Best Dispersed Camping near Portland, MO

Set in the Cedar Creek District of the mark Twain National Forest this campground is perfect for a night stay or a backpacking trip. On site camp hostess and privy. Great hammock camping

Pros: Free!! Close to Columbia but far enough away for a getaway. Easy to find from the road, even in the dark. Fire pits and picnic tables are there. Vault toilets and running water available. Hiking trailhead at the entrance of the campground. Camping spots are spaced out enough.

Cons: Can hear lawn-mowing and Gun shots from neighboring properties in the early morning. Still not the end of the world. Definitely fills up on the weekends.

I stayed at #3 and it was a very spacious private spot. If you have kids/dogs I recommend spot #4 it has a long strip of playroom for running around without disturbing other spaces. 2 week maximum stay.

It was a nice quiet area designated camping spots and not too far from any stores very clean working bathrooms we really enjoyed ourselves there we'll be looking forward to going back

Love the trails and the secluded spots. There usually are always people camping, even in the winter. Also, there are no electric sites so dont forget your generator. My husband and I have felt a little unsafe. We once had another camper come into our site and not want to leave.

I’ve been going from one campsite to the next for a few weeks now and this place is the best. Clean updated vault toilets. Potable water and we’ll kept sites.

Closed for the season

Went here on a sunday night. Only two other campers. Toilets, dumpster, and water pump present. Only bummer was lots of ticks and there must be a gun range nearby, which set off our dog's anxiety.

Wonderful open areas for camping. Fire pits aplenty. Great hiking trails to meadows and forest. Several sites all first come first serve. No power and vault toilets. Donation camping so late night arrivals can get scetchy.

Stayed 2 nights, blacktop rv site, back in, w table, fire pit, grill on pit as well as seperate on pedestal, covered table for storage  or prep, also picnic table, water faucet, dumpsters, vault toilet.  Stayed in Oct so it was not busy, there were a few tents, hiking trail lots of shade.  Nice country road drive in and out.