Best Tent Camping near Schell City, 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 was our first tent camping trip in Missouri State Parks. Visiting in March meant there weren’t many things to do. This parks main focus is Lake Pomme de Terra, so if you’re not into being on the water - this campground may not be for you. We had a vault toilet near our site which was nice for middle of the night trips. The site was on quite an incline & there were lots of rocks under our tent. I would not recommend this site.

Stayed at Racoon Ridge campground in the Harry S. Truman State Park. Nice park. Pretty quiet. Has a decent beach. Shady spots with or without water and electric. Tent sites and basic sites available.

The camping areas are pretty but there’s no water access from camp sites. Also plan to walk to the bathrooms or plan to hear people walking by all night headed to the bathrooms. Lots of tree coverage so every site is shaded almost entirely, but that means lots of sticks that have to be cleared before tent camping.

If you are interested in bison sightings, this is the park for you. If you need water, supplies, shower or a flush toilet, skip this one. The tent sites are VERY primitive, but you drive up to your camp. You really have to go out of the way to get to this camp, but we were rewarded with a scary but fun close encounter with a lone bull bison. We also got some ticks, so be careful!

Decided to try out Pomme de Terre this weekend. We are not disappointed! Beautiful views form the campsite— tent camping on a peninsula in surrounded by Pomme de Terre lake. Check in was a little confusing, and we later found out the shop is closed for the season. We’ve been having to head to town to purchase wood and ice which is slightly inconvenient. Facilities are average— I’m not amazing but not disgusted, they are what you’d expect! Nice and quiet this weekend, beautiful clear water waiting to be canoed in. If only we had one! We’ll be back!

My boyfriend and I stayed here for one night at the beginning of may for our first camping trip together. It was at one of 2 basic tent sites. Ours was just a short walk on a (likely camper-made trail) down to the water. The water seemed clean enough to swim but there was a lot of floating moss and seaweed right along the shore. So we opted to just fish even though we were unsuccessful. There were plenty of trees to hang out hammock, a grill grate over the fire, and a decent amount of shade. There were two flat sites for a tent. We chose one that was slightly more on a slope because it was less rocky. Spotted a few poison ivy plants and 2-3 brown recluses but we’re in their habitat so that is to be expected. Not ideal but not unexpected lol we definitely plan to return!

Camped in Loop B on Oct 4, 2023. Camping was free at this Corp of Engineer campground since off season began on Oct 1st. The Loop B campground has several RV/tent sites arranged in sub-loops in an open field; some trees for shade. Sites are close to each other; no privacy between sites. Sites appear to be level. Each site has a metal fire ring, table and lamp pole. The loop road is paved and the sites were gravel. There were no hookups in Loop B. The water station was shut off, but the vault toilet, which wasn't very clean, was open. No camp host on duty during our stay. There is access to Stockton Lake from the loop road. There was nothing special about this campground, but has good lake access for boats.  Otherwise this campgrund is suitable for an overnight stay.

Don't go there on a Monday or Tuesday!!!! We camp here all the time and enjoy it. We went on Monday and it was the first time meeting the new part time camp host. We pulled up and there was a grumpy old man sitting on the bench would not wave or smile, the lady inside the both opened the window and just looked at us. We asked if there was any tent camping and she said in a short snippy voice for how many night. No welcome to Crabtree or great day!  So the only site was 29 we pull in and look around  put a few things on the table to hold that site and down comes grumpy ( Ray Millard) told us all the things we couldn't do. That he was the host and we were not following his rules .  We drove on the road pass the cones to turn around and we would have to pay if we did any damage.  We were on the road !!!! There was no water or damage to anything.  He was just being a jerk!  We left and will not go back until The regular camp host Terry is there. She really makes the place nice  and relaxing to go to

Campground Review:

We stayed at this beautiful Missouri State Park on memorial weekend in 2019. This park is park of Pomme De Terre lake and 1 of 2 state parks on the lake, Pittsburgh and Hermitage. There are several local private campgrounds in the area but non match what you'll find at these two campgrounds. Pittsburgh is described as the more secluded of the two and thats just the way we like it. 

We arrived to find that the normal lake level had risen from 830 ft to 860+. needless to say almost all lakeside camground were closed. We arrived at our site and identified that we had 13 inches until our site was to be claimed by the lake. The campground hosts actually informed us that over half of their sites were flooded or in immediate danger of flooding. They were able to offer us a different site as most people apparently decided to no show. We were relocated to site 323 in the Pittsburgh campground. A side note that almost every loop in this campground had empty sites and all those who were displaced were able to be relocated in the park at NO ADDITIONAL FEE for upgraded sites. 

Site 323 was simply amazing. A level concrete pad with enough wooded area around to fully eliminate view of neighbors on either side. We camp out of a 95 Coleman Pop up so it was perfect for us. It is on a significant slope so tent camping would be hard. This site is walking distance to vault toilets, and clean water. After an impromptu wiffleball game broke out with the multiple campers across from us we decided to explore the campground.

Loop 100 is tightly packed RV sites with no real privacy but all your creature comforts . Loop 200 is electric sites well spaced with lake access to most. This appeared to be the most tent and camper friendly loop.  Both 100 and 200 loops are close to shower house and main playground.

Loop 300 is electric with most sites of the lake side coming with elevated gravel pads for grilling and watching the water. Most sites are on decent grades so the state park pics on their site would be a good idea to look at.

Loop 400 is the basic loop and from what I could tell stays fairly level with large grassy areas to tent in. 

All loops have a vault toilet placed evenly on the loop and access to water from a spigot. They all utilize the same road in and the same plumbed bathroom / showerhouse. To my surprise these were all very clean and stayed that way all weekend. 

There is only 1 trail for hiking and at 3 miles is worth the trip. It goes out to a point overlooking all of the park and most of Pomme De Terre Lake. We got to see this but in a little different way than planned. Due to flooding the trail was almost completely underwater. 

A small marina with rentals and fishing docks is just across the street. They serve normal pub food and were very happy to serve. Lines there can be long as it is also a very busy boat ramp. 

The state park has its own swimming beach and due to flooding it was closed. So instead we utilized the parking lot, Playground, and Pavilion as a launch point for our kayaking adventures. All in all this trip went from possible disaster to an amazing adventure on the water. The lake is very clear and paddling through the tree tops normally 20 feet off the ground was surreal. Pittsburgh won us over with customer service and a unique experience we will all remember. 

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get to test and evaluate quality products from amazing sponsors today I am submitting a review of my new Icemule Pro X-Large Cooler.https://icemulecoolers.com/collections/pro-coolers/products/the-icemule-pro-x-large

So as I said before I didnt get to hike with this bad boy but it did spend everyday as our family take and use cooler. 

First and foremost I have to say upon receiving this thing I was shocked at the size. It is definitely extra large. My 7 year old would not be packing this thing around but Icemule has several size options so no real issue there. I chose the xl specifically to use while kayaking on this trip. I would be providing food and drink for up to 8 separate people and would be on the water for  long periods of time. I currently own a Yeti and Wally World Rotomold but cant use them due to their size on our boat.  Well this is where it gets good. I loaded all three coolers and set out with my Icemule in tow. I left the two hard coolers with family at the pavilion. Similar contents and each cooler received 1 bag of ice in the morning. The Icemule stood stride for stride with the yeti in fact I will attach photos to prove it.  The Icemule form fit itself into the storage space on my kayak and at the end of the day had just a little ice left. The Yeti had a little more ice but nothing significant. I will also note that the Icemule was in the open sun on the back of a kayak in 90 degree temps. I was ecstatic with the result. This thing is amazing. 

Now for the nitty gritty. My Icemule comes in several colors. I chose black as it matched my yak LOL. I can say the 24 can capacity is definitely modest but I wouldn't recommend exceeding it by much as all that weight adds up. Not heeding my own advice I topped this thing off and really put it and my back through the ringer. All the stitching and seam weld held up very well. Not a single issue even when over loaded. All clips and straps are high quality and very durable.

All in all I made room for 6 different coolers in my garage as they will all be resting comfortably there. The Icemule is now our families go to for all our cooler needs.

No frills site with both hilly and flat tent spots within close proximity of finding "Weaubleau Eggs"

Missouri Department of Natural Resources has done an excellent job of taking care of this area and the surrounding wildlife. The Harry S Truman State Park is a treasure to relish and love. My family and I spent a week here and the place was amazing. Thank you Missouri Department of Natural Resources for your hard work.

Not close to water. No actually place for a tent. And we could not use the down dead wood for firewood. I wouldn’t stay again.

Bathrooms were clean but dated. Water spigots were well spaced. Ticks were very bad. Family sites were spacious but laid out like 2 separate sites. Would have been nice to have both tables together. Tent pads were advertised but non-existent.

Great place to relaxe or fish away your troubles. Highly suggest keeping your food locked in your vehicle. Had a raccoon enter our tent but that's to be expected when you leave stuff out like I did

10$ to camp 6 people/ 2 tents per site , bathrooms and water available . No showers. Boat dock available. No beach . Campsites right at lake. Good swimming area for kids. Camp Host isn't that friendly.

Love the layout of the whole campground.
Pros:The setup between restrooms and water with the sites are appropriate for accessibility. Good room and nice level areas where we stayed in the 400 loop. Cons: Lots of rocks in the tent areas. Lot of vegetation around making some bugs prominent.

Large grassy area with plenty of room to set up a tent or camper. Right off the road, so no dirt roads to traverse. Signs were confusing as to whether it is ok to camp, but they didn't explicitly say no camping. The lake is really just a mud bog, so not very appealing unless you came to duck hunt. No picnic tables or fire pits. The pit toilet was really gross, but there was toilet paper.

Really quiet during the week. However, fishing boat traffic increases through the week so the closer to the water you are, the less quiet it gets.

It's a popular fishing lake, but again weekdays are pretty quiet. Some spots have are more intended for trailer camping or you set up your tent on asphalt due to site slope rocks or roots.

Less amenities than other near by State Parks, no playgrounds mainly and the sites aren't too close to the lake. Power only, so be prepared for that if you are looking for hook-ups. Overall, you can't beat Missouri state parks for beauty, cost and availability of trails to hike! Enjoying our stay here!