Best Tent Camping: Missouri & the Ozarks: Your Car-Camping Guide to Scenic Beauty, the Sounds of Nature, and an Escape from Civilization

by Steve Henry

Overview

Best Tent Camping: Missouri and the Ozarks by Steve Henry leads readers to 50 quiet and beautiful camping hideaways in Missouri and northwest Arkansas. In addition to scenic beauty and relaxing atmosphere, campground profiles also include tips for outdoor activities and points of interest.

Best in Tent Camping Missouri and the Ozarks is unique and important simply because there's no similar printed guide available. Key Information and Campground Ratings boxes prominently displayed in each chapter make it easy for readers to scan and find a camping spot perfect for their weekend getaway.

Have a history buff in your group? Several campgrounds are located near historic sites and many others were constructed by CCC companies in the 1930s. Rivers for floating, tubing, or fishing are covered too. Camping with a road biker? Several profiles recommend good road biking loops. Especially helpful is a set of "Best For..." lists in the front of the book, guiding readers to the best campgrounds for scenic beauty, families, hiking, swimming, cycling and mountain biking, canoeing, and more.

Whether campers are looking for a place where they can also go fishing, hiking, or canoeing or the best sites for photography, Henry provides plenty of information to make choosing the right campsite easy. Not only does each campsite profile include a description and map, Henry has even included ratings on the beauty, privacy, spaciousness, and cleanliness of each site. Best Tent Camping: Missouri and the Ozarks makes planning your camping trip easy and enjoyable!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780897326766
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Series:	Best Tent Camping
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Steve Henry grew up on a farm in the rolling hills of central Kansas, spending much of his youth working under the blue skies of the plains. After earning bachelor's degrees in Marketing and Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, he served a sentence of seven years in the offices of an insurance company. Missing the outdoor life, he left the insurance company in 1985 to cycle across the continent twice, including one trek from Anchorage, Alaska to Key West, Florida.

In the years following those treks he's organized triathlons and other events, led bicycle and backpack tours, written several articles for cycling publications and outdoor websites, and enjoyed many hiking and camping trips. Steve is the author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: St. Louis from Menasha Ridge Press, now in its third edition, and was the author of Mountain Bike! The Ozarks, also from Menasha Ridge Press.

In the late 2000s a chance encounter drew him to southeast Utah. New friends introduced him the beauty found in that landscape's maze of canyons, and the mysterious Anasazi ruins and rock art hidden within this labyrinth lead him back to Utah every year. When he's not camping, hiking, or biking around Missouri, and Arkansas, and Utah Steve sees the country from the driver's seat of a Peterbilt 379.

Read an Excerpt

34
Paddy Creek Recreation Area
Paddy Creek Recreation Area is perfect for exploring the 7,000-acre Paddy Creek Wilderness on the 17-mile Big Piney Trail.

Beauty: 5
Privacy: 5
Spaciousness: 4
Quiet: 5
Security: 4
Cleanliness: 5

Address: Paddy Creek Recreation Area
Mark Twain National Forest
108 S. Sam Houston Boulevard
Houston, MO 65483
Operated by: U.S. Forest Service
Contact: [phone]; fs.usda.gov/mtnf
Open: Apr. 1-Nov. 30; camping permitted in picnic area Dec. 1-Mar. 31
Sites: 23
Each site has: Table, lantern pole, fire pit with grate
Assignment: First come, first served
Registration: Donation box at loop entrance
Facilities: Vault toilets, trails; no water
Parking: At individual site
Fee: Donations accepted
Elevation: 890 ft.
Restrictions: Pets: On leash only
Fires: In fire pits
Alcohol: Allowed, subject to local ordinances
Vehicles: Up to 34 ft.
Other: 14-day stay limit

Paddy Creek Recreation Area isn't just another nice campground—it's my favorite Missouri camping spot. I love Paddy Creek's beauty, but fun memories make it special for me, too. I'll never forget waking in predawn darkness one April morning and hearing a low voice from the next site murmur, "I've got a shotgun, you've got a shotgun, he's got a shotgun . . . I guess we're ready to go." I chuckled in my sleeping bag, thankful I knew it was turkey season.

Spending a few nights at Paddy Creek might put this campground at the top of your list too. Tall bluffs overlook Paddy Creek as it curves around the campground to join the Big Piney River to the east. The campground is at the end of the road into the recreation area, so it's remote and quiet. A cooling splash in Paddy Creek is less than 200 feet from all sites. Distance between the sites is good, and all except site 23 are well shaded. Even so, I really like site 23. One tree shades its table, and an open grassy area stretches north of it. It's well suited for several tents, and its grassy field is perfect for Frisbee, sunbathing, or stargazing. Sites 14 and 15 are the best sites at Paddy Creek, overlooking the stream at the end of the campground road.

A terrific campground for hikers, Paddy Creek is located at the eastern edge of the 7,000-acre Paddy Creek Wilderness Area. The Big Paddy and Little Paddy Creeks meander through the wilderness area. You can explore the hills and hollows around these creeks on the 17-mile Big Piney Trail. A cutoff divides this long and narrow loop into two sections, making it perfect for weekend hikers. You can hike the east half of the wilderness on a Saturday ramble of around 12 miles, then poke around the west half on a 9-mile jaunt on Sunday. A map of Paddy Creek Wilderness is posted at the pay station in the campground, or you can print one off the Mark Twain National Forest's website. Maps and trail signs for the wilderness are confusing, referring to a South Loop and a North Loop. They really refer to the north and south sides of the Big Piney Trail. These two sides meet near Roby Lake Picnic Area, the trailhead for hiking the west half of the Big Piney Trail.

You can hike the east half of the Big Piney right from your campsite. Don't bother to walk to the trailhead—just cross the creek next to the camp, push about 100 feet through the woods, and turn right onto the north-side trail. Just over a mile later you'll be enjoying a beautiful overlook of the campground and the hills to the south—a wonderful place to watch the sunset. A half-mile farther is the Big Piney Trail Camp, designed for equestrians. With picnic tables in a grove of pines, it's a great place for a picnic. The trail crosses FS 220 3 miles into your hike. For an easy 5-mile loop, you can turn left here and follow the road back to camp.

West of FS 220 the trail enters the wilderness. About 1 mile in you'll cross a stream that's usually dry. About a quarter-mile down this wash is a beautiful little box canyon and spring. Another mile past the spring is the cutoff that cuts 1 mile across the loop to the south side of the Big Piney Trail, where a left turn heads toward the campground. The cutoff crosses Little Paddy Creek, so in spring you might get wet feet. About a half-mile before reaching camp you'll get wet again, this time crossing Big Paddy Creek in a pretty bottomland just west of camp.

Don't blow off the west half of the Big Piney Trail from Roby Lake, especially in spring, when the creeks are flowing strongly. Three miles along the south side the trail hugs several hundred yards of steep cliffs overlooking the headwaters of Little Paddy Creek. This vista faces southeast, so it's a wonderful place for a snack or napping in the morning sun. On the north side, 2.5 miles east of the trailhead, there's a rocky streambed with ledges and cascades. When the creek is flowing, an exquisite little waterfall pours off an 8-foot undercut ledge. The waterfall's undercut is so deep that you can scramble underneath and admire the wilderness through a sparkling curtain of water.

Two short trails in the area are worth a look, too. The 1-mile Paddy Creek Trail starts at the picnic area and explores the creek banks to the west. Its best feature is a spectacular overlook, complete with benches and boulders for watching the sunset. The other short hike is the 2-mile Slabtown Bluff Trail at nearby Slabtown Bluff Picnic Area, a few miles to the east. It follows the Big Piney River, then climbs to a bluff overlook with beautiful vistas.

Note: To reach Roby Lake Picnic Area and the west trailhead for the Big Piney Trail, drive 1 mile north of Success, a small town west of Paddy Creek, on MO 17 to FS 274, then go east a half-mile to Roby Lake.

Drive 13 miles west from Licking on MO 32 to Paddy Creek Road (FS 220). Turn right and follow this gravel road 6 miles north to Paddy Creek Recreation Area. Turn right and drive past the picnic area and trailhead to the campground at the end of the paved road.

GPS Coordinates N37"33.463' W92"2.934'

Table of Contents

STATE AND COUNTY PARKS
01 ARROW ROCK STATE HISTORIC SITE
02 CUIVRE RIVER STATE PARK
03 HAWN STATE PARK
04 JOHNSON'S SHUT-INS STATE PARK
05 KLONDIKE PARK
06 MERAMEC STATE PARK
07 ST. FRANCOIS STATE PARK
08 SAM A. BAKER STATE PARK
09 TAUM SAUK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK
10 TRAIL OF TEARS STATE PARK
11 WALLACE STATE PARK
12 WASHINGTON STATE PARK
13 WESTON BEND STATE PARK

OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS
14 ALLEY SPRING
15 BAY CREEK
16 BIG SPRING
17 LOGYARD PRIMITIVE CAMPGROUND
18 POWDER MILL
19 PULLTITE
20 ROUND SPRING
21 TWO RIVERS

MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST
22 BERRYMAN RECREATION AREA
23 BIG BAY RECREATION AREA
24 COUNCIL BLUFFS RECREATION AREA
25 DEER LEAP AND FLOAT CAMP RECREATION AREAS
26 DRY FORK RECREATION AREA
27 GREER CROSSING RECREATION AREA
28 LANE SPRING RECREATION AREA
29 LOGGERS LAKE RECREATION AREA
30 MARBLE CREEK RECREATION AREA
31 MARKHAM SPRINGS RECREATION AREA
32 MCCORMACK LAKE RECREATION AREA
33 NORTH FORK RECREATION AREA
34 PADDY CREEK RECREATION AREA
35 PINE RIDGE RECREATION AREA
36 RED BLUFF RECREATION AREA
37 SILVER MINES RECREATION AREA
38 SUTTON BLUFF RECREATION AREA
39 WATERCRESS SPRING RECREATION AREA

BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER
40 KYLES LANDING
41 OZARK
42 STEEL CREEK
43 TYLER BEND

OZARK NATIONAL FOREST
44 BLANCHARD SPRINGS RECREATION AREA
45 GUNNER POOL RECREATION AREA
46 HAW CREEK FALLS CAMPGROUND
47 REDDING CAMPGROUND
48 RICHLAND CREEK CAMPGROUND
49 SHORES LAKE RECREATION AREA
50 WHITE ROCK MOUNTAIN RECREATION AREA