Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Williamsville, MO

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

Really nice place on the castor river. The owner was a nice guy and very helpful with whatever we needed. I love the castor river. The water feels good and is clear. The castor river ranch campground in Marquand Missouri is a nice lil campground. There aren’t many people that knows about it so there isn’t hardly any campers there so we had a whole Big area to ourselves. The river is right next to the camps. The bathroom is a single person bathroom but it was really nice and air conditioned and has a stand up shower with wood walls and tile floor. There was never a wait for the bathroom it was always open. There’s also showers on the outside of the bathroom for spraying off after you get out of the river. Each camp has its own water spicket for dishes or whatever. They are very pet friendly there. The owner guy was super nice. The only complaint I have is that there is no trash service there so you have to take your trash with you but there is a winery down the road that lets you use their dumpster for $5. I also recommend eating at the winery. They have the best food, amazing people and great service. All around awesome experience with the campground and winery. The castor river shut ins is only 27 minutes from the camp so I definitely recommend going there too. It’s beautiful to see and the water is amazing. The owner of the camp will also give you a ride up river to float back down to your camp for free just bring your own tube or whatever. There is electric sites. Rv or tent camping.

It is shaped by Marble Creek, from overhead it looks the piece to a puzzle, no matter where you are in the campground any direction takes you to the water. There is hiking, it is in a National Forest that allows Dispersed Camping outside designated areas and off roads. It is a pure delight natural water park, in the capital of natural water parks The St. Francois Mountains where creeks and rivers have "natural shut-ins" . The area around Black Mountain next door in the National Forest is a natural wilderness area, filled with geo features not marked on any maps and seldom ever photographed. Some of the largest gorges and canyons in Missouri are nearby, waterfalls (seasonal). Marble Creek flows into the St. Francois River a short distance away. 16 miles west of Fredericktown Missouri on Madison County Road E

Reading the reviews on several review websites, we decided to give Little Ole Opry a try as our last overnighter on our way back to our home base near St. Louis. We arrived about 3:00 PM. We used our RV GPS that took us through Jackson, MO(that has many stop lights) right to the address that turns directly into the campground(CG) off Hwy 34. We had talked to the camp host earlier and she told us to go on in and pick a spot and she would be by later to collect our$15. We pulled into one of the better defined gravel sites(#3) closer to the entrance. However, when we tried to put down our MoRryde steps they sat wonky on the wood site trim plus recent rain made us nervous about putting our levelers down and sinking. About that time the camp host(assume owner) pulled in and suggested we move farther down to site 8 that was pretty much grass and dirt but firmer. Even though we were overnighting, we wanted to back up to the little lake and have a picnic table. There is a tree line that runs behind the lake view sites and the other sites across their gravel road and so, at least in a tall 5th wheel, you cannot get very close to utilities, which are all at the back of the site, due to branches from the trees. Our electric cord reel is mid-rig so I knew I was going to need my extension cord to get to the electric box that has two 30 AMP plugs. I also needed 20’ of sewer hose and 35’ of water hose. The water pressure was very good at around 60 psi but you share a spigot with an adjacent site. The sites are fairly level but in need of gravel and grooming. In general, the CG needed grooming but we’d give them a pass as it had been raining and was late April. They were mowing the morning we departed. We got quite a few OTA channels and usable 2 bars on Verizon. The views, especially sunset and sunrise, were very nice. And there was a path around the lake to walk the dogs. We didn’t use their small shower house/restroom, but it did look clean. There’s also a pavilion and small dock for viewing or fishing. We imagine the place gets busy with campers during the summer. Overall, we had a positive experience, but even at $15 a night, we would not spend the time and hassle traveling in from I55 for an overnighter.

Worth the trip up from US 60 if you’re driving E/W, standard MSP rates and setup. There’s a campground on the lake and and a campground up on the ridge. We’ve stayed on the ridge twice, and on a weeknight or any night in the off season, you can nearly have the place to yourself. On a Monday in July, I counted 2 other campers in the ridge campground.

Close to several trails, and obviously the lake, for my Bootheel and Bootheel adjacent friends, this is a great spot close at hand.

For folks from away, look, from April to September, you’re gonna want electric so you can run AC (or at least a fan), Missouri humidity is not a joke.