Best Cabin Camping near Williamsville, MO

Went to stay in a cabin for one night, then extended our stay.   The place was to nice to leave.   The lake and St. Francis river are crystal clear.  Watched the baby deer, and listen to thw owls at night.   The cabin had all the amenities included, towels, coffee, soaps, dinnerware and cookware.    check-in was easy. Front deck included a B-B-Q  grill, and hot tub that over looked the lake and camp fire.   Our family will be back.   Thank you!

This 1200 acre property used to be the beautiful Cherokee Ridge Girl Scout camp until it was sold in 2019. We have went through extensive renovations and development to bring this property to the public so that it can be enjoyed by our guests. River access and our private gravel/sand bars are available exclusively to our guests and have provided some of the most peaceful weekends imaginable.

We have everything from glamping tents right on the river bluff (photos attached) to 12 fully equipped cabins with hot tubs overlooking the 22 acre lake with a beach and activities (photos attached)

We have 4 Conestoga Wagons that are heated and air conditioned (see photos attached). They are the definition of glamping.

50 RV sites with picnic tables fire/grill pits with a variety of 30 and 50 amp pull-through and back-in sites. We offer float trips, rental boats for the lake, and rental golf carts to adventure around the park.

The park is going through endless development to continue to provide everyone with the most enjoyable and peaceful vacation possible.

Please check out our website www.otahkilake.com

With a paid reservation made 3 months in advance, the Campground Host cancelled our reservation, refunded our money and then quadrupled the rate for that same period ($125 went to $750 for one night).  Your paid family vacation plans reservation is not firm with Otahki Lake Cabins and Campgrounds KOA. I hope this does not happen to you and your family’s dream camping trip!

Such a scenic park. Beautiful at every turn. Well kept, lovely staff and has something for everyone. Cabins, camping, hiking, river, floating, horses, you name it. Amazing place! GO!

State Park in Southeast Missouri along Big Creek. Well maintained campsites with electric hook ups. Water and dump stations, but no water hook up sites. Nice beach with easy access for swimming and kayaking. Very nice bike trail throughout park. Privately owned store and restaurant in park. Cabins also available for rent.

Small lake. Has tent camping or cabins. All roads are gravel. We have stayed in the cabins. It was a double bed and also had a set of bunks. So plenty of room. Lake has sandy beaches. Small playset I the water for kids.

I had a pretty awful expereince with Apple Jacks 21 this weekend. I wanted to share to maybe help others get more clarification when booking. I had a lot of upset and disappointed friends that drove a long way for this. 12 people total.

I know this resort is new and just coming along. I understand that. But there are quite a few issues that concern me and should have been addressed before allowing bookings.

The owner did not reply when asking for confirmation via Facebook messenger, which is how I booked but she did look at and ignore my message. We decided to go anyway. After all, we had 12 people in our group and I can't let people down. She did not want payment before our arrival.

When we got here we had to go search for someone to figure out where to go, which is precisely why I tried to confirm the day before. Took 3 phone calls before we got the owner to answer and we were told to go down to the bar and find some man. The man had no idea what we were to do or where we should go. Again we waited while he called her several times. We were exhausted from a long trip and just wanted to get setup and rest.

After finally getting settled the owner drove by and said she would come back after supper (for payment I'm guessing) but never did. We still hadn't paid by night 2. And then night 3.

When asking where our friends would park their RV it was again an hour long process to figure it out. We also figured we should attempt to find out which cabin is for our other group since it's so hard to find anyone here that knows what is going on.

Our friend finally got in the RV site the electric hookup had an open ground. The wire was literally sticking out of the post box for my kids or anyone to get seriously injured. They also just wanted to get settled and rest so we ran an extension cord from our post since no one is to be found and no one answers their phone, again. Finally the worker man called back and came and said he couldn't help us due to a warranty on the work but gave us an extension cord.

The cabin, no one knew what was going on either. We finally found out later on and went and checked it out. There were other people's items inside. But noticed maybe it was 2 parts because there was a door in the middle. So they carried their stuff to the other side where it was pretty filthy. Hair in the sinks from someone shaving, a sink full of dishes, filthy refrigerator, filthy bathrooms etc. Then the worker man comes flying in aggressively asking who is in cabin 1 and I said I had no idea what cabin is which so he showed us we weren't supposed to walk through cabin 1 (again, no signs or numbers). Nothing is marked here. Then they have no key to lock up the door to the outside or the door to the "grandsons" that apparently live on the other side (cabin 1??). The "grandsons" can just come into my friends cabin anytime they want as there is no lock between the cabins. We were also told that the cabin was "right across the street" from our RV sites. It's was a 1 mile drive because they removed the driveway between them (didn't inform us of this). Our friends in the cabin have mobility issues and that is the reason being close was so important. It was a truck ride away. Definitely

Again, I tried to drive up to River's Edge to pay for my site (that's what the worker man said to do) and no one knows the pricing. She wanted me to leave my credit card there and she would charge me later. Not happening. I left all my info, she was supposed to get a total and call me to pay by phone but that never happened either.

On Sunday, the owne came flying in after seeing my comments to someone else having issues about this place being a disaster and was nice at first until I wanted to tell her my issues. She snapped and didn't want to hear any of it. She also asked me for a pen to write down my credit card number. It's 2021 and they write down credit card numbers? The owner stated that I had booked 3 cabins and she had to turn people away Friday night and they sat empty because of me. That is false. I read a reveiw that she turned them away due to plumbing problems. I have screenshots of booking 1 cabin and 1 RV site and later adding another rv site. I also have screenshots of asking for confirmation of 1 cabin and 2 rv sites. Finally in such a mean but sweet way she told me this wasn't the place for me and we weren't welcome back so we packed up and left.

After we left and got on the road someone else called me about payment. I told her I already paid the owner. She said the owner told her to call me about payment. Apparently, this woman texted me a bill but I didn't get it until we left due to phone service issues. The bill didn't even show the total. But the woman was kind and understanding that I didn't get her text. Then 2 hours later my card was charged $653 when it was supposed to be $580. What a disaster.

All in all I think I lost 6 hours just trying to figure out what is going on here.

This was supposed to be my birthday trip. What a fiasco.

Luckily, my credi card company refunded me since none of the amenities she advertised were there.

The people of Missouri gave a wonderful gift to the people of the United States.  A gift I did not know about or had never heard of till we made the decision to camp in Missouri.

Big Springs was Missouri's first state park.  The CCC did a lot of construction on the park and so much of the buildings are still there.  In much need of repair and I do hope the federal government will restore.  Big Spring is off of Missouri Highway 160.  Turn onto State Route 103 to Big Spring.  The spring has a wheelchair accessible pathway that will lead right to the spring.

The campground is large and open.  Tent sites along with with RV sites but the RV sites are small and very close together.  Some RV sites had electric but no water or sewer.  There is a dump site.  During the summer I think I would get a reservation for the RV sites if you need electric.  If you have the ability to generate your own electric stay in the open tent site area.  The tent site area is large and open to the sun.  Big Springs has flush toilets and hot showers.

There are picnic areas with tables and grills scattered throughout the park along with two group shelters.

The Ranger programs are well worth checking out.  Take advantage.

The Current River makes a wonderful backdrop for nature lovers.  You have the options of hiking, biking, fishing, camping, floating, kayaking, and all sorts of boating with a ramp in the park.

Have Fun - Stay Safe

Leave No Trace

Better Than When You Found It

This campground is a must visit. Obviously the main attraction is the amazing and magical spring. Flowing 226 million gallons a day! Campground is beautifully manicured and has spacious sites and many options. It's a self serve campground so pay at the front. The hot water in the showers was out but still giving it 5 stars because this place is just great. The cabins are super cute cottages that are being remodeled right now, and I can't wait! The trails are well kept and moderately challenging. I highly recommend camping here dont forget to bring in your own firewood.

Campground Review

Huzzah Valley Resort (HVR) is not a typical campground. It’s a place built for and specializing in float trips. If you are picturing serenely paddling down a pristine river in a canoe listening to the sounds of birds and insects, you are in the wrong place, at least on a Saturday during the summer. This is more like a float trip with frat parties floating on by you, complete with loud music, floating cooler, floating beer pong tables, loads of drunk people and of course the antics of these drunk people. Not really the best place to take your kids on those summertime Saturdays. I knew this going into the weekend. Really, with campsite prices from $12.79 (for the family camping area) to $16.00 (for the loud area with no quiet hours, nicknamed the Zoo) per person, per night most people not looking for this experience are weeded out by price alone. All that being said party-barge type float trips are pretty much a rite of passage in Missouri.

My Husband and I went on this trip with a group of friends that are not as experienced campers as we are and opted to stay in a cabin. This was about $90 per person for the weekend. Our cabin sleeps 8 people with 1 queen bed in a room, 2 queen beds in a loft, and a double sofa sleeper. It included a kitchenette, full bathroom, fire ring, BBQ grill, picnic table. Aside from a microwave and a full size fridge, the cabin didn’t really offer any other amenities. We brought our own sheets and campstove. It was nice to be able to set up a crockpot before we got on the river and have dinner ready when we got back though. The cabin was reasonably sized and not a bad experience.

It was nice on Sunday morning to just get to enjoy our coffee as we watched hundreds of hungover people in the campground try to take down tents.

We floated from Scotia to Ozark Outdoors, which is a very pretty 5 mile float in the Huzzah. This meant we had to be bussed from HVR to the put in and from the take out back to HVR. The river was packed!! There were people as far as the eye could see and the raft/canoe/kayak traffic never broke up during our whole time on the river. Since it was not a holiday weekend, we were a little surprised by how crowded it was. This didn't stop is from having a great time though! We floated in a raft and a kayak and both experiences were very good.

The campsite offered tent sites as well as sites with full hookups for RVs. Each campsite has a fire grate and picnic table. There is a camp store on site that sells everything you could possibly forget, from matches to fishing poles to beer.

Product Review

As a Ranger for the Dyrt I get to try out products from time to time. One this trip I tested out Nature’s Coffee Kettle, which is billed as top quality coffee that you can take anywhere. They give you a reusable kettle bag and a filter bag of coffee. You can purchase refill packs to use in the same kettle bag. Kettle bags get up to 4 uses. You place the filter pack at the top of the bag, pour some boiling water over it and let it sit for a few minutes, then you pour the remaining water over the filter and wait a few more minutes for it to brew through the filter bag and drip into the bottom portion of the bag. Once it is done, you can pour yourself a cup of hot joe.

The coffee is very good. Even though the brewing process is a little complex (adding 1 cup of water, waiting a few minutes, adding 3 more cups, waiting more), it isn’t that difficult. The closable pour spout is nice to keep your coffee hot while you drink your first cup. The bag is a little flimsy and I was afraid the kettle would fall over while brewing, but it held up.  The kettle and bag are lightweight and can fold down pretty small. These are definitely much easier to use than an old school percolator, and take up less space. I feel like car camping is where these will shine. Although you do still have to pack a pot to boil the water.

They are even practical enough that I might try to take them backpacking at some point. I can’t imagine they will replace Starbucks Vias as my go-to coffee for backpacking though. It is still bigger, creates more trash, and you have to make 4 cups at once even though it is tastier.

Pros:

• Delicious coffee in a variety of roasts and types
• Lighter, smaller than traditional percolator
• Reusable kettle bags
• Screw cap to keep coffee hot
• They offer coffee, tea, and hot chocolate

Cons:

• Can only make 4 cups at a time
• Thin bag- makes it too hot to touch and have to be careful not to let it fall over while brewing
• Not light, small enough to take backpacking regularly

If you’re floating at Jeff’s, you do not want to camp anywhere else! Less than two minutes down the road from Jeff’s Canoe Rental and the beautiful K Bridge Black River public access. This place has an in ground pool that’s lit up until 10pm (or later if the kids aren’t being too loud), a large lake with swings and fire pits around it, a bigger playground, and a REALLY wonderful little store with anything you’d need plus more! Every spot is very level. It’s also cheaper than most other private places who charge the “per person, per night” bullcrap on top of the site rental. We always look forward to our time here!

Great campsites, elec available no dump and community water only. Black river access on site. Firewood included with site rental. Ice is only $2.50. No cell service

Beautiful camp sites and a beautiful river to paddle around on. This park usually isn’t very crowded which is really nice. It is very tranquil and perfect for a weekend get away.

OZARK TRAIL: I backpacked 50 miles during spring break on the Ozark Trail between Council Bluff Lake and Johnson Shutins State park. When I planned the trip the only information for camping that was available were regulations requiring you to camp 100 feet from the trail.

I have to admit that the Ozark Trail Association provides amazing resources about the Ozark Trail but they fail to describe what has become primitive backcountry campsites all along the trail. Many of these sites are marked on the detailed National Geographic maps provided for free by the Association as water holes, but they are also clearly set up as campsites as well.

Make sure you bring a water purifier. It is some of the best tasting water I have ever had.

JOHNSON SHUT-INS: I visited this state park last year but I drove in and visited. This time we used the park as a way point for our 50 mile backpacking trip we did during spring break. It was still 5 stars and we were lucky to get a cabin and a shower. I was hoping to add some additional supplies but to my dismay the general store and main facilities don't open until the first week of April. It was a huge bummer because I was looking forward to a cheeseburger and some oreos. Oh well. Now that I know I will plan better for the future.