Best Tent Camping near Vienna, MO

Fredericksburg Access is a free campground with about 10 primitive sites. Grassy coverage with a mix of gravel or grass pull-ins. Lots of trees but still great stargazing at night. We even saw a few meteors!

We went on a late July weekend and only 1 other small group was there. It had just rained but wasn't too mucky. Drive was safe in our heavy converted camper van. No off road vehicle or AWD needed.

Ground is very level and not super rocky so this is a great site for tents. There are vault toilets but no sinks nor dumpsters, so plan ahead for hygiene and waste. Toilets are on flat ground, handicap accessible, and gender neutral. Likely to be a much tougher trip if you used to full hook-up RV camping/glamping, or require showers, but perfect for primitive camping!

The region: 45m to nearest Walmart or tractor supply, so plan ahead. Food, fire starter logs, and lighter fuel available at Thriftway (about 30 min), firewood and ice at Casey's, and McDonald's all in Linn (all 30m) if you need anything.

About water access: Sites are all within about a 5 min walk from the boat ramp on the Gasconade. Sign reads "no swimming" but there's a nice gravel bar just downstream from the ramp. If you enter the water, be mindful that boats may pass as you try to cross.

The swim there requires crossing a moderately sized river that is relatively swift. This is fine for people who swim well but not recommended for young children or weak swimmers especially without flotation devices. It is swift enough to carry you downstream of your target even for good swimmers, so plan for this, especially for your swim back upstream (recommend walking upstream past dock then floating back across to dock). It's also deep in the center so you're not going to be able to cross with dry items unless you have a container that is waterproof.

Again, it's a wider and quick river, so we had to help our dog across. Took 5-7 min there and 15 to get back (with dog. Mind the rocky/brush areas just downstream of the dock, saw some snakes.

This campground is in a small village that is my ancestral home. As a kid I spent my summers just up the road at my grandparents’ house. That being said, you don’t go to this campground to be comfortable. It’s fairly primitive. One loop is mostly rocks. It didn’t used to be that way but there was a devastating flood a few years back and now if you camp in that loop you’re likely going to be on rocks. Unfortunately the far end of the other loop is mostly rock now too. There are vault toilets, a grand total of three in the campground. They are usually kept clean. No showers. Water is at the spigot. The campground host doesn’t bother with quiet hours. The raccoon population is out of control. Basically if you’re camping here it’s just for the crystal clear waters of the Huzzah Creek. There are large boulders to jump from, some small fish to catch, tadpoles to observe, and lots of pretty shells to dig out of the rocky beach. The river will keep the kids busy all day. Most of the sites on the straights are grassy. The loops tend to be rocky. Ample shade at most sites as well as an abundance of ticks, chiggers, and horseflies.

This is a nice, large campground in the middle of Meramec State Park. The campground is a large level meadow between the river, the bluffs and the road. For being close to the road, there is not a lot of road noise. I noticed more river noise with boats buzzing up and down the Meramec. The campground was well maintained and nicely laid out with several loops. There didn't seem to be any real separation between the tent and RV sites, but on a early season weekend, you can manage to get a tent site away from the RV's. Some tent sites have good ham mocking trees, but not all sites do. And some sites were clearly in low lying areas that would definitely puddle in a decent rain. All sites had the standard fire ring and picnic table. I thought the shower house was really clean and well maintained, although for a campground this large I would have thought there would have been two. There is a nice hiking trail coming out of the campground that winds along the river and then along the base of the bluff. You can hike up into a large cave and get a birds eye view of everything through the trees. Across from the campground is Fisher's Cave which is open for exploration during the summer months. It was not open when I was there, but there is a trail going to the top of the cave, and of course you can stand at the gated entrance to the cave and feel the cold air coming out. I'm not a caver, but apparently this is a really good cave for exploring.

This was our first trip in our camper and a first camp at Meramec Caverns.

The staff is friendly and helpful. Security patrols around the clock and doesn't put up with any ridiculousness.

Campsites available on pavement, gravel for campers and RVs and grass for tents. Our site had 30/50 amp service and water on a gravel site facing the Meramec River. It waa a beautiful view!

Shower house and restroom facilities are clean and maintained.

A dump station is located just outsIde the main gate of the campgrounds.

Because of the location, there is no wifi and we had no cell service for the majority of our stay. Once in a while it would get a signal but it was very brief.

Campsites are separated from the Meramec Caverns tourist attractions so there is not constant traffic coming through the campsite.

Most campsites had a stone fire ring, bbq grill, and picnic table.

The cave tour, zipline, boat ride, canoe and float trips and motel are all within short walking distance from the campgrounds.

The campground store has ice, firewood and basics available. The gift shop at the cave has typical tourist items available. The restaurant is more of a snack bar and not a full service restaurant, so don't rely on it for your meals during your stay!

The cave tour is interesting and informative and on a hot day the 60 degree temp of the cave is the perfect place to hang out for a while!

Overall, a very nice place to camp and enjoy the outdoors without being too far from home.

We will definitely be back for another stay!

Huge park with tons of amenities and options. Although there is year round Camping, the host on site advised water to each individual site will be turned off end of October for winter. Potable water is available near dump stations (hmmm....). Very well kept, and vacant this time of year, affords the opportunity for a more private camping and river experience. Clean well kept shower houses. Lodge & cabin rentals also available. Boat ramp in back of campground. Campsites with blue bands and parking stops are ADA compliant with concrete pads, elevated grills plus fire ring and picnic table.