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Best Tent Camping near Willow Springs, MO

313 Reviews

Tent campers visiting Willow Springs, Missouri have several options across the Mark Twain National Forest and Ozark National Scenic Riverway. McCormack Lake Recreation Area offers free primitive tent sites with basic amenities including fire rings and picnic tables, while Sycamore Loop provides dispersed camping opportunities for those seeking more solitude. Turner's Mill and Boze Mill Float Camp offer riverside tent camping with direct access to clear, spring-fed waters.

Most tent sites in the region feature natural, ungraded terrain with minimal improvements. Vault toilets are available at several locations including Turner's Mill, Rymers, and Boze Mill Float Camp, but potable water is limited. A review mentioned, "The sites were primitive and maintained," though road access varies significantly by location. Some campgrounds like Jerktail Landing require traveling several miles on rough gravel roads, making high-clearance vehicles advisable. Seasonal considerations include potential flooding in spring near riverside camping areas and higher usage on summer weekends.

The tent camping experience in this area is characterized by proximity to clear, spring-fed rivers and relative seclusion. Walk-in tent sites at Boze Mill Float Camp provide campers with access to the Eleven Point River, described by one user as having "beautiful blue-green crystal clear water." During weekdays, many backcountry areas remain largely empty, particularly in fall and spring seasons. One camper noted, "Had the whole place to ourselves on a Thursday night," at McCormack Lake Recreation Area. These primitive tent campgrounds generally provide good opportunities for fishing, swimming, and wading. Campers seeking more seclusion should consider weekday visits to Turner's Mill or Rymers, both offering walk-in tent sites away from more developed areas. Most tent-only sites require self-sufficiency with trash pack-out policies and limited facilities.

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Best Tent Sites Near Willow Springs, Missouri (21)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Willow Springs, MO

5 Photos of 21 Willow Springs Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Willow Springs, MO

313 Reviews of 21 Willow Springs Campgrounds

  • Marissa H.
    Aug. 11, 2020

    Timbuktu Campground — Echo Bluff State Park

    Wonderful Swimming Hole

    This is a really nice spot for tent camping - even though it’s clearly geared towards RV camping. Make sure to book a walk-in campsite if you’re tent camping, otherwise you’ll be in the lot with the RVs (no trees, no privacy etc see first picture). You’ll have to carry your gear to your site, but not too far. Each walk in site is fairly isolated and separate from the other site by trees. Each site has a wood tent pad, picnic table, and fire ring with grate. If you want you could even go to the lodge (walking distance) for a meal and skip the cooking! Book your spot in advance as it seems like they fill up quickly.

  • b
    Aug. 31, 2021

    Mark Twain National Forest Loggers Lake Recreation Area

    WPA beauty!

    Loggers Lake, in the Mark Twain National Forest, is about 7 miles west of Bunker, Mo. Spring fed lake, no electric or water campsites. There is a maintained M/F restroom on the site, and a water spigot close to the restroom. All sites have a fire ring and a picnic table. GORGEOUS!

  • Kelsie L.
    Sep. 18, 2020

    Loggers Lake Campground

    Nice camping right on the lake

    Loggers Lake campground runs along the 22 acre Loggers Lake near Bunker, MO in the Mark Twain National Forest.

    Be prepared for a decent amount of driving on gravel county roads. The route from bunker itself has a bit less while the route to Salem is longer on gravel with a handful of water crossings.

    There are 14 sites which all have parking, picnic table, and fire ring. Most have lantern poles. Most back right up to the lake. Most have back in parking which can accommodate a vehicle with trailer. The first few sites have split parking, which can house your trailer in one spot and vehicle next to it, but not long enough to back in without disconnecting. At the beginning of the campground there is a swimming area with picnic tables, grills, and a vault toilet. After this, there are the sites mentioned above with split parking. Tent sites and tables are down a hill from the parking spots here. There is a small fork with a parking lot and a handful of sites - while we were here there was an RV in this area. I believe this would be the only place a full RV could park in the campground. Finally is the main campground loop. There is another vault toilet at the beginning of the loop. Both vault toilets were relatively clean. One had air fresheners in it. There is water access near the vault toilet. On the loop, all exterior sites back up to the lake. There are two sites on the center of the loop which would be very nice for a large group. The lake itself is beautiful and easy to access. There is a boat ramp at the campground loop and a spot at almost every site to put in a kayak or canoe.

    There is a 1.5 mile trail along the lake which begins at the campground loop. There is a spur to the spillway. The trail does not seem to be very heavily traveled, expect to walk through brush and spider webs!

  • A
    Nov. 4, 2024

    Alley Spring Campground — Ozark National Scenic Riverway

    Small sites with little privacy - campground fine, but not great

    I'd seen a lot of great reviews for this campground, so I had high expectations when we arrived for a night in early November. We reserved a spot in the 900 loop, just to be safe - a few of the camping loops allow reservations, and the rest are walk in. The loop was very open, spaces all fully visible to each other. The bathrooms were locked for the season after 10/15. 

    Since things were pretty empty, we moved to the 500 loop, which was more tree covered, near the river, and next to the shower house, which was the one park bath open for the winter. Bathrooms and showers were clean, though no camp host was present the night we stayed. 

    We were the only people on the 500 loop, so it was fine, but again - sites VERY close together. Some picnic tables were less than 20 feet apart. The 600 loop was the only heavily occupied loop when were there, filled with campers, presumably because of the electric access. 

    This is a NPS campground, so its amenities tend to be fewer than many MO state parks. I have other parks in this area that have more scenic and private tent camping. Just on the other side of the river is the Alley spring and mill, which are lovely - and ironically, some of the picnic sites are more spacious than these tent sites. I wish we could camp on that side!

  • Josh C.
    May. 20, 2019

    Paddy Creek Recreation Area

    Great for solitude

    $5 recommendation donation for the night. Stayed at this campground as a halfway point hiking the Big Piney Trail loop. Typical primitive campground with toilets, bear-proof trash cans, and camp sites with fire rings and picnic tables, but not much else. Didn’t see any water faucets near our site.

  • A
    Sep. 27, 2020

    Sinking Creek Backcountry Camping — Ozark National Scenic Riverway

    A sweet little spot

    Easy to miss with a quick turn off but once you cross the bridge on the main road you will be curious about the creek below. A handful of primitive camp sites with a fire ring, picnic table & lantern hook. Quick access to the cool creek and the much cooler river—crystal clear waters. Would advise a pair of water shoes for walking the riverbed and water as they are very rocky (available at nearby store if needed).

    A peaceful and inexpensive site to rest your head and rejuvenate in the waters.

  • M
    May. 6, 2022

    Twin Bridges Canoe Campground

    Early season, limited services

    Tent camped here with a group of private boat paddlers from all over the country. Campground operations had not really started for the season. I arrived after dark and could not find the tent campsites. Nearly drove into deep mud on gravel road past RV sites. Fortunately had just enough cell signal to access their website. Found a campground map three layers deep on reservation page and located my group. 

    Tent sites were well-located along the river with basic tables and fire rings. I never found the store to be open so paid camping fee at bar and cafe at entrance. Great breakfast. $25/night for tents.  Grass had not been mowed and was deep in tent area. RV sites appear to be a work in progress with much erosion around the new pads and access road. What may have been a shower house had key code locks but there was never anyone to ask. Bathrooms near the entrance lacked tp in some stalls. All one afternoon and evening a group of kids with gas weed trimmers  noisely worked on a slope adjacent to the RV area. 

    This campground should improve over time a the management appears to be developing the grounds.

  • M
    May. 27, 2024

    Alley Spring Campground — Ozark National Scenic Riverway

    Needs tent pads

    Pretty campground with river access and accessible restrooms. Showers were a little far from our loop. I wish the sites had tent pads as it was hard to find a flat spot to place the tent and several holes in the terrain. There is NO cell signal, so I highly recommend you take a weather radio. I wish we had.

  • J K.
    Aug. 6, 2019

    Alley Spring Campground — Ozark National Scenic Riverway

    Great campground close to eminence

    This is a great campground that is just outside of eminence and has just about everything that you need from spacious tree covered tent sites to full RV sites as well. Easy access to both the jacks for river and Alley spring Because flooding destroyed the old restroom a new one has been built in its place with a full shower house as well. If you want a nice peaceful campground that is in the heart of the Ozarks scenic River Ways you will definitely want to check this place out

Guide to Willow Springs

Tent camping near Willow Springs, Missouri centers on the Mark Twain National Forest, situated at 1,100-1,400 feet elevation in the central Ozark Plateau. The area features karst topography with numerous springs feeding clear rivers. Most primitive tent campsites near Willow Springs provide direct access to the Eleven Point, Current, or Jacks Fork Rivers, with minimal amenities and natural terrain ranging from forested sites to riverside locations.

What to do

Fishing opportunities: At Turner's mill, anglers find excellent trout fishing directly from the campsite. "There is great trout fishing and several real good swing holes the campsites are right beside the river which is really nice," notes camper Glen T. The cool, spring-fed waters maintain consistent temperatures year-round.

Water activities: Rymers Backcountry Camping offers swimming in crystal-clear water. "A nice place to just get away, a great swimming hole and beautiful scenery with nice tall cliffs it has a couple big rocks out in the water you can swim to and jump off of," reports Glen T. The swimming areas range from shallow wading spots to deeper pools with jumping rocks.

Exploring historic sites: Visitors can examine old mill structures at Turner's Mill where Ashley W. describes it as an "awesome mill you can climb on and awesome spring that makes individual pools." The area includes remnants of water-powered grist mills dating back to the late 1800s.

What campers like

Solitude on weekdays: Many campers appreciate the quiet atmosphere during off-peak times at McCormack Lake Rec Area. Meghan B. reports, "Had the whole place to ourselves on a Thursday night, for the most part." Another camper, Delanie J., found similar conditions: "Some people showed up for day use, but the sites were empty. Totally alone with a gorgeous lake."

Natural springs: The region contains numerous cold-water springs that campers frequently mention. At Boze Mill Float Camp, William M. notes, "There is a beautiful blue spring coming out of the bottom of a pool formerly used to power Boze Mill." These springs maintain a year-round temperature of approximately 58°F.

Riverside camping: Sites positioned along rivers provide immediate access to water. Michael D. states about Boze Mill Float Camp, "I have never camped here but visit when kayaking. You can access it from the river and it is a short walk and well worth it." Most riverside sites require a short walk from parking areas to reach the water.

What you should know

Road access challenges: Many campgrounds require travel on rough gravel roads. At Jerktail Landing Campground, Marty C. advises, "This is a very remote primitive campsite along the river and down seven and a half miles rough gravel roads... Probably not a good idea to try to bring large camping units to this site." High-clearance vehicles may be necessary during wet periods.

Limited facilities: Most sites provide only basic amenities. William M. describes Boze Mill Float Camp: "Several dedicated camp sites that each have fire ring, shepherds hook, picnic table. There is one pit toilet building." Campers should bring all water and supplies.

Campsite availability issues: Some campgrounds listed online may not actually permit camping. At Noblett Lake, Stephanie B. warns, "This is not a campground. If you want to camp, DO NOT GO HERE. It is a lovely day use area, but again, IT IS NOT A CAMPGROUND." Similarly, Josh reported about Sycamore Loop Dispersed: "Old campground but most spots no longer seemed camp friendly, as new tree growth has taken over."

Tips for camping with families

Choose accessible swimming spots: Families with children should select campgrounds with gradual water entry. Rippee Conservation Area offers suitable options according to Glen T.: "Has great fishing, nice and peaceful and not well known not many campsites, I believe only four but it does have firepits and grills." The shallow creek areas provide safer water play for younger children.

Look for designated sites: At Cedar Grove/Dee Murray Backcountry Camping, Lisa S. recommends, "nice Scenic remote area, good for wading and trout fishing. It is also a beautiful place to float with the family. Campground is very primitive you have to walk up a large Hill to get to the porta potty." The designated sites typically include established fire rings and flat tent pads.

Consider bug protection: Insect activity can be significant, especially near water. Charlotte B. advises about Boze Mill Float Camp: "I highly suggest this place, but I do suggest lots of bug spray. For some reason, I always get eaten up by mosquitos in this area." Ticks are also common from April through October.

Tips from RVers

Size limitations: Large RVs struggle with access to most tent campsites near Willow Springs. According to Marty C. at Jerktail Landing: "Site has access to the river and pit toilets. No other services are provided. Probably not a good idea to try to bring large camping units to this site." Most roads leading to campgrounds are narrow with tight turns.

Consider fall camping: The autumn season offers good RV camping conditions with fewer crowds and pleasant temperatures. At Rymers Backcountry Camping, Lula L. mentions, "in October after closing can be solo camping. Long beautiful drive in, narrow road would not recommend for motorhome over 20' or any large camper as there is no backing up or turn arounds." Fall temperatures typically range from 40-70°F.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Willow Springs, MO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Willow Springs, MO is Noblett Lake with a 2.5-star rating from 4 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Willow Springs, MO?

TheDyrt.com has all 21 tent camping locations near Willow Springs, MO, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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