MO Missouri Porch

State parks

Missouri State Parks camping

The state-park system is the heart of Missouri camping: dozens of campgrounds run by one landlord with one set of statewide rules, booked on one website. About 93 state parks and historic sites (roughly 57 parks plus 36 historic sites). About 41 offer camping and roughly 39 have reservable campsites — around 3,500 campsites in all, plus 194 cabins and 1,000+ miles of trail.

Free to enter. Missouri state parks are free to enter — no gate fee, no parking sticker, no "state park pass," and no resident/nonresident difference. Missouri is one of only about eight states with no state-park entrance fee. You pay to camp, not to enter.

Who runs it

Missouri State Parks (DNR).

Where to book

icampmo.com or 877-422-6766.

Stay limit

Stay limit: 15 days in any 30-day period at one park.

Fire rule

Campfires only in the ring or grill provided; portable fire pits only on concrete; put every fire all the way out. Don't gather or cut firewood.

Current status

Check water/shower season and any closures before you go (box below).

Reserving a site

Book up to 12 months ahead (the window opens at 7 a.m. Central, 12 months before your first night) at icampmo.com or 877-422-6766; up to 5 sites per session; same-day sites are released until 7 p.m. The reservation fee is about $6.50 online.

A few wrinkles worth knowing: some parks require a two-night minimum on weekends (Big Lake, Lake of the Ozarks, St. Joe, Mark Twain, Wakonda, Wallace, Watkins Mill), and the busiest holidays carry an arrival-date penalty. Hot holidays have an arrival-date rule: change your arrival date after booking one on the first day of the window and you forfeit two nights. It applies to the trout-park opener (March 1) at Bennett Spring, Montauk, and Roaring River, plus Memorial Day, July 3–4, and Labor Day.

Campsite types & what they cost

Four campsite types: Basic (no hookups), Electric, Electric/Water, and Sewer/Electric/Water (full hookup). You're charged for the utilities available at the site whether you use them or not. Electric sites are 20/30/50-amp; more than 1,200 sites have 50-amp.

Nightly rates run about $13–$37 depending on hookups and park, plus the reservation fee. Exact per-park prices are on the state-parks camping-fees page.

Value camping (lower-priced sites) is offered at nine parks: Graham Cave, Lake Wappapello, Pomme de Terre, Robertsville, Stockton, Harry S Truman, Mark Twain, Annie & Abel Van Meter, Washington.

A $2-per-night discount applies for campers who are disabled, 65 or older, or military. (The federal Senior Pass is issued at 62, so it doesn't prove the 65+ rate — bring other ID.)

The basic rules

  • Check-in begins at 3 p.m.; checkout is 2 p.m. (Take all your trash with you.)
  • Stay limit: 15 days in any 30-day period at one park.
  • A campsite holds two sleeping units (only one on wheels), two vehicles, and six people — all doubled at a family campsite.
  • Quiet hours are 10 p.m.–6 a.m.; non-camping visitors leave by 10 p.m.; generators are generally off during quiet hours.
  • No entrance fee, ever — you pay only for the campsite and what you use.

The season

Electric hookups run year-round at most parks; water and showers run about April 1–Oct. 31. The three trout parks open about Feb. 25, Table Rock runs about March–November, and a few northern parks start April 15.

Check current status before you leave

Campgrounds open and close with the season and the weather. Before you drive out, check:

  • Park or site status and any closures
  • Road closures and whether the campground is seasonal
  • Campground water and shower availability
  • Burn bans in dry weather
  • River and lake levels (and flood risk for gravel-bar and lakeside sites)

Staying in a cabin or yurt instead? See Cabins, yurts & lodging. Looking for a specific park? See the marquee parks.

Before you go

Missouri Porch explains; the agency that runs your campground decides.

Last checked: 2026-06-18. Prices, dates, reservation rules, and closures change — confirm with the agency that runs your campground before you go.

This is a plain-English summary, not the official rulebook. Camping spans five different agencies, and each sets its own rules — always confirm with the agency that runs your campground before you go.

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