ticks! Lots of ticks here. We ride our motorcycles here to tent camp. Sites are close. Fire rings , no picnic tables.
Scout
A small and not crowded place to camp with all you need and hospitality. Great for tent camping and hiking.
Traveler
Real nice campground with bathrooms and showers. Only $5 to tent camp here! Great view of the lake and easy to hike trails. Only downside is that the mosquitoes will eat you alive!
Guide
I tent-camped at Driftwood during a bike tour along the Mississippi River Trail. The showers and restroom were impressively clean. The hosts could not have made me feel more welcome.
Guide
This is a paved lot past the ballfields. Pull in at the sign and follow the road. The lot is beside private property so I called the police to verify parking is still allowed and they said no problem. No tent camping allowed Quiet night , great stop
Traveler
Very quiet and beautiful here. We are on site 93 with a partial view of the Mark Twain lake. Had to use blocks site goes down hill. Stayed 2 nights for $18 total with National senior pass. Electric hookup only. 91 degrees needed fan air movement. Water and dump are $24 a night. They also have tent camping.
Guide
This park is beautiful. Located about 25 minutes from St Louis. They have paddle boats and bikes and group bikes for rental. Located right next to a lake with a lot of RV and tent camping spots. Kids had a blast riding bikes. Even finding a few little frogs jumping around and fireflies at night.
Legend
There are 10 or so primitive tent sites and an area that will accommodate about a dozen RV’s. There are no services here and no hook ups, but it’s free. The primitive tent sites are spread out along the main road through the conservation area, which means that in the daytime you will get road noise and dust, but its pretty quiet at night. Only a couple have picnic tables, but all seemed to have at least a level spot for the tent and a fire ring. I noticed some sites had a bit of trash in the fire rings, probably from day use or partiers. There is no trash service, so plan to pack out your trash. The best site (already taken, too bad) was set on the edge of the woods next to a fishing pond. The campers that were there let me take some pics of their site since it was so pretty. The only downside to that site was its proximity to the RV lot and their generators. There are some nice hiking trails here to explore.
Guide
Great location for a weekend getaway, only 1 hour from the city! Hiking trails, level lots, full hookups available, There are 2 loops, the tent camping side is well shaded with a lot of room between sites. The full hookup loop has a lot of room, but can be a challenge backing in, as the camp sites are at a 90 degree angle to the road. Would love to return.
Guide
We discovered this gym. On our way home. Just needed to stay overnight, but will definitely be back. The little details make it very homey. Sites are well laid out and easy to maneuver. Full hook ups or tent sites are available to meet the needs of the camper. Clean facility and family friendly.
Traveler
This campground use to be a great place to camp until it got new owners. They no longer offer tent camping and they completely shut it off from the public. My family has been going there for generations including having family reunions there. That place helped so many parents and kids get thru their summer breaks. Now you can't step foot on the property without having rented an rv spit.
Legend
Currently this is an RV only campground due to Covid restrictions, but there is ample space for tent camping when they return to allowing tents. So, RV sites include pull through and back in with water and electric hookups, and a dump station on site. There is a nice bathhouse and super clean laundry with a little lending library. Also on site is a community room(currently closed due to covid restrictions), an outdoor pavilion, and a miniature golf set up. The campground is wedged between the highway and a cow farm, so expect some noise, especially with few trees or landscaping to absorb the sound.
Legend
No frills camping on the edge of the fairgrounds, there are campsites mostly for RV’s (full hook ups- 50 amp and 30 amp, and sites with sewer), and space for tents on the margins (might be why tent “sites” are free). The bathhouse was locked when I passed through, and no one was camping here, but there is an emergency number to call, so I guess if I had wanted to camp here I could have had someone come out and unlock the bathhouse for me. The town is a short walk away with a convenience store and not much else, but still cute. Don’t expect any privacy or shade here as there are no trees.
GuideThere are five tent camp spots located at Lazy Day and we camped on T4 at the very back of the campground. The on site facilities were excellent and clean, and these include a shop (with souvenirs as well as basic necessities and other assorted items), showers, and bathrooms. The T4 spot is pretty well isolated near the back and is right next to the trail that goes to one of the two fishing ponds on site. In addition to the trail leading to the back pond, there is another short trail that cuts through the woods on the south side of the camp. Despite the large size of the campground (about 65 RV spots) the noise level was fine and we went undisturbed while sleeping.
GuideWe stayed at one of the few tent sites. It was a shaded spot under some pine trees, and that came with the occasional tick. No big deal though. There are two “club houses”. We spent some time in the smaller one by the pool. There was a shelf for you to take a book leave a book. The other shelves where filled with hundreds of dvds to choose from to play on the tv. There was also a stove, sink, and fridge. Which was very nice since we had a tent. The bathrooms were very clean and the showers were free. The aesthetic of the camp was amazing and rustic. There’s a coin laundry room outside the bathrooms, which was also really nice but we didn’t end up using. We only stayed a night, but will definitely be back.
Legend
All I can say of this fairly new campground is WOW! Tent sites in the trees with river views, water/electric at all of the RV pull thru sites, on site dump station, cute cabins in a variety of sizes, great hammocking trees, and a super clean bathhouse. If that is not enough, there is a coffee bar that serves light sandwiches, on site kayak outfitter, and summer concerts on the stage. About the only drawback I can see is that it will be so popular that it will be hard to get a site in the busy season without advance reservations. Even sitting next to the busy highway, there isn’t a lot of road noise thanks to the trees. If I was in a tent I would want to try and get sites 15 or 17 as they are large and have great views of the river.
Traveler
I spent a night here camping while on a road trip. The check-in was quick and easy. The host showed me the tent campsites, which are secluded and private from the RV sites. The sites are outfitted with a picnic table and brick fire rings. Some have water spickets. There's a central covered picnic area. Lots of shade and tall trees. You'll want to check them for dead limbs before setting up your site. I didn't ask if hammock camping is allowed. There are at least two sites that would work nicely for a hammock. A portable toilet is available to keep the area sanitary for urgent needs; the flush toilets, laundry, and fitness center at the main entrance are also available for a longer walk or short drive.
LegendI wanted to escape the house and go camping while on the work from home order (Covid-19 happening at the time of this review), so I headed to a very local park and campground to pitch my tent. I've been to 370 Lakeside Park many times to walk around the huge lake and to hear concerts in the summer, but I had never camped there. Still haven't. I'll explain. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they were not so keen on having tent campers. But they were very nice and gave me the general lowdown on this "in the city" campground. Since they opened the campground, most of their campers have been RV owners, and so it is really designed for the RV camper. There is a small primitive section for group tent camping, but the majority of the sites are full hookups for RVs. Some sites are pull through and some are back in. All have picnic tables and fire pits. The park has planted some trees, but they are really just saplings, so there is no shade yet. There is a nice bathhouse with free showers for the campers and pay laundry. If you are lucky, you can get a site close to the water, but it means the walking trail is right next to your unit. Trade offs, I suppose. One couple I talked to was camping long term (I think they are permanent RV'ers) and they got a free membership to the St Peter's RecPlex recreation center with their long term spot (they said something about having to book a least a month out to get this perk). One of the downsides to this location is that it is prone to flooding. It was out of commission for most of the summer of 2019 as the entire area was flooded. But the City of St Peters did a great job getting this place back to usable with new sod, a new bathhouse, and some general sprucing up. The lake is great to walk around, about a 3 mile walk or bike on a paved trail. You can see all kinds of wildlife in and around the lake- deer, bald eagles, pelicans, ducks, snakes. In the summers they have live music in the large pavilion, and you can rent kayaks and other small boats to take out on the lake as well as bikes to ride around on. The office told me that they have 24 hour on site security also. If I really wanted to tent camp, I could rent a section of the group camping area, but $30 seemed pricey for just me, and it was very soggy to boot. Or I could rent an RV spot, but $45 was silly when I don' t need hookups.
Ranger
We spent last night camping at Indian Camp Creek park and it’s a great mix between primitive camping with limited connection and camping at an RV parking lot. We took our 4 year old daughter tent camping for the first time and this was a great location. Although there’s only 8 individual tent spots available, it seems as though there’s always a spot available and each site is secluded by a group of trees. Each spacious site is equipped with a nice sized firepit, a concrete pad with a picnic table and a soft flat level space for a tent. One restroom with no running water is well kept and trash was picked up in the morning.
The park is loaded with activities. Great hiking trails, a huge kids playground, a pond with trails, and a full frisbee golf course. There’s a nice creek that runs through the front of the park you can cool off and float on a tube. The park is incredibly clean and well maintained. You could easily spend a weekend doing various activities without getting bored.
You can reserve a site online, but it has to be 4 days in advance otherwise it’s first come, first serve. There’s also the option for group camping, although we never checked it out.
All in all, it’s a great site, about 15 minutes away from wentzville. If you are looking for extreme primitive, or a place to park your camper, this is not your place.
GuideThe rain was a pain but didn't ruin Mark Twain! Though I grew up outside of St. Louis, I'd never been to this campground or to Mark Twain Lake. Really enjoyed exploring the area and the campground was nice. Showers were a short walk and campsites had a decent amount of privacy. The Loop we were on was really better suited to motor homes and we were tent camping. We had two tents and had to set them up in kind of a odd location near the loop road. Some sites were better then others but I wouldn't come back to this exact site to pitch a tent. If you have a camper though, its great.
You are right on the lake here, though it's a bluff so when you get to the edge, there is a steep drop off. It's very pretty and my kids are 9 and 11 so I wasn't worried but if there were much younger I'd be concerned about letting them wander toward the lake as they could slip and fall in. Since part of the reason I take the kids camping is to be able to let them explore, I'd go to another area with younger kiddos.
That being said, there was a trail that you could take for about 10 minutes that took you down to water level and is decent for swimming.
We took a day trip to Hannibal, which is a fun little town. Took in the Mark Twain Museum and took a riverboat cruise. On another day, we rented a pontoon boat to explore the lake, which I'd recommend as well.
Once you get the to the campground, you are at least 30 minutes from any store, gas station, etc, to stock up.
We were there mostly during the week and it was very quiet. As it got closer to the weekend, it started to really fill up and get more lively. Mostly families and such so didn't mind but just a heads up.
In the end, lovely area, really well maintained campground and would recommend.
Scout
Plenty of tent spots with tree cover and fire pits. Lighting bugs came out at night.
GuideNice campground with tent areas and RV area well separated. Fire rings with attached rebar grills on a bricked square. Picnic table and lantern post. Small playground near the check in station/camp store. The store is small but will have what you need. The showers were adequate with the requisite daddy long legs. There were a fair amount of ticks so spray your gear with permethrin. Many of the sites were pretty small - we had a hard time seeing where a tent would fit, usually the answer was on the side of the road. Also, many were close together with little privacy. We stayed on site 53. Which I definitely recommend. Plenty of space for the tent (on a bit of a slant with tree roots, but doable, especially with air mattresses), great privacy on one side, decentprivacy on the other, and a lovely view of the woods at the back.
TravelerAt one time this campground was a KOA campground so if you are familiar with KOA, you know the basic layout. We stayed here in our tent and while the tent area was closed for receding new grass the owner let us stay in a grassy area under the trees near the office. It was a great stsy and the restrooms and pool were nice and clean. We enjoyed ourselves and cooled off in the hot weather.
TravelerThe campsites and grounds are well-maintained. However, the campsites did not have designated gravel tent pads. Given that we had to set up in/right after a rain, our tarp was sitting in grass and mud. I never knew how much I appreciated a designated gravel tent pad until then. Having never camped here, we had reserved site 25 and had the whole loop to ourselves (it was a Monday night, though). Our site, though, was the smallest in the loop, tucked away in the weeds, and the only area to pitch our tent was on a slight slope. After walking the loop, I noticed that sites 26 and 29, offered more room and were better maintained. We probably could’ve changed sites had we not arrived so late and in the rain.
Firewood is available for $5. We saw a nice playground at the entrance. There were plenty of showers (water was nice and hot!) and flush toilets in the bathhouse. The bathhouse could use some TLC, but the warm water made up for it. There are laundry facilities, though we didn’t use them.
Legend
Boulder Lake is the larger of the two campgrounds here at Wakonda State Park. It is also crowded with RV and campers in the main part of the campground, with a small loop that is sort of tent only. The tent part is a loop with sites in the middle (37-50) having the best trees for hammocks and the sites on the outside of the loop having the most level places for pitching a tent. If you can get site 44, you have probably the best site in the campground as it sits at the end of the loop with no close neighbors, close to the lake, and backs to nice trees. None of the other sites are as private. This site is the furthest from the bathrooms and shower house, however. You can purchase ice and wood, and there are laundry facilities. All of this is located near the shower house. There are a couple of water spikots scattered around the campgrounds, and there is one hiking trail that heads out of the campground near the woodlot. Elsewhere in the park is a nice swimming beach with a place to shower off the sand, and some interesting cement tunnels/bunkers that kids might have fun exploring.
Traveler
It was a nice 5 day stay posts of room for your tent and parking. Play ground was very clean and pavilion had lots of outlets and picnic tables.
ScoutNice simple campsite with a relatively clean pit toilet. Easy to find flat ground to pitch a tent. Just far enough from 70 to be quiet and there was only one other campsite taken.
Tent camping near Louisiana, Missouri offers a blend of serene landscapes and outdoor activities, perfect for nature enthusiasts looking to escape the hustle and bustle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Louisiana, MO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Louisiana, MO is McCully Heritage Project with a 4.8-star rating from 5 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Louisiana, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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