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Ozark Outdoors Resort

Few Ozark destinations pack as much river adventure into a single address as Ozark Outdoors Resort, a sprawling riverfront property on the Meramec that has been welcoming families to Leasburg, Missouri, since 1960. The resort lines one and a half miles of the Meramec's scenic banks with more than 200 RV sites, motel rooms, cabins, and tent sites—enough variety to accommodate any travel style under the towering hardwoods and limestone bluffs that define this corner of Crawford County. A full roster of water-based recreation, aerial adventure, and evening dining ensures guests rarely need to leave the property once they've settled in. RV sites range from primitive to full hookup with 20/30/50-amp electrical service, water, and sewer, and a picnic table and fire ring accompany each site regardless of hookup level. Cabin options span rustic Country Log Cabins and Deluxe Kozy Cabins to motel rooms, condos, and group retreat lodging, giving the resort the flexibility to host family reunions, corporate outings, and church groups as easily as solo travelers. The Meramec Mercantile supplies camping essentials on-site, while the Paddlers Bar and Grill serves seasonal meals and cold drinks at the water's edge. Float trips on the Meramec, Courtois, and Huzzah Rivers form the beating heart of the Ozark Outdoors experience, with canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals available for half-day or multi-day journeys through crystalline Ozark spring-fed water. For those who prefer their adventure overhead, the Floating Treetops Aerial Park delivers 36 unique challenge elements across six ziplines suspended among the forest canopy—a course that engages first-time climbers and seasoned adventure seekers alike. Sand volleyball, horseshoes, and a swimming pool add land-based options when the river crowd thins in the late afternoon. The Meramec River corridor hosts some of Missouri's most spectacular cave country, with Onondaga Cave State Park just upstream offering guided boat and lantern tours through one of the Midwest's finest show caves. Meramec State Park, a few miles east on Highway 185, provides additional hiking trails, cave tours, and a family aquatic center popular with summer visitors. The resort's position between St. Louis—about 75 miles northeast—and the Missouri Ozarks interior makes it a natural launching point for exploring the Salem Plateau, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and the Current River corridor to the south. Float trip season runs April through October, with June and July delivering the warmest water and the most festive atmosphere on the Meramec, when the resort's campground fills with the laughter of families who have made the Ozark Outdoors float trip an annual tradition. Spring and fall bring lower crowds, quieter campsites, and a more contemplative Ozark experience for those who prefer their river adventure without holiday weekend energy. Reservations are strongly recommended for summer weekends and holiday blocks—the combination of riverfront camping and the Floating Treetops aerial park draws visitors from across the Midwest, and popular cabin styles book months in advance.

Candy Cane RV Park & Campground

9 RV Sites, 3 Tent Sites

Candy Cane RV Park & Campground in Steelville, Missouri, offers nine full-hookup RV sites and three tent sites three minutes from downtown, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. An outdoor pool, mini-golf, and a family-owned operation that charges nothing extra for the shower house or dump station make this an intentionally small-scale Ozarks stop. Nine sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30-amp back-in and 50-amp pull-through configurations, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Three tent sites cover simpler camping. Laundry, restrooms, showers, a dump station, and WiFi handle the practical side — and the shower house and dump station carry no charge, which small family-owned Ozark campgrounds maintain as a point of hospitality. An outdoor pool anchors the warm months, with an 18-hole miniature golf course, sports courts, basketball, volleyball, and a pavilion filling the grounds. Swimming, fishing, hiking, and picnicking run from the area, with live music through the season and a state park nearby. Pets are welcome. Steelville sits in the Meramec River valley at the heart of the Missouri Ozarks, where spring-fed streams, float rivers, and karst geology of the Salem Plateau created Missouri's float-trip camping culture. The Meramec River is five miles away and Meramec Spring Park — with its natural spring, trout hatchery, and trail system — is ten minutes out. Downtown Steelville's restaurants, including Rich's Famous Burgers and the Spare Rib Inn, are three minutes from the sites. Float season drives summer demand. With nine sites, reserve well ahead for any warm-weather weekend.

from $25/night

Pin Oak RV Resort

144 RV Sites, 5 Cabins

Pin Oak RV Resort in Villa Ridge, Missouri, is a full-hookup resort with cabin rentals, an outdoor pool, a lake with a beach, a recreation center and mini-golf, 40 miles west of St. Louis on the historic Route 66 corridor. Sites take rigs up to 65 feet, and each site allows a maximum of eight people. Full-hookup RV sites accommodate rigs to 65 feet. Cabin rentals serve guests traveling without an RV, and personal mailboxes and on-site laundry support the longer-stay and seasonal guests the resort draws. A general store stocks camp basics, propane fills and firewood are available, and bathrooms and showers are on site. WiFi reaches the property. No wristbands are required to use the amenities; visitors pay $10 per car and check in at the office, and they are welcome to use the pool and other facilities. On-site recreation is the resort's strength. An outdoor pool and a lake with its own beach cover the swimming season, and fishing is available on the property's lake and pond. Mini-golf, a ball field, sports courts, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes and shuffleboard spread across the grounds, with an arcade, ping pong and a craft room in the recreation center for indoor days. Walking and hiking trails run the property, a playground and a covered pavilion serve families and groups, and a fenced dog park is on site. Pets are welcome. Meramec Caverns is 10 miles east in Stanton — a 4.6-mile cave system with five stories of limestone formations and the barn-billboard advertising legacy that made it Route 66's most pre-advertised roadside stop. The Meramec River sustains one of Missouri's most actively paddled float corridors, and Hermann's German-heritage wineries are 35 miles west. Pin Oak operates year-round. Spring and fall are the most comfortable seasons for Route 66 driving, cave touring and Meramec floating, and the winter months carry steady snowbird traffic using I-44 south. Reserve ahead for summer peak and for the April-to-October float season.

from $40/night

Big Creek RV Park/ Arcadia Meadow Campground LLC

In the St. Francois Mountains of Iron County, Missouri—some of the most ancient and geologically remarkable terrain in the American Midwest—Big Creek RV Park and Arcadia Meadow Campground occupies a wooded setting on Highway 49 in Annapolis that puts guests within easy reach of a concentration of Missouri state parks that is unmatched anywhere in the state. The campground's 63 sites, family activity programming, and property features including a swimming pool, petting zoo, mining sluice, and on-site coffee shop make it the kind of family-friendly operation that creates returning guests, while the outdoor recreation potential surrounding the property makes it a base camp with genuine depth for the outdoors-focused traveler. Memaw's Coffee & Italian Soda Shoppe alone is worth a detour from I-55. All 63 RV sites are big-rig friendly with 30 and 50-amp full hookup service, and 21 of those sites are pull-through configurations for stress-free arrival and departure with large rigs. Free basic WiFi, cable TV, and private shower suites reflect a facility that takes the comfort dimension seriously alongside the outdoor programming. A swimming pool serves as the warm-weather gathering point, and the campground store carries propane, ice, wood, and camping essentials. The on-site coffee shop—Memaw's Coffee & Italian Soda Shoppe—provides a morning ritual that guests consistently identify as one of the small pleasures that makes the campground feel like more than a parking lot with hookups. Sunday morning worship services, organized for guests who want them, reflect the ownership's community-oriented values without imposing on guests who prefer a quieter Sunday morning. The campground's programming calendar is notably active. Kids' crafts, scavenger hunts, rubber duck races in the creek, hayrides, ice cream socials, and seasonal events through Fall Fest—held every weekend in October with pumpkin carving and costume contests—create a social calendar that gives repeat visitors specific event-weekends to anchor return trips. A petting zoo, catch-and-release fishing pond, mining sluice for gold and gem panning, volleyball, horseshoes, and a playground provide recreation across age ranges, and the property's creek access adds a natural dimension that the organized programming complements rather than replaces. The St. Francois Mountains surrounding Annapolis form some of the oldest exposed rock in North America—ancient granite and rhyolite worn to rounded knobs over billions of years—and the state parks they anchor are among Missouri's most celebrated. Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, where the Black River forces its way through granite gorges in a natural water park that is one of Missouri's most spectacular attractions, is within close reach. Elephant Rocks State Park, where massive granite boulders the size of elephants are accessible on a short paved trail, is a geological marvel that delights all ages. Taum Sauk Mountain State Park—the highest point in Missouri and site of the Tom Sauk reservoir—and Fort Davidson State Historic Site add historical and geographical dimensions to the park touring itinerary. The Black River provides floating, tubing, and fishing access throughout the season. Big Creek RV Park and Arcadia Meadow Campground operates year-round with peak demand through summer and the October Fall Fest season. Johnson's Shut-Ins is a summer bucket-list destination that draws significant traffic from across the Midwest, and proximity to it creates strong campground demand from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Reserve early for summer weekends and October event weekends, and let the St. Francois Mountains show what ancient geology looks like when a river decides to go through it instead of around it.

from $48/night

Eminence Cottages and Camp

7 RV Sites, 4 Tent Sites

Eminence Cottages and Camp in Eminence, Missouri, offers seven full-hookup RV sites and four tent sites in the heart of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 80 feet. Pull-through categories join cottages, a hot tub and sauna, and kayak rentals in Shannon County. Seven pull-through sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 20/30-amp and 30/50-amp service, sized to 80 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The 80-foot capacity is generous for a small property. Four tent sites and cottages round out the accommodations. A general store, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. With seven RV sites, reserve well ahead. Pets are welcome. Kayak rentals are available on site, which matters here — the rivers are the reason to come, and having boats on the property removes the outfitter logistics. A hot tub and sauna, pavilion, sports courts, volleyball, corn hole, and walking trails fill the grounds, with hiking, canoeing, and kayaking from the area and a golf course nearby. Eminence sits in one of Missouri's most remote and purely beautiful rural counties, where the Jacks Fork and the Current River flow cold and spring-clear through forested limestone valleys protected under the National Park Service since 1964. For guests wanting immersive access to the Ozarks' most celebrated float rivers with comfort infrastructure for multi-day stays, this is the deepest access point in the region. Float season runs spring through fall, peaking in summer. Reserve well ahead for warm-weather weekends.

from $29 $25/night

Perryville RV Resort

73 RV Sites, 8 Cabins

The Mississippi River bluffs region of southeast Missouri is one of the most historically layered corridors in the state — a landscape where French colonial settlement, Cherokee removal history, and nineteenth-century river commerce have left their marks across a countryside of surprising scenic beauty. Perryville RV Resort by RJourney sits just off I-55 in Perryville, serving travelers who move between St. Louis and Memphis and those who come specifically to spend time in a corner of Missouri that rewards exploration well beyond the interstate itself. Sites at the resort include both standard and pull-through configurations with full hookups and 30- and 50-amp electric service, and a selection of pet-friendly cabins provides solid-wall accommodations for guests who prefer them. A swimming pool, Wi-Fi, and level gravel pads that accommodate larger motorhomes with ease make Perryville RV Resort a comfortable stopping point that exceeds typical highway-corridor standards. The staff's reputation for going beyond the basics to ensure a comfortable stay is a consistent theme among returning guests who make this campground a regular fixture in their southeast Missouri travels. Perry County's rolling farm country and the Mississippi River floodplain define the surrounding terrain, and the proximity to the river's dramatic limestone bluffs gives the region a scenic texture that surprises many travelers who know southeast Missouri only from the interstate. The back roads south of I-55 trace a scenic corridor through vintage river towns, family farms, and old Catholic mission sites that reflect the deep French and German heritage of this corner of the state — a half-day driving loop worth adding to any multi-night stay. The bluffs above the Mississippi in this stretch of the state reach heights that create overlooks of genuine grandeur — the kind of views that make a short detour off I-55 feel like a different country from the flat river corridor below. Trail of Tears State Park, about 30 minutes north near Jackson, preserves bluff-top forest with views over the Mississippi River and interprets the tragic history of the 1838 Cherokee removal — a sobering and worthwhile half-day excursion. Ste. Genevieve, just 25 minutes away, is Missouri's oldest permanent European settlement, with French colonial architecture, artisan wineries, and a National Historical Park that together make it one of the most rewarding day-trip destinations in the region. St. Louis is 80 miles north, putting the Gateway Arch, Forest Park, and Busch Stadium within comfortable day-trip range for guests staying multiple nights. Perryville RV Resort operates year-round, with the I-55 corridor keeping it accessible even during shoulder seasons when other campgrounds in the region reduce operations. Spring and fall offer the most comfortable conditions for exploring Ste. Genevieve's streets and Trail of Tears State Park's bluff trails. Any time the travel itinerary takes you through southeast Missouri, this campground consistently delivers a quality stay in a region where genuinely good overnight options are limited.

from $48/night

Rustic Trails RV Park

10 RV Sites, 5 Tent Sites

Rustic Trails RV Park in Phillipsburg, Missouri, offers 10 full-hookup pull-through RV sites and five tent sites in the Ozarks, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted up to 116 feet — an unusually generous length allowance for a park this size. An outdoor pool, on-site lake, and woodland walking trails round out a family-oriented property. Ten pull-through sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 116 feet. Every site pulls through, and the 116-foot capacity handles essentially any rig with a tow. Five tent sites cover simpler camping. Laundry, propane fills, a dump station, restrooms, showers, and WiFi handle the practical side. Pets are welcome. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a lake on the property for fishing and swimming. A game room, playground, pavilion, community fire pit, volleyball, and woodland walking trails fill the grounds. For 10 sites, the amenity set is genuinely broad, and the family atmosphere is much of what brings guests back. Phillipsburg sits in the south-central Missouri Ozarks, where forested hills, spring-fed streams, and clear lakes over dolomite and limestone topography create the landscape that has made this a preferred destination for Missouri and Midwest visitors seeking quiet, affordable outdoor recreation. The park serves the Ozark season, with summer lake and pool use driving the peak and fall color bringing a second wave. With 10 RV sites, reserve well ahead for summer weekends and holiday periods.

from $44/night

Coconuts RV Resort

39 RV Sites, 5 Houses

At the 7-mile mark of the Gravois Arm on Lake of the Ozarks in Gravois Mills, Missouri, Coconuts RV Resort has built one of the most distinctly resort-oriented lakefront campground experiences in the Midwest—a property where the swim-up bar at the adult pool, live music at Coconuts Bar and Grill, a water park, a marina with boat rentals, and the particular social energy of Lake of the Ozarks summer culture combine into an experience that functions more like a tropical lake resort than a traditional campground. If the Ozarks lake life is the goal, Coconuts is the campground built specifically to deliver it at the highest available intensity. Waterfront RV sites—available on both annual and nightly rates—position guests as close to the Gravois Arm as the property's lakeside layout permits, and the resort's amenity concentration is specifically designed for the guest who came to the lake to be on the lake in every possible way. Multiple pools anchor the aquatic recreation program, including separate private adult and family pools with a swim-up bar that is the resort's most distinctive social feature. A water park extends the aquatic programming for families. A 24-hour fitness center, dog park, pickleball, and tennis courts serve the health-and-recreation-oriented guests who supplement the lake activities with on-property options. Coconuts Bar and Grill operates on-site with live music and the social energy that Lake of the Ozarks visitors specifically seek from a lakefront entertainment destination. A 16-stall shower house serves the resident and nightly guest population at the scale the resort's site count requires. Arcade games, billiards, laundry facilities, and retail shops provide the complete on-property infrastructure. The Gravois Arm's position at the Lake of the Ozarks' southern reach gives Coconuts a water character defined by the lake's recreational intensity during summer months. The 54,000-acre reservoir—created by Bagnell Dam on the Osage River in 1931 and covering 1,150 miles of shoreline—is the Midwest's most concentrated summer lake recreation destination, with boat traffic, water skiing, tubing, and the general organized chaos of a lake that exists primarily to be enjoyed. The Gravois Arm's marinas and the resort's marina-with-boat-rentals give guests who didn't trailer a watercraft the access to the lake that the entire Coconuts experience is built around. Lake of the Ozarks State Park—Missouri's largest state park—provides a natural counterpoint to the resort character of the lake's commercial development, with 85 miles of undeveloped shoreline, hiking trails, two swimming beaches, and the geology of the Ozark Plateau on full display in the park's interior. Ha Ha Tonka State Park, with its dramatic karst springs, caves, and the castle ruins of a 20th-century Ozarks estate, is one of the most unusual and visually striking natural sites in Missouri and accessible for a half-day excursion that provides welcome contrast to the lake's summer intensity. Coconuts RV Resort operates seasonally aligned with the Lake of the Ozarks recreational season—the property is at its most vibrant from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with shoulder-season programming in May and September providing a quieter alternative for guests who want the lake without the summer-weekend crowd density. The swim-up bar and live music fill the social calendar during peak season. Reserve your waterfront site early for summer holiday weekends, bring the boat or rent one from the marina, and let the Ozarks lake culture do what it was built to do.

from $44/night

Fishing Tales Resort

11 RV Sites

Fishing Tales Resort in Lebanon, Missouri, provides a cabin and full hookup RV resort experience in Laclede County's Ozark hill country just miles from Bennett Spring State Park, where one of Missouri's most beloved spring-fed trout fisheries draws dedicated fly fishers and trout stocking enthusiasts to the Niangua River corridor in the heart of the Ozark Plateau. The resort's strategic position in the Bennett Spring fishing community serves the dedicated angling visitors whose Lebanon-area stays are structured around the daily hatchery-release fishing at Bennett Spring alongside the broader Ozark outdoor recreation landscape of rivers, state parks, and the clear-sky stargazing that remote Laclede County's low light pollution makes genuinely spectacular. The resort's amenity package serves both fishing-focused and broader outdoor recreation visitors: cabin rentals for enclosed group accommodation, full hookup RV sites, an outdoor pool, hot tub and sauna for post-fishing relaxation, general store for tackle and essential supplies, laundry, showers, playground, and Wi-Fi provide the complete infrastructure for extended angling and outdoor recreation stays. River and stream access through the property connects guests directly to the Ozark waterway system that defines the region's recreational character, and the stargazing enabled by Laclede County's distance from major metropolitan light pollution creates evening recreation of genuine quality alongside the basketball court's daytime social activity. The bird and wildlife watching in the surrounding Ozark woodland adds naturalist appeal to the fishing-centered itinerary. Bennett Spring State Park, approximately 12 miles west of Lebanon via MO-64, is one of Missouri's most intensively visited fishing destinations and the site of Missouri's annual opening trout season on the first Thursday of March—a cultural tradition in which thousands of anglers gather at the spring before dawn to participate in the season's first stocking release in a communal fishing event unique in the American fishing calendar. The park's crystal-clear spring, discharging an average of 100 million gallons of cold water daily at a constant 56 degrees, creates a year-round trout habitat in a natural spring branch of exceptional clarity and beauty that has been Missouri's most popular trout fishing site for over a century. The Gasconade River, Missouri's most consistently productive float fishing stream for smallmouth bass, flows through Laclede County and the surrounding Ozark counties in a clear-water float corridor that canoe outfitters have served from the Bennett Spring area since the mid-twentieth century development of float fishing as the Ozarks' dominant recreational water activity. Lake of the Ozarks, approximately 25 miles northeast of Lebanon, provides the Ozarks' largest reservoir with marinas, boat rentals, and the entertainment infrastructure of the Lake of the Ozarks community that supplements the Lebanon area's natural outdoor recreation with commercial lake resort amenities. Fishing Tales Resort operates year-round in Laclede County's Ozark climate, with the Bennett Spring trout season from March 1 through October 31 driving the most intense fishing-related demand and the March 1 opening day creating the resort's single most anticipated reservation window of the entire year. Summer's warm Ozark temperatures make the pool and hot tub the most popular on-property recreation, and fall's foliage season in October transforms the Ozark ridges surrounding Lebanon into a hardwood color display that extends the resort's appeal beyond the dedicated fishing community to the broader Ozark outdoor recreation visitors who follow the season's color progression south from Missouri's northern counties.

from $50/night

Jellystone Park™ Mark Twain Lake

7 RV Sites, 33 Cabins, 12 Tent Sites, 1 Lodge

Jellystone Park at Mark Twain Lake in Monroe City, Missouri, delivers the full Yogi Bear resort camping experience on the shores of Mark Twain Lake—a 18,600-acre reservoir on the Salt River in the northeastern Missouri prairie—creating a destination that combines one of the Midwest's most comprehensive Jellystone activity rosters with the fishing, boating, and natural exploration opportunities of a major Missouri reservoir set in the landscape of Mark Twain's boyhood territory along the Mississippi River's western bank. The park's extraordinary amenity depth and the lake's recreational resources combine to make this one of the Jellystone system's most capable Midwest family destinations. The park's resort infrastructure is exceptional even by Jellystone standards: a water park with splash pad, lazy river, and pool, mini-golf, a snack bar, bar, boutique shop, general store, golf cart rentals, boat storage, RV storage, full hookup sites, and cabin rentals form the physical plant, while the activity calendar delivers gold panning and gem mining, jumping pillow, gaga ball, horseshoes, corn hole, laser tag, volleyball, basketball, biking, stargazing, live music and entertainment, and the signature Yogi Bear character experiences that define the Jellystone brand's family entertainment identity. The pond and lake access extend the fishing and non-motorized water recreation opportunities beyond the water park. Mark Twain Lake, completed in 1984 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, was named in honor of Missouri's most celebrated literary son—Samuel Clemens, who grew up in Hannibal on the Mississippi River approximately 35 miles east of Monroe City—and the reservoir's name celebrates the connection between the northeastern Missouri landscape and the American literature it produced. The Salt River's impoundment created a diverse fishery for largemouth and striped bass, white crappie, walleye, and channel catfish in a reservoir whose numerous coves and points provide structure that supports one of Missouri's most productive multi-species fishing environments. Mark Twain's Hannibal, on the Mississippi River approximately 35 miles east via US-36, is the defining pilgrimage destination for American literature enthusiasts—a small Mississippi River city where the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, the cave that inspired Tom Sawyer's adventures in McDougal's Cave, Cardiff Hill, and the riverfront that shaped Clemens's imagination are preserved and interpreted in a heritage district that draws visitors from across the world. The Mark Twain State Park on the lake's shore provides additional fishing access, camping, and hiking in the surrounding oak and hickory woodland. Jellystone Park Mark Twain Lake operates seasonally from spring through early fall, with summer's school-vacation peak filling the water park and Jellystone activity programming from June through August and the fall fishing season extending meaningful outdoor recreation through October. The summer holiday weekends—Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day—represent the most competitive reservation periods, and families targeting these windows should book as early as the reservation system allows. The lake's consistent bass fishing, the water park's multi-activity recreation, and the Mark Twain heritage day trip create a vacation package of genuine depth for Midwest families within driving distance of northeastern Missouri.

from $25/night

Jellystone Park™ Pittsfield

90 RV Sites, 52 Cabins, 5 Tent Sites, 4 Glamping Sites, 6 Cottages

Jellystone Park Pittsfield in Illinois offers 90 RV sites, 52 cabins, five tent sites, and four glamping sites on a private lake, with 30 and 50-amp full hookups and rigs accepted to 60 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, open all year. Back-in and pull-through categories at both amperages join a splash pad, beach, jumping pillow, and boat rentals. Ninety sites run in back-in 30-amp, back-in 50/30-amp, and pull-through 50/30-amp categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric with site WiFi, sized to 60 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Fifty-two cabins, five tent sites, and four glamping sites make the lodging inventory unusually deep. A general store, boutique shop, laundry, propane fills and exchange, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. Day passes run 11am to 6pm and include the jumping pillow, wibit, pool, slide, splash pad, paddle boards, and kayaks. A splash pad and outdoor pool anchor the summer, with a private lake, beach, and boat rentals supporting swimming, boating, paddle boats, paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, inflatable water toys, and fishing. A jumping pillow, arcade, game room, gem mining, sports courts, volleyball, gaga ball, horseshoes, golf cart rentals, walking trails, hiking, biking, a recreation center, playground, pavilion, dog park, bar, and snack bar fill the rest. Pike County sits where the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers define the western Illinois landscape. Summer is decisively the season. Reserve well ahead.

from $43/night

Ember Shoals Outdoor Resort

42 RV Sites

Ember Shoals Outdoor Resort in Cotter, Arkansas, provides a classic White River tailwater fishing camp on one of the world's most celebrated trout streams, where the cold, clear flows released from Bull Shoals Dam's depths create year-round water temperatures ideal for the rainbow and brown trout that have made the White River tailwater between Bull Shoals and Norfolk Lake a pilgrimage destination for fly fishermen across North America. The park's position directly on the White River in Baxter County gives guests the immediate river access—fishing from the bank, the dock, or launching drift boats and jonboats for guided float fishing—that defines the Cotter experience for anglers whose primary purpose is time on one of the continent's most productive trout rivers. The park's facility reflects its identity as a working fishing camp built for anglers: full hookup sites, cabin rentals for the non-RV fishing party, a clubhouse, fishing guide services that provide local expertise on the White River's most productive trout holding lies and seasonal patterns, river access with boat dock, fishing pier, a store with supplies, propane fills and exchange, showers, bathrooms, laundry, and pet-friendly policies for the sporting dogs and companions that fishing trips include. The corn hole and outdoor social spaces serve the evening gathering culture of fishing camp life, and the White River's visible current from the camp creates the ambient background that reinforces the angling community identity of this Baxter County riverfront property. The White River's transformation from a warm-water Ozark stream into a world-class cold-water trout fishery is entirely attributable to the thermal stratification of Bull Shoals Lake—the cold hypolimnion water released from the dam's bottom gates throughout the year maintains water temperatures in the 45-58 degree range year-round regardless of ambient air temperature, creating a trout habitat that supports enormous rainbow and brown trout populations in a river system that the surrounding Ozark highland geology keeps exceptionally clear. The IGFA world record brown trout was caught on the White River below Bull Shoals Dam, and the river consistently produces trout in the 20-inch-plus range that draw serious fly and spin fishermen from the metropolitan areas of the Midwest and South. Cotter's position at the confluence of the White River and the North Fork of the White River creates the triangulated access to two high-quality tailwater trout streams from a single base camp, and the Buffalo National River—the first national river designated by Congress, 36 miles northwest via AR-62—provides the contrasting wilderness float trip experience in a pristine free-flowing Ozark river canyon of extraordinary beauty. Mountain Home, the Baxter County seat approximately 10 miles east, provides the restaurants, grocery, and commercial services that make extended fishing camp stays in Cotter comfortable. Ember Shoals Outdoor Resort operates year-round in Baxter County's Ozark climate, with the White River's cold tailwater temperatures supporting productive trout fishing in every season—the winter low-flow periods often produce the year's largest fish as trophy brown trout concentrate in the deep pools below the dam, and the summer crowds that warm-water lake destinations experience are absent from the Cotter tailwater where the cold, misty river retains its solitary fishing camp character regardless of season. Float fishing trips in drift boats guided by local outfitters represent the White River experience at its fullest, and the park's guide service connection provides immediate access to the expertise that makes first-time White River visitors most productive.

from $32/night