Best Tent Camping near Ozark, MO

Beautiful views from many of the sites. I noticed several of the tent sites do not have level areas for your tent. T01 site does not have close parking unless you are able to park in the handcap parking. It is a quite park in the evening. Camp host is polite and shower house is kept clean. Vault toilet by the boat ramp is sketchy (where tent camping is located). Will stay here again.

This is one of the largest KOAs I've stayed at and the kampground itself is very nice. The staff were great ands check in was super quick. Also, there's a rugged little trail that goes behind the kampground. It was a great little walk for the dog and I to stretch our legs after our long drive. 

The tent sites are all located at the back of the kampground around a circular pavillion. Each tent site has its own water facet, electricity, and fair internet which are somewhat redeeming for the negatives below. It's nice to have a covered picnic table and the lattice provides some privacy from the picnic tables of the other campers. Other than the traffic is very quiet in by 7:30 or so. Everyone seems respectful of each other. 

The tent sites are disappointing to me. They're small, close together, and nearer to the highway than makes for a good night's sleep in a tent. That makes them kind of pricey for what you get.

I'm tent camping because I want to be distanced from other people. I put mine up as far to the side as I can go, but I'm  still literally only 10 feet from the next tent. Other users mentioned grass on the sites. I haven't seen any grass around and site 5 has only stones on the tent pad. This site also has probably the worst view. It faces out toward one of the kampground roads and is in full view of the street light. The back sites seem darker.

I'd highly recommend this KOA if you're visiting Branson in a trailer or RV. The kabins also look really cute (and there are lots of them!). If I visited here again in a tent, I'd pick one of the two sites that face the woods.

Went tent camping with the family (6 of us ages 1-33) during the offseason. Just a beautiful place. Kids had a blast.

Went here for a Jeep Jamboree and had a great time. There are several areas to tent camp and have great amenities as well. Toilets, showers, food, etc. The hosts are very hospitable and treat you great!

I’ve camped here 2x for Jeepstock in September. Brandon, the owners closes the park for the event but it’s still maxes the facilities capacity. The tent camping is questionable, but lots of great electric sites. Generator camping is far away from everyone else so that’s nice.

There’s limited bathrooms and showers but I think that’s going to change soon with additions to the grounds. Nice new cabins are being added yearly. If you ha e a chance to visit SMORR, I would recommend it!

We tent camped in Campground 3 at lot 168. We are more of the hiker, woodsy, adventure type people. If I would have known better I would have chosen Campground 1 for tent camping, as it seemed less groomed. Campground 1 was tucked up in an inlet that went back into the valley. It dead ends at a wonderful trailhead. The west side on CG#1 is lined by a beautiful creek that runs into the rotating river. Lots 54-77 are close to the bathrooms and well shaded, and I have them noted in my phone for our next trip. Reservations required and easy to make (1-877-422-6766)

Campground 3 was very open and didn’t feel very “woodsy”. However it was still a very nice spot with a short walk to some awesome fishing spots. It is also near the two longer trail heads, which we enjoyed. If you have ATT you won’t have any cell service here. BUT.. there’s WiFi. Yes. In 2021, you can get WiFi at your campsite. I don’t really like this, but it was helpful for my partner who is a businessman and needs to be able to send emails. (This was only from CG#3 in my experience) 

Campground 2 seemed like a nice in between of 1 and 3. It was a little more shaded, but seemed to have more traffic. 

Every campground offered basic, electric, or all the fancy stuff. We like to rough it, so that wasn’t for us. We will be back for sure!

We loved staying at Campbell Point campground. The whole place was very well maintained and clean. The camp host was very friendly and relaxed but clearly cared a lot about keeping the grounds free of trash and the bathrooms well stocked and clean. Our large family tent camped on site 51. There was a slight slope to pretty much all of the sites but it wasn't a big deal. 

There was a nice playground and beach, swim area that the kids loved to visit though it was too cool to swim. The marina store was very nice and well stocked, though pricey. 

The vibe was a lot of older folks and families so it was very relaxed and pretty quiet overall. Though the actual sites were fairly close together the tree coverage helped make it feel a little bit more private. 

We are already planning our return trip.

I have been floating on the James River many times. Always a great experience on the river.

Campsite PROS- Very large grassy sites for tent camping with RV sites also available. On site general store for various floating items, alcohol, food etc

Campsite CONS- VERY STRICT camping rules when camping with minors... We were all well over the age of 21 ( 30 years old +) with the exception of my brother who was 20 at the time. He was DENIED an overnight site due to his age and the alcohol sold on the premises. Even with my father present . Also their shower/ bath room is poorly maintained and always dirty. They have one bath and toilet for men and one for women for the entire campground, which has well over 40 sites. They are unorganized when it comes to drop offs and pick ups and could use more staff to help get on and off the river for floating.

This campground offers RV camping with full hookups or tent camping. The RV sites are a little small and close to each other, and you can tell some people are long time campers. That being said, it’s a very nice area by the river with lots of fishing, floating, and swimming opportunities. A few things to keep in mind-if it’s been raining a lot it does tend to get muddy, we don’t have 4WD and got stuck, luckily some others there did and helped us out. Once it dried up it was no problem. (It had been over for over a week, so it was out of the norm) The exit to get out is a hill with gravel so again not having 4WD that was a little tricky, the visibility is also not great because of curves so you just have to hope people aren’t going too fast. The last thing is this place is also a canoe rental so there are vans/buses with canoes going back and forth all day so it can be noisy.

My family stayed in the African Treehouse Lodge. It was a great weekend getaway. The kids loved that the upstairs was up a ladder and running across the swinging rope bridge. The playground has a zipline that all the kiddos had a blast using. We were able to "rent" for free a couple of movies from the office and the staff was really friendly and helpful. The trails made for a good afternoon family walk. Some trails were more cleared out than other but the variety is a plus in my book. They are not overly long trails but still very enjoyable. They have plenty of RV sites and some cabins and treehouses. Me and my wife will be coming back to one of the couples only treehouses for sure! There are not a lot of tent sites and they are all in one crowded area with little seclusion or cover but this place is clearly more geared to the RV's and Cabin getaways. Would be great for family reunions or family trips to the Branson area.

When it comes to this location I liked the overall spacing of sites and the shaded tent area.  This was so appealing when I pulled in.  At first I had eyed just a site by the water but when I saw these they were a bit further away but seemed to be just what I was looking for in the midst of the heat.

Many people come to this area to put a kayak in the water and enjoy, and while I wanted to do that it seemed a bit crowded for my liking as a novice.   You wouldn't expect that from the water but I get turned around easily and I didn't want to be out there in the way.   Instead I enjoyed the other activities and just being at camp itself.

A bit more about the options for water recreation.   They do have rentals and a shuttle service to accommodate you returning following a paddle, that seemed very reasonably priced.

Camp was very nice with lush green grass, access to fire rings and picnic tables.    It wasn't to loud although you could hear the sounds of campers around you pretty easily.    

They also had cabin options here, I didn't explore them this time around but they looked nice and the placement wasn't to close to one another.  The RV area was well spaced and had great areas for leveling out with ease, shade coverings for the exposed sites and similar amenities to the tent camping.

Family style theme campgrounds are always fun.   Not really so much about the hiking and outdoors as many other camps in the area but the amenities and attraction of the campgrounds are usually the selling point.  

I have seen many Jellystone Parks in the past, and I will say this one is a bit less themed than others.  However what it lacks in theming it does make up for in charm as the cast and staff are extra friendly and involved.   They ensure that children have interactions with Yogi and that there are plenty of fun activities for the entire family to enjoy!!

They host daily activity times for foam parties, scavenger hunts, interactions and crafts which is really fun and makes for a great family style outing especially for the younger kiddos.   Additionally they have a splash pad, swimming pool, hiking areas which are a bit less challenging, playground and ranger station.    

Though they do have an all inclusive style approach to entertainment they also have show tickets available for purchase for venturing into Branson itself, a great touch for additional entertainment as there are many things the entire family will enjoy.

Tent camping along with RV camping and Cabins is available but something unique to the park is the RV rental service where you can rent an RV to stay in, something not to many parks in Branson offer.

When I visited the park, some of the amenities and special attractions were currently closed due to the conditions going on in the world, but they still made sure to make it an exciting experience for all staying there.

As a person who has been to Silver Dollar City more times than a I can count, I never realized that the theme of the park was echoed in yet another location of Branson.   It wasn't until I visited the Wilderness at Silver Dollar City, a unique campground located just beyond the property lines of the park itself, that I was able to see just how fun it would be to stay basically in the park but also in the wilderness.

Let me explain, you are not in the park itself, rather on the border in a nice shaded and wooded area with some massive improvements for comfort.    There is a pool for those hot summer days, very nice bath houses and loops for both RVs and tent campers.   But the theme of Silver Dollar City is most prevalently able to be seen in the vintage style cabins they have on the cabin loop.   It is here that you feel like you are truly a part of the park still as the structures closely resemble those within the many streets of the park.   You almost expect to see some of the characters roaming around doing their daily tasks such as cutting wood or creating amazing crafts.   

The cabin area is hands above the rest, the best thing you will find for vintage country style vibes in this area!!  They come in many styles and sizes to accommodate any family, and they offer a variety of unique features depending on the selection.    Something I did notice was they do have old rockers on the porches for that perfect night in the Ozarks all the while offering a modern grill on each cabin to make a stay here both iconic and convenient.   

On the main camping loops you find many sizes and styles of camping sites.    Larger RVs have elongated pull ins for their rigs with large side yard style spaces while smaller rigs have just enough room to pull in and detach so they can go explore.    Pricing reflects the size of the spaces themselves as it does with the style of connections or lack there of.

As a tent camper I noticed the camping loop for tents specifically was very quiet and located slightly away from the RV campers.   A large field separated the two and it made all the difference in way of road traffic and also camping congestion.   Not as many campers come here to stay primitive in the tent only area and it cut down on a lot of the traffic near restrooms as well.

Tent camping loop is basic with fire rings and picnic tables.   There are common water spigots placed for usage but otherwise it is no frills.    Camping here you can walk throughout camp but it is the furthest distance from the main areas for recreation.

Something else nice about this campground  is the access you have to the park itself.  A dedicated shuttle runs to the campground from the park to pick up anyone who is wanting to visit so you do not have to worry about finding parking or driving at all once you arrive.    You can navigate directly to the ticket counter from the campground without lengthy lines waiting for trollies or having to walk further.   Additionally staying here you have additional discounts in the park itself, so keep that in mind if you are planning a trip!!!