## Overview

 Silver Mines Campground is located on the St. Francis River in the Mark Twain National Forest. It offers a variety of recreational opportunities and abundant historic and geological wonders. 
## Recreation

 Parts of the river are available for swimming, while other portions provide good fishing. Whitewater kayaking is a popular activity during the springtime when water runs high. Depending on water levels, the state holds an annual kayaking competition the third weekend of March. The 2-mile Silver Mines Trail follows both sides of the river, leading to various picnic areas. A 1.2-mile trail spurs to a popular conservation area, where visitors can view spectacular rock formations along the river. 
## Facilities

 The campground offers dozens of single-family campsites, as well as large group sites, all available for tent and RV camping. Some sites have 30-amp electric hookups. The large group sites can accommodate up to 75 and 100 people. Additional sites are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Picnic tables and campfire rings with grills are provided, as are accessible vault toilets and drinking water. Parking spurs vary from asphalt, to grass, to gravel or dirt. 
## Natural Features

 This beautiful area is located along the St. Francis River, the only river in Missouri classified as a whitewater river. It is widely used for kayaking during springtime. The campground is located at a historic mining operation and is known for its Precambrian granite and felsite rocks. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The Millstream Gardens Conservation Area is located eight miles west of Fredericktown, or four miles west of the campground, on Highway 72. It is home to the scenic Tiemann Shut-ins and other spectacular sights along the riverbed.

Silver Mines

This camp site has RV hook-ups and tent camping. There are trees throughout the campground if you're looking to set up a hammock. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table and is a mix of grass and light gravel. Pit toilets, no showers. Water spigots throughout the camp ground. Keep an eye out for snakes though! I nearly stepped on a copper head in the outhouse! Camp sites are a 2 minute walk to the St. Francois River. Great hiking along the river and good fishing, swimming and kayaking in the river! Also not to far from the Castor River Shut-ins if you're looking to pack two rivers into one trip. We just celebrated my husband's birthday here last weekend, though we have been a few times before. Always a blast!

Great Camping Near the River

**Campground Review**

The chilly mid-April weekend still saw a good amount of campers at this clean, well maintained campground. The campsites provide the basics: a fire pit, picnic table, lantern hook, and flat gravel area for tents. The campground also offers vault toilets and a water spigot, don't expect electric hook ups or a shower in the summer time. The St. Francis river runs through the area, making it a popular spot to whitewater kayak. We got to see a few kayakers while we were there.

We did find ourselves wishing there was a map of available trails in the area. We couldn't find one anywhere in the park. Basically, you have to stumble across a trail head. The THs have a sign that just tells you the destination, no distances or terrain info. Because of this set up, we didn't get to see the actually Silver Mine there; we never could find the appropriate trail.

Advanced reservations for campsites are available through the us forestry website. If you do not pay online in advanced, make sure to bring cash or check with you. It is needed for the day use fee or camping fee.

**Product Review**

As a Dyrt Ranger I get to review gear from time to time and on this trip I got the opportunity to try out [Mountain House's new Turkey Dinner meal](https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/homestyle-turkey-dinner-casserole.html). I'm a big fan of Mountain House meals. They are my go-to for all my backpacking trips. You can always count on them to be a good freeze dried meal after a long hike. The Turkey dinner meal has a good amount of vegetables in it, which I was very happy to see. Frequently good nutrition is sacrificed in freeze dried meals and on the trail in general. The Turkey dinner was just fine, in my opinion. I'll probably try it again, but it doesn't feel like it stacks up to the awesomeness of MH's other newer meal (Spicy Southwest Breakfast Hash) which I want to eat even when I'm not on the trail. I think the name Homestyle Turkey Dinner evokes ideas of Thanksgiving dinner, then when you're not eating grandma's turkey out in the woods, you're a little disappointed. However, like I said, I'll probably try it again, with my expectations tempered a bit. Probably in the fall, after I've just hiked 10 miles while carrying 35lbs, my brain will tell me this is better than grandma's turkey could have ever dreamed to have been.

Ranger Review: Mountain House Turkey Dinner at Silver Mines 

This campground is a fantastic place to stay to have access to the beautiful surrounding Mark Twain National Forest. We were there in early spring before the leaves came out, but there was excellent weather, fantastic hiking, and plenty to do in the area.

The sites and dispersed really well and you do not feel like you are on top of anyone else. There is some nice varied terrain around so you can be perched up high and look down on the river, or stay down low close to the river in the RV lot should you prefer.

There are pit toilets, fire rings, and access to clean water. This is a fantastic place to make home base while exploring the National Forest.

Beautiful views and great hikes

Each campsite is private and has it's own picnic table and fire pit. Trails from the campground lead down to the water. Depending on the water levels there are usually people kayaking through the white water. This is the perfect quick getaway from the city. Sites are first come first serve.

Private Site near the water!!

I I absolutely loved this Campground. It is a very clean park, very spacious camping areas. It has a amazing group area with fire pits and grills. The hiking is amazing. The swimming is absolutely wonderful. The couple that takes care of the park are super friendly great people. You are only 10 minutes from a town in case you have forgotten something, but the park seems secluded. There is no running water for showers, but the bathroom houses are quite large and kept very clean. They do not smell like an outhouse.

Clean, spacious sites,  nice bathrooms, great caretakers, 

campsites were all very secluded and had tons of trees surrounding them. just a short walk down to the beautiful river where you can see the small waterfall and hike upriver to see another. just an all around amazing spot. definitely would recommend if in the area 

Best campground in the area!

We spent 2 nights here and it was great! All of the sites are flat and very large. They have fire rings and tables a most do. The goats are very nice and there are trails and shut ins nearby. Highly recommend it. 

Spacious and flat

We stayed in the group site in River bend loop. Despite being a holiday weekend the atmosphere was very chill. Kids were all over the place on their bikes like it was the 80’s. It was quiet and clean. Our site was right next to the campground hosts who were very nice and very involved (they even found my parents who made the mistake of taking the first Silver Mines exit). There is no cell reception. There IS a WalMart nearby in case you forget something. When we were here the water was very swift but not very deep. Along the river’s edge there are little pools and waterways among the boulders and the toddlers loved playing there. We had a great time and definitely wouldn’t mind going back. Only drawback: the bathrooms were sketchy inside and foul smelling (and I’m used to vault toilets).

Serene fun

They have 3 Loops. A lower loop (on the river) for campers with electric and 2 upper Loops for basic camping and non-electric sites. The furtherbloop is very VERY basic and desolate!No bathhouse, vault toilets scattered though. They do have double sites for larger families and they do have a group camp area. Great place for hiking, fishing and paved for bicycles.

Awesome and quiet!

We spent a few days here enjoying exploring the area! There has been quite a bit of rain and the water levels were high. Water wasn’t on at the campground yet - and there are not hookups at each campsite. 