Best Campgrounds near St. Joseph, MO

We were traveling and was looking for an overnight stop. This was very easy off the interstate but once there you felt like you were miles out in the country. Yes.. if you were listening for it you could hear some road noise. But it really wasn’t invasive at all. The sites appear mostly all level and gravel. We had a pull through and it was perfect for overnight. Full hook up and shade. We travel with a dog and so much lush green grass to explore and walk was a plus for us. There is a dog park but I didn’t look for it so can’t comment on it. Didn’t use the bath house either. Owners were great and met us even after hours when we arrived to make sure we were in the spot correctly. Would definitely recommend. They have a few tent sites that looked very nice. Site A was really tucked into the back and had lots of vegetation and privacy. The pool was small but was clean and fenced.

You can camp in one of several little inlets and nooks. It's a Fish & Game preserve with camping and fishing spots all around the lake. Many with picnic tables and most with vault toilets. It's on my top 10 list of best primitive/dispersed camping locations. Only con is the vault toilet at the inlet I camped in. It was unusable with fetus nearly to the top. I think some unscrupulous person put trash in it then other used it probably without knowing. Very bad etiquette! Be sure to bring your own camping toilet and/or check the vault toilet before setting up. I didn't see very many RVs but several vans, trucks, and cars were there. The wildlife is predominantly water fowl.

I took my skoolie there, and I thought we were supposed to park near the cabin, however, it's the part to the left of the cabin that we are supposed to camp at. The website actually forbids anybody camping around the cabin, so you need to use the campsites directly to the west, where there's a bunch of piers, sites, and bathrooms. We drove down 322nd Rd. to get to our site near the bathrooms across from the maintenance building. That road is gradual enough that I was able to get my short bus down it safely without tipping over.

The management guy here is pretty cool and he let me know that it's a 7 day stay not 14 hung out and pet my dog and talked to me for a little bit. That was pretty nice.

We stayed at Hamilton City Lake in early summer and really enjoyed the peaceful, low-key atmosphere. There are two known dispersed sites, and while they’re basic, they’re free and offer a great natural setting. We had plenty of room to spread out without worrying about noisy neighbors—it wasn’t crowded at all, and we were the only campers overnight.

The site is shaded with lots of trees, which helped keep things cool, and it’s right next to the lake. We were able to fish right from our spot and caught some bluegill and a big crappie. Another visitor reeled in a bass. We also saw several turtles swimming around, which was a nice bonus.

A few things to note: there’s only one picnic table, and the site is fairly close to Highway 36, so you can hear some road noise. Still, the tranquility of the spot overall and the lack of campground crowding more than made up for it.

Highly recommend if you’re looking for a quiet, simple place to camp with great access to fishing.