Best Tent Camping near Luray, MO

We tent camped here a few weeks ago and it was pretty nice. You self check in and cost is only $10/night for primitive. They don’t have electric or water hookups for tent camping which was ok for us. It was easy to find and quiet. The only downside is the lake was filled with algae. So if you’re wanting to fish or swim, this isn’t the place for you! There’s a gun range, horse farm, playground, bathrooms, and even a place to use a few telescopes to see the stars!

I stayed one night for an activity at the state park the following day. The shower houses had individual, private, large, and very clean facilities. It was not crowded at all. Campground #2 was the smaller of the two campgrounds. The spots seemed more fitting for RV’s vs tent but there were a couple of tents. I slept in my van so it wasn’t an issue for me. I may reconsider visiting this park for tent camping.

I’ve camped here in a tent as well as a travel trailer and it’s great either way! Nice camping spots, generally a very quiet campground. The campsites are a bit of a hike from the lake but there is lots to do when you get there. Paddle boats, a beach, several playgrounds for kids, fishing, a marina and a great restaurant. There are several different trails you can hike or bike.
A great and affordable place to stay in north Missouri.

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.

Campsite is directly next to the river. Most sites have power but there are a few tent sits as well (those are right on the river). We'll maintained vault toilets. Site has a shared spicket.

Wildcat is a very nice campground operated by the City of Hamilton, Illinois. Campground has only 17 RV slots of various sizes. We had room to put our 32 foot fifth wheel and room to park our truck alongside. Ours was one of a couple of sites large enough to handle our size.

Their website says the nightly fee is $15 for tents and $25 fir RV. When we arrived we were informed that it had gone up to $20 fir tent and $30 for RV.

Service excludes electricity of 30 and 50 amp. Water is also available at each site. A dump station is on site.

Also on site is a very nice public pool and interesting Disc Golf course.

Very quite and peaceful surroundings. Just a half mile off of the Mississippi River.

We will definitely return here when we get back to the area.

Battle of Athens sp is located in the northeast part of Missouri, a little out of way but worth the trip. We spent a good portion of the morning exploring the battle grounds and driving down by the Des Moines river. The campground is on the small side but at the time of our visit, empty. The sites were well maintained and overlook a nice pond and fields. Very quiet.

Thousand Hills SP was great. Huge swim beach, lots of trails, pavilions, playground equipment and beautiful views. Park has a full service marina where you can rent kayaks or fill your boat with gas. It also has a restaurant. Restaurant was not a little more upscale. I wouldn’t show up in flip flops and swim trunks. If you don’t have a RV or tent there are cabins to rent as well.

Nice calm lake great for swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and small motored boats. There are several trails, picnic areas, and play areas for kids. Campground 2 is small and quite with clean shower/bathrooms. Camground 2 Site 58 is a joined drive with no tent space, however you get an isolated area, and has an uneven pad for camper. It has a large patio and picnic table. Campground 1 is much larger with several great sites.

Lacey-Keosaqua State Park is a gem located in Southeast Iowa in Van Buren County. It is off the beaten path but it is one of oldest Iowa State Parks. The Park and campground are well maintained and clean. We visited over Labor Day weekend and the park was only two-thirds full. It was a variety of Tent campers and RV's. The camp sites are spaced really well so you don't feel like you are on top of one another. They have electric and non-electric sites and the shower is very clean. There are almost 80 sites in the campground.

Don't miss the hiking trails and the Beach House and swimming lake. Don't miss lake Sugema, the Indian Mounds or the Ely Ford Mormon Trail crossing.

I tried to camp here, but it was closed temporarily due to high water on the Mississippi River. In fact, part of the the campground road was under water. However, I was able to check it out and talk with a city worker who was mowing the empty campground. This is a primarily RV campground next to the Mighty Mississippi, with all spots having nice gravel parking pads, hookups, and great views of the river. The worker told me that tents are welcome, but not what they usually have show up. There is no dump station. Bathrooms were porta-potties (it wasn’t clear if this was the permanent bathroom situation because of the river flood potential or temporary), and there were no showers. There was a nice playground in the middle of the campground. Just up the road a short walk is the lock and dam that you can visit with interpretive signs and nice benches to sit on while you watch the barges go through the locks.

Great job and I am glad to be coming back

We will be going back!

Good sights, great horse trails, awesome camping