Best Tent Camping near Watson, MO

Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Watson? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Watson. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.

Best Tent Sites Near Watson, MO (11)

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Showing results 1-10 of 11 campgrounds

Recent Tent Reviews in Watson

249 Reviews of 11 Watson Campgrounds


  • O
    Camper-submitted photo from Little Rivers Edge
    Oct. 10, 2024

    Little Rivers Edge

    Amazing stay!

    Had a great night here, the area is beautiful. Had to stop to admire the corn fields in the sunrise on the way out. Owner is lovely and kind. Electrical amenities are prime for anyone with an RV, but as a tent camper, I enjoyed our stay!

  • Danni A.
    Camper-submitted photo from Brownville Riverside Park
    Oct. 7, 2024

    Brownville Riverside Park

    Needs quite a bit of improvement

    We stayed here so that we would be within walking distance of Brownville. It took a while to figure out how to make a reservation (you call the River Inn Resort). When I made the reservation, I was told there is no electricity, which is fine since we have solar. However, we were not told there are no tables, or fire rings... there pretty much isn't anything other than land. The land that is there is pretty rough as well. There were very large burs of some sort throughout the grassy areas, which made it difficult for our dog to go anywhere during our trip. There were also an unbelievable amount of gnats, but that is probably due to the proximity to the river. The people at the River Inn Resort, where you check in, were friendly and helpful. However, we would not stay here again.

  • Lynn J.
    Camper-submitted photo from Syracuse City
    Oct. 3, 2024

    Syracuse City

    Perfect for a traveling camper

    We stayed the first week in October. We were the only campers in the campground. We found 30 and 50 amp power pedestals. We stayed beside a pavilion with a water hydrant. The pavilion has several picnic tables and 20 amp outlets. It's in a treed area with a nice playground. The whole area is very flat. Leveling was a breeze. The entrance was a little bit confusing. There is a pay box at the edge of the parking box. The bathrooms were locked, but being self contained, we wouldn't have used them. I'm sure we will be staying here again.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from R U Lost - RV Lots
    Oct. 2, 2024

    R U Lost - RV Lots

    Birds are chirping, Quiet, alot of trees

    Call me when you get on Hwy 67. You’ll be 4 miles from us. We arrived in the area, and she greets us with a smile and welcomes us to “R U LOST- RV lots. She shows us our campsite, lets us set-up then we pay for our nights. Then we talk about the rules, talk about the under ground shelter, vegetable garden looks delicious and “you can have as much as you want, just leave me one!” The flower (prayer) garden smells so beautiful, the colors are amazing and it lights up at night. This year is an Outage shut down so the Campsite and others around the plant is very minimal. You need to call if anything is open for your stay. The outage (Nuclear shut down) happens every two years. Right now all campsites except (Indian Cave state park) should be open, but call them to check. Very pleasant place! Shade! Very nice place!!

  • Gordy Y.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hoot Owl Bend
    Sep. 30, 2024

    Hoot Owl Bend

    Not recommended for cars

    It seems like a bad place to park for the night; sign says area closed 10pm-4am, so camping of any kind seems unallowed.

  • Samuel H.
    Camper-submitted photo from Charity Lake
    Sep. 27, 2024

    Charity Lake

    Perfect Place to Spend the Night

    I believe I counted 4 total campsites at this place, I was the only one here towards the end of September on a Thursday night.

    It is close to the highway and you can certainly hear it but it didn’t bother me, it’s kinda handy to have a place close to the highway when you’re just stopping for the night.

    Single vault style toilet. There is a dumpster also.

  • K
    Camper-submitted photo from Platte River State Park Campground
    Sep. 16, 2024

    Platte River State Park Campground

    Just one night

    If you don’t mind lugging your stuff to your tent spot, it’s primitive, no frills camping at its finest! We chose the closest spot to the vault toilets. There are only 4. It’s a bit off the beaten path but we got to enjoy the beautiful horses. Bonus!

  • Fred S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Waubonsie State Park Campground
    Sep. 6, 2024

    Waubonsie State Park Campground

    Really good hiking trails

    Stayed one night on Sept 4. Camped at site 35 in the non-equestrian campground; non-electric fee $15. Parked van on the grass at this site. Like nearly all of the sites in this campground, this site was close to the campground road. Overall, I felt that the campsites were all bunched together - offering no privacy and spacing between sites. The shower house was closed during our visit. Water was also turned off at the wayer pumps in the campground. There was one single vault toilet available for all of the campers; it was reasonably clean. Wayne, the campground host, was nice & helpful. There is a self-serve firewood station in the campground; cost is either $5 or $10, depending on the amount of wood you purchase. The campsites have a picnic table & metal fire ring. I wasn't too pleased with this campground, but I was very happy with the nearby hiking trails within the park. It's a pretty state park with hills & lush forest. The day use areas looked great. I recommend those traveling along I-29 to stop at this park - not necessarily for the camping, but for the hiking. Had some T-Mobile 4G service.

  • Danni A.
    Camper-submitted photo from Waubonsie State Park Campground
    Aug. 11, 2024

    Waubonsie State Park Campground

    Quiet and Peaceful

    This park was a great place to head to and unplug for a weekend. We camped in the area without hookups, so we pretty much had that area to ourselves. The area with hookups was somewhat crowded. The bathrooms and shower were clean. Water is easily accessible. The park is small, and we didn't find much to do other than a few hikes. 

    There are signs in the bathrooms warning of the raccoons. These signs are not exaggerating. We had a raccoon at our campsite trying to steal our food while we were there, like the raccoon was less than 10 feet from humans during mid-day.

  • Wanda E.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Victorian Acres RV Park & Campground
    Jul. 29, 2024

    Victorian Acres RV Park & Campground

    Great Place to Stay

    We arrived later in the day finding our spot was easy. The camp ground staff were very nice and friendly. The grounds were beautifully groomed. They amenities such as showers and bathrooms were clean and decorated cute. It was quiet and relaxing. We were able to get a good nights rest before hitting the road again. We would highly recommend.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Iron Horse Trail Lake
    Jul. 27, 2024

    Iron Horse Trail Lake

    Good Place

    Good for families or a solo cowboy. Well maintained, water is a available, and clean bathrooms that smell good. Nice picnic areas. Primitive tent sites and RV sites with electrical hookups. First come, first serve.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Brownville Riverside Park
    Jul. 5, 2024

    Brownville Riverside Park

    Site flooded

    I work close to this park and watched as the town was making progress in restoring it to a nice campsite. With some covered picnic benches, leveled and mowed campsites, etc….

    Unfortunately, the river has flooded it out as of June 28, 2024 and it will likely be unusable for at least the remainder of this season. There also are a number of large pieces of industrial equipment that are staged in part of the park that will likely not be moved until fall.

    It’s a shame as the remediation from the 2019 flooding was just recently completed.

  • Donner N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Charity Lake
    Jul. 3, 2024

    Charity Lake

    A treat of a spot

    Very pleasant spot with a few camp sites as options. Beautiful lake. Bathroom was rough, hole in the ground style with a gate for a door. But over all the site was worth it

  • AUDREY S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Weeping Water
    Jun. 18, 2024

    Weeping Water

    Stopped for RV dump only

    Did not stop to Camp!!, only dumped my tanks and filled up water. Wish I would’ve stayed. Looks like a very well done out-of-the-way and quaint park. $20 for dumping, or camping and dumping, seven dollars for tent campers.

  • Michael M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hackberry Hollow Campground — Indian Cave State Park
    Jun. 9, 2024

    Hackberry Hollow Campground — Indian Cave State Park

    Cool cave right off the river

    The campground is pretty well-kept. Multiple playgrounds and shower houses throughout. Firewood for sale. A giant raccoon tried to get into my cooler 10 minutes after we turned out our lights for the night. Lookout for ticks. The cave was a little smaller than anticipated and near the tables on bank, the river unfortunately had a couple large patches of garbage. Still a fun place to camp out and hike around a bit.

  • TThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Syracuse City
    Jun. 1, 2024

    Syracuse City

    Great little out of the way spot

    There are truly electrical hookups just about everywhere and there are no marked sites that I could find. We just pulled off the road to an electrical station and plugged in. Sadly, the 30A plug I plugged into kept tripping the breaker, but I always have a backup 20-30A converter, I just don't get to use my AC (cool night, didn't matter). It would be great if there was some brochure or site map at the location so you didn't feel like your were gonna ruin their well maintained lawn.

  • Steve G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Riverview Marina State Rec Area
    Apr. 24, 2024

    Riverview Marina State Rec Area

    Small Riverside Campground

    Getting there: A winding drive through Nebraska City to the River’s Edge. 

    Check in and staff: None 

    Amenities: Few Bathrooms: clean, well kept 

    Sites: Mostly open, very little shade. Campground is right on the banks of the Missouri River.

  • Jennifer N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Victorian Acres RV Park & Campground
    Nov. 26, 2023

    Victorian Acres RV Park & Campground

    Fine for a 1 night stay!

    Victorian Acres was fine for one night. Not a lot to say about it. It backs up to the highway, but after a long day of driving we slept through the noise. There weren’t any fire pits because “it was too cold”. That’s exactly why we wanted one. The bathhouse was ok. The women’s bathroom was fine, even large for the size of the campground. Unfortunately, both toilets in the men’s bathroom were backed up and broken, huge bummer! 💩 There was a small dog park , we didn’t get to use it since we got in late and left early so I cannot comment on the condition. We were on site 55, easy to access and leave from. It was sort of level, but we still felt like we were tipping sideways a bit in the van. There were 30amp electric and water hookups.

  • Sayler O.
    Camper-submitted photo from Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground
    Nov. 19, 2023

    Mozingo Lake County Tent Campground

    Early fall camp

    Came out to camp one night with my 5 year old. We stated on a friday night in October and the campground was not too busy at all.. maybe only 5 other groups there. Showers and bathroom were all fine, campsite was clean and well maintained. Loved that the tent camping sites were actually surrounded by trees, I see way to many tent campsites that are basically just in the middle of a grass field. 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. 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!

  • L
    Camper-submitted photo from Platte River State Park Campground
    Oct. 8, 2023

    Platte River State Park Campground

    Worthless weekend at Platte River State Park

    Camping in the teepee was hands down our worst camping experience ever. The teepee was hot, dirty and falling apart. We stayed in the“big chief” teepee and it was on a horrible slope with tons of ruts on nothing but bare uneven dirt. There was no privacy as the other two teepees beyond this one were set up so other campers were constantly walking by your camp. Even the door placement to the teepees were bad. There was a more well placed teepee they save for first come first serve camping, not reserved camping. That makes no sense. The worst teepee should be reserved for unreserved campers. There are also bike trails directly around the teepees so in daylight, meaning early and late, you will hear groups of bikers riding around a technical course and lots of whooping and cheering as well as hard landings. To make things worse, they didn’t tell us about an ROTC event they were hosting in the park where groups of ROTC young people were constantly walking by our camp from early morning to afternoon, looking for markers for a kind of seek out practice for them. This was highly disturbing. Zero calm and privacy. The teepee was shabby and the indoor outdoor carpet was dirty and old, and you got the feeling you were sleeping and living over everyone else’s ick. Also, right over the teepee there were loads of huge dead oak branches. With the high winds, we were pretty scared a branch might fall on us. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt, or worse. There were many loud people in cabins with dogs, even dogs barking and crazy dogs running loose the whole time we were there. There was also a lot of trash and littered personal items scattered around in the woods and on the campground area. In the end, it is a very poorly planned campground for comfort, beauty, safety and privacy. We would have been better off to stay home. Like many things now, Platte River State Park feels overrun with activity and under preserved. The exact opposite of why one wants to get away from the city and camp in nature. Waste of time and money.

  • K
    Camper-submitted photo from Ross County Park
    Sep. 5, 2023

    Ross County Park

    Remote not used much - perfect!

    Nice out of the way location. 
    no services of any kind, there is a shelter house, and trash barrel. 
    nice place to get away from people

  • c
    Camper-submitted photo from Haworth City Park
    Sep. 2, 2023

    Haworth City Park

    Pretty but have ports potties

    Pretty nice campground but bathrooms are shut down and they have ports potties. BUT they were very clean and maintained

  • Jake C.The Dyrt ADMIN User
    Camper-submitted photo from Little Rivers Edge
    Aug. 28, 2023

    Little Rivers Edge

    Your retreat to the river

    Jake from the Dyrt here! Little Rivers Edge is a campground conveniently located near 2 of Nebraska's major cities, but far enough to finally disconnect!  Check them out and share some pics of your stay!

  • Lee L.
    Camper-submitted photo from Louisville State Recreation Area
    Aug. 21, 2023

    Louisville State Recreation Area

    So peaceful we were tempted to stay longer

    Whether you sleep in your van like we did, or you like to stay in a tree house (they appear to be building one as rental cabin) or need a tent platform, the place is huge and sprawling, with wooded sites and open lawn. Friendly and peaceful and definitely one we'll go back to.


Drive Time


Guide to Watson

Tent camping near Watson, Missouri offers a variety of options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. With several campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and enjoy the great outdoors.

Some prices for tent camping range from $5 to $15

  • At Wirth Brothers Lake, you can enjoy primitive camping with amenities like drinking water and picnic tables for just $5 a day or $15 for an annual permit.
  • Kirkmans Cove Recreation Area Campground offers well-maintained sites with electrical hookups, making it a great choice for those willing to pay a bit more for comfort.
  • For a budget-friendly option, Ross County Park provides free camping in a remote location, perfect for those looking to escape the crowds.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Enjoy fishing and boating at Pony Creek Lake, where the scenic views and tranquil waters make for a perfect day outdoors.
  • Explore the trails and wildlife at Burchard Lake State Wildlife Area, which offers year-round access for nature lovers and bird watchers.
  • Take a short drive to Brownville Riverside Park for a riverside experience, where you can enjoy picnicking and hiking along the scenic banks.

Unique features of local campgrounds

  • Hoot Owl Bend provides a simple clearing for tent camping, ideal for bird watchers and those seeking a quiet retreat.
  • At Johnson County Fairgrounds Park Campground, you can enjoy a community atmosphere with access to local events and activities.
  • Sterling Village Park features drinking water and a peaceful setting, making it a great spot for families looking to enjoy a weekend getaway.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular tent campsite near Watson, MO?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Watson, MO is Brownville Riverside Park with a 2.2-star rating from 5 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find tent camping near Watson, MO?

    TheDyrt.com has all 11 tent camping locations near Watson, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.