Pony Express Lake Conservation Area

You can camp in one of several little inlets and nooks. It's a Fish & Game preserve with camping and fishing spots all around the lake. Many with picnic tables and most with vault toilets. It's on my top 10 list of best primitive/dispersed camping locations. Only con is the vault toilet at the inlet I camped in. It was unusable with fetus nearly to the top. I think some unscrupulous person put trash in it then other used it probably without knowing. Very bad etiquette! Be sure to bring your own camping toilet and/or check the vault toilet before setting up. I didn't see very many RVs but several vans, trucks, and cars were there. The wildlife is predominantly water fowl.

The road in was dusty but very well maintained. There were 2 fire pits and several picnic tables in a grassy area and an outhouse. There was also a pole bar onsite, possibly for windmill maintenance.

Bucolic setting on a lake. Pit toilet and not much else in amenities, but a VERY pleasant place to spend a night!

Simple sites, no shade trees in the camping area but it is very close to the water. If you are looking to just do a simple one nighter or fish it will do.

Beautiful spot by the lake. Be sure to turn left at first sign to find campsites. Was a little frustrating that a family seemed to have taken up permanent residence and was obnoxious with the generator. Trash was overflowing and could use a little more attention. Clean vault toilets with TP. It was really beautiful with the sunset.

This free campground has a water tap and a pit toilet. There are at least three first come first served campsites that have a picnic table and a fire ring.

We drove by the east side campsite and it was packed. We ran into a local and he told us about a spot on the east side of the lake. An old boy scout camp. It wasn’t maintained but there was nobody there. Our dogs ran free and that was what we were looking for. We ran our generator at night because we had no neighbors. We were a mile from the lake so we drove around and had access to the lake.

Beautiful, peaceful, very quiet. Heard some coyotes at night and lots of birds in the morning. Bathroom was stocked and as clean as you’d expect. All the hunters we saw were on the west side of the conservation area, though there is a fishing area on the other side of the east campground loop. Some day use picnic areas as well, but in April our only neighbors were fellow campers. I imagine with more people it would be a bit cramped, but not so much so that I would turn away. I would absolutely camp here again. Good T-Mobile and Verizon service.

On the way back east after spending 2+ weeks on the road, we desperately needed a place to set up our tent and lay down for the night before continuing on. We found this little gem and it wasn’t very far off the “main” road. Basically in the middle of nowhere we found this spot and were able to easily set up our tent, then leave in the morning without seeing another person or being bothered by anything. No facilities, except a small bathroom that was closed, but it was exactly what we needed.

Great parking and nice place for free.

Super easy gravel road to get in in our AWD Subaru Outback. We were the only campers there. A truck drove through numerous times, which felt a bit creepy but may have just been a ranger or someone checking on the grounds. Beautiful, open area on a lake and not far from main road.. There's an outhouse and a dumpster. No problem getting a signal on T-MOBILE network.

If you like to boondock with your camper, this place is awesome! We stayed just one night early March and had the place to ourselves. We pull a 26’ travel trailer. Smallish parking lot right on the lake. No amenities except pit toilets. A few miles on narrow gravel roads but worth it! Sign says closed from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM but highly unlikely anyone would ever check.

It's in the Conservation Area of Missouri on Pony Express Lake. Easy to get to. Gravel road to the camp areas. Very small. Only 7 or 8 sites. We had a van. There was an RV there and a tenter. Picnic table and fire ring. There is a boat landing further down the gravel road past the campground, different finger of the lake. Fishing. Pit toilet, no water or hook ups for RVs. Very quiet place and of course, you can't beat free!