The best DISPERSED camping near
Mill Spring , MISSOURI

This is a new(ish) and well maintained campground. It is located on the Black River, and the water flowing through the shut-ins is crystal clear and cool. We weren’t there during the summer months, but I am sure this park is busy when the weather is good for swimming. We stayed at the campground at the end of September when the leaves were just starting to change colors and it was beautiful.

All the sites have concrete pads and there is plenty of space between sites with lots of trees. There is also a walking path that cuts through the middle of both loop 2 and 3. This is great if you are planning trips with friends and family but can’t get sites directly next to each other. The park has a great general store which is centrally located and there is a nice big laundry facility attached if you need it. We didn’t use the bathroom/shower facilities while we were there due to covid, so I unfortunately don’t have information about those for you.

Be aware the shut-ins are separate from the campgrounds. This can be either a positive detail or a negative depending on how you look at it. It’s only bad if you are concerned about the fact that you have to drive or walk to go play in the water. However, I think the good outweighs the bad in this case.

Although we weren’t there during the warmer/swimming months, I can imagine the park gets pretty busy during the weekends and hot days. So the positive is, if you are camping, that the campground area won’t be busy with day-use visitors because the park is split up. Which means, you can still enjoy the peace and quiet if you aren’t playing at the actual shut-ins. That is definitely a plus in my book.

The only issue we had was there was nobody at the gate to check us in. We had to check in by text or we could scan a QR code and there were no campsite maps available either. So hopefully you have better phone service then we had, and make sure to download a site map so you can find your campsite more easily.

Overall, the park is great. The shut-ins are beautiful and if you are into exploring the area around Johnson’s Shut-ins there are multiple state parks nearby where you can drive to and do some more exploring.

My family camps at Sam A Baker every year. It is clean and everyone there is friendly. They have a nice gift shop and some great places to swim.

I had a great time but it was off season. In peak times it would be easy to be stacked on stacks …

This is a float camp along Eleven Points river. This one is accessible by 2 miles of gravel road. Several dedicated camp sites that each have fire ring, shepherds hook, picnic table. There is one pit toilet building. There is a beautiful blue spring coming out of the bottom of a pool formerly used to power Boze Mill.

We stayed here on a Tuesday evening in early November. It was election night so we were happy to not have a cell signal for the night. 😊 The sites are all walk in but it’s a short walk from your car to the site. Very rocky ground so be careful where you put your tent. Pit toilets are located at the entrance to the campground. We didn’t see where the water was but it was supposed to be off for the season anyway so we were prepared. We did the hike to the highest point in Missouri and then to a small waterfall. We were racing the sunset so we didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked. There were only two other campers and all was quiet.

My family always camp there during Memorial Weekend while growing up. This camping ground is right by the river. This place has transformed where they offer little but of everything and reserve ahead of time. I highly recommend you reserve canoe or Kayak at time of your camping reservation. If you love to stargaze then head out to open land and enjoy the night sky and bring a telescope.

Greer spring is right down the road and is wrll worth the hike!

Camped for a couple days during fall. The scenery was gorgeous!

Very nice campground with nice showers and clean bathrooms. Camp sites were somewhat close together so hope you like neighbors. We didn’t check the nearby trails to the shut-ins before coming. The shut-ins trail DOES NOT allow dogs so that’s a bummer. Found some other local hiking trails so overall it wasn’t too bad.

There is a small designated campground above the river bank sites described in the other review. The site typically costs 5 dollars a day but a sign up at the campground says fees are waved due to less services for COVID. Pit toilets, dumpster, and water all on site but not at each camp. Great spot to car camp.