Best Tent Camping near St. Joseph, MO

Several tent camping options exist near St. Joseph, Missouri, with varying levels of amenities and accessibility. Agency Conservation Area offers free tent camping in a small gravel pullout area with tree coverage for shade, though reviews indicate it has limited space and closes between 10 PM and 4 AM. Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground provides more established sites with amenities including drinking water, showers, toilets, and picnic tables. Hamilton City Lake offers peaceful dispersed camping right on the water.

Most tent sites in the region have minimal amenities. Agency Conservation Area and Bonanza Conservation Area provide free camping but lack facilities such as drinking water, toilets, or trash service. Campers should bring all necessary supplies, including water. Some conservation areas restrict camping to designated gravel parking areas only, as one visitor to Bonanza noted receiving a citation for camping off the designated spot. Mozingo Lake stands out with more amenities including drinking water, showers, toilets, and trash service, making it suitable for campers seeking more comforts.

The tent camping experience varies significantly across locations. Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground offers tent sites surrounded by trees rather than in open fields, with walking paths and playgrounds accessible nearby. A reviewer appreciated that "the tent camping sites were actually surrounded by trees" unlike many tent areas that are "basically just in the middle of a grass field." Hamilton City Lake provides a peaceful setting with good fishing opportunities directly from campsites, though some road noise from nearby Highway 36 can be heard. Bonanza Conservation Area features a fishing lake but receives mixed reviews, with one camper noting concerns about hunting safety during deer season.

Best Tent Sites Near St. Joseph, Missouri (7)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near St. Joseph, MO

10 Photos of 7 St. Joseph Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near St. Joseph, MO

298 Reviews of 7 St. Joseph Campgrounds


  • Sarah H.
    Sep. 19, 2016

    Big Lake State Park Campground

    Clean and Friendly off I-29

    My husband and I tent camped one night at this park. We arrived around 8 pm and even though the office was getting ready to close, the woman behind the counter was very kind and helpful. She helped us with finding our spot and with getting firewood. Our basic tent site was lakeside and had a fire pit and picnic table. The site was so well maintained it was hard to find small sticks for kindling.

    The grounds have private bathrooms with toilets and showers. There are two nice playgrounds and a swimming pool. Most campers were enjoying fishing in the small lake. Kayaks were available to rent for a small fee. Kids enjoyed riding bikes around the flat roads.

    This is a great spot off I-29 to set up camp and have a rest. It's also a good spot to take young kids fishing.

  • Sarah H.
    Sep. 18, 2016

    Wallace State Park Campground

    Popular Park Tucked Away In The Hills

    My husband and I tent camped overnight at Wallace State Park. Woodsy tent camping sites were spacious and private. Large camping pads are lined with wood chips and are comfortable enough to sleep on without an air mattress. Covered picnic tables have an extra shelf for storage convenience. Even after setting up the tent and camping chairs there was still enough room for lawn games or for little ones to run around.

    Wildlife was abundant in the evening. We saw many deer, frogs and squirrels. At dark, nature sounds were unbelievable with songs of bullfrogs, owls, and flying creatures of all sorts. Be sure to bring bug repellant.

    Campground 1 had clean vault toilets, but the bath house near Campground 2 was even better. Showers were clean and in their own stalls with locking doors, shelves and ample hooks. The water got nice and hot and the shower heads were even and held good pressure. This bath house was seriously the best one we have ever visited and we have used dozens.

    For entertainment, there was a bustling playground, winding nature trails, horseshoes, lake swimming, and fishing. There was also a well kept laundry house with a dishwashing sink attached. Campground hosts and park rangers were friendly and busy keeping the park in great shape. Overall, this is a really nice place to camp!

    Gear Review: Lighthouse 250 Lantern and USB Power Hub We decided to try out our GoalZero lantern instead of our usual larger lantern. The lantern is compact enough to fit in a small bag with other electronics and is very light in weight. This saved us a little extra room which is a bonus since we take all of our camping trips in a tiny little Prius C. The Lighthouse 250 would be a good contender for bringing along on a backpacking trip, but you would want to pad it with some kind of protection as it seems that some parts might not hold up to a lot of banging around.

    We used the lantern 2 nights in a row without charging it and the battery life indicator still had over 1/4 of its power left. On this same charge, wee tested the phone charger by hooking up an iPhone 4 to charge for 10 minutes with the light on full turbo. The 10 minute charge boosted the phone's battery 12%. The hand crank charger was a little awkward, but would be sufficient in a pinch. Had we needed more power, we could have easily plugged the attached USB cord into our car charger. We don't usually pony up for electric sites, so on extended excursions, the Nomad 7 Solar Panel is a gadget we would consider purchasing.

    The directional lighting feature of the lantern came in handy for having dimmer light closer to sleeping times and brighter light for reading/boardgames in the tent. In the end, we will definitely bring the Lighthouse 250 lantern with us on future trips, and will leave our bulky older lantern at home.

  • Whitney L.
    Jun. 1, 2022

    Arthur Dupree Memorial Conservation Area

    MO River camping - has potential but couldn’t access due to levee digging

    We attempted to post up at Dupree on the river for our inaugural spring camping trip, but was not able to enter the CA the usual way from St. Joseph off Highway 36. Our first attempt at entering was via the North on Airport Road (then 26th Road north 0.75 mile, and DuPree Road east 0.75 mile), but that led us to a locked gate with a sign that said something about a levee. So we exited back out Airport Road and headed SW and attempted to enter via Vermont rd. We found where they were digging the levee and were not able to pass through this route either (gates, sign, mud, federal prosecution from entering levee area) - but we saw this cool train bridge !! Short story long, we didn’t camp at Dupree but will try again next year :)

  • Leni K.
    Jun. 6, 2022

    Wallace State Park Campground

    Good Weekend Getaway

    Campground 1 is the ideal tent grounds. Heavily wooded some with better coverage than others. Campground 2 is the most spaces RV site. Campground 3 had five total sites in an open area. No privacy at all. Campground 4 was a tighter RV set up. All campgrounds share one very updated showerhouse, which did lead to some lines at the showers Sunday, but the trade off for quality bathroom is appreciated. All campgrounds and day use areas are also connected by a series of trails, so you're not far off from getting to a hike at any point. Campground 1 has four walkins that range from 80 to 300 yards in, starting with 28 closest and 31 farthest out. We stayed at 31, and whole remote, during the day picked up sounds clearly from other sites and at night the highway was pretty clear. Overall though the seclusion tradeoff was nice and it was an easy adjustment for us as car campers. We had a raccoon visitor who is a frequent flyer, while he got away with some hotdogs, we adjusted and ensured he didn't get additional treats. The main showerhouse was closer than the vault toilet on 1, which was still really well maintained. Overall crowds here seemed very respectful of quiet hours, space on trails and made for an improved stay. Camp hosts were always available and polite and friendly. Trails were maintained. Definitely would return again, to a similar site as a walk in.

  • Whitney L.
    Jun. 6, 2022

    Bluffwoods Conservation Area

    lovely, quiet camping near St. Joe’s MO

    Love this little area for camping! It’s well maintained, quiet, easy to access, has lots of grass for the dogs to play and we always see wildlife. People often leave trash so be sure to leave no trace so it stays nice for all to enjoy <3

  • Leni K.
    May. 24, 2021

    Weston Bend State Park Campground

    Okay Campground for Tenting

    Campground is great overall, with a walkable trail just past the showers, clean restrooms and easy to access sites. There are only 3 basic tent sites, making it hard to nab. #4 had a decent amount of privacy, however most other electric sites do not. As an electric site, there was not a lot of ground space for tents, we settled on gravel with reflectix to buffer the ground. Check in was easy, and in walking distance. Site was pretty noisy, even after hours, a few kids running around with speakers on blast definitely were less than optimal.

  • Lady Phyre  ☆.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 4, 2025

    Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

    Pony Express is amazing!

    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.

  • R
    Aug. 3, 2016

    Wallace State Park Campground

    Wallace State Park in Cameron, MO

    There are mixed RV and tent camping sites, including primitive and walk in sites. You can get water and electric at most sites. Each campground has an iron fire ring with a grill attached.

    There are nice hiking trails. Trails are well marked. There three levels to choose from based on distance.

    There is also a small lake to fish or swim in. The lake for it's size, had some nice fish.

    The community shower and bathroom houses are not air conditioned. The floors are slab cement, but the park staff clean them daily.

    Overall, I think that campgrounds are decent.

  • P
    Oct. 23, 2018

    Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

    Small campground, free, on the lake.

    It's in the Conservation Area of Missouri on Pony Express Lake. Easy to get to. Gravel road to the camp areas. Very small. Only 7 or 8 sites. We had a van. There was an RV there and a tenter. Picnic table and fire ring. There is a boat landing further down the gravel road past the campground, different finger of the lake. Fishing. Pit toilet, no water or hook ups for RVs. Very quiet place and of course, you can't beat free!


Guide to St. Joseph

Tent camping areas near St. Joseph, Missouri range from free conservation sites to established county campgrounds. The region sits in northwest Missouri's rolling hills, with most camping options situated along water bodies including lakes and rivers. Summer temperatures average 85-90°F with high humidity, while spring and fall offer more moderate camping conditions with average temperatures between 60-75°F.

What to do

Fishing opportunities: Hamilton City Lake provides direct access to fishing from campsites where visitors have reported success. One camper at Hamilton City Lake noted, "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."

Disc golf: The course near Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground offers recreational options beyond just camping. A visitor to Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground mentioned, "Also if you like disc golf than this is the place to go, there is a brand new 18 hole course right next to the camp!"

Seasonal hunting: Several conservation areas permit hunting during designated seasons. At Bonanza Conservation Area, campers should be aware of hunting activity. A reviewer noted, "Used to stay here as a kid during deer season, recently came back to it to explore some more. Multiple campsites available along the highway, but the marked site is one of the best, right by a great fishing lake."

What campers like

Privacy and natural settings: Many campers appreciate the less crowded nature of conservation areas. About Hamilton City Lake, a camper shared, "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."

Campfire experiences: Evening campfires remain popular with families visiting established campgrounds. A camper at Honey Grove Campground recalled, "Had a big fire outside one of the cabins today! Great company, warm flames, and hot dogs makes for a wonderful night, but the stars and beautiful weather seriously enhanced it like none other!"

Tree coverage: Shade availability matters significantly during hot Missouri summers. A Mozingo Lake visitor appreciated that "Showers and bathroom were all fine, campsite was clean and well maintained. Loved that the tent camping sites were actually surrounded by trees."

What you should know

Restricted camping areas: Conservation areas typically limit camping to designated spots only. A visitor to Bonanza Conservation Area cautioned, "It is against their rules to camp anywhere but on a gravelly parking lot. We camped just off the road and got a citation. It's not really disbursed camping."

Limited space at free sites: Some conservation areas offer minimal camping space. A camper at Agency Conservation Area observed, "This area has a small (~1/8 of an acre maybe) gravel pullout off the dirt road where the iconic brown fish and wildlife area guidelines and regulation signage are posted per ushe in Missouri."

Operating hour restrictions: Check for time constraints before planning overnight stays. One Agency Conservation Area visitor discovered, "I guess the area is closed 10pm to 4 pm. Super small gravel parking lot. Moving to different site."

Tips for camping with families

Playground access: Families with young children benefit from campgrounds with recreational facilities. Mozingo Lake offers family-friendly amenities as one visitor noted: "There are walking paths and a couple of playgrounds around the lake close enough to walk to but far enough away they wont ever be a bother."

Cabin alternatives: For families new to camping, cabins provide comfort while still offering outdoor experiences. A family at Honey Grove Campground shared, "The campground really felt comfortable and my whole family really enjoyed our stay!"

Wildlife viewing opportunities: Natural water features provide educational opportunities. At Hamilton City Lake, campers reported seeing "several turtles swimming around, which was a nice bonus" while fishing from their campsite.

Tips from RVers

Access considerations: Small trailers can navigate many conservation areas, but challenging terrain requires preparation. A reviewer at Agency Conservation Area shared their experience: "Getting here was easy (Jeep Wrangler + square back pull behind) and the roads leading to the CA were well maintained and not muddy even after a ton of rain earlier in the week."

Boondocking preparedness: Free sites lack amenities, requiring self-sufficiency. The same Agency Conservation Area visitor advised, "I'd recommend this site for someone passing through just looking for a free, quiet spot to boondock for the night safely because the gravel parking lot is all you get."

Seasonal considerations: Weather impacts site conditions significantly. A Bonanza Conservation Area camper noted its primary use: "Deer hunting camp. Lots of city hunters with NO CONCEPT of safety during hunting."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near St. Joseph, MO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near St. Joseph, MO is Agency Conservation Area with a 2-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near St. Joseph, MO?

TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near St. Joseph, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.