Missouri Areas
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Babler Memorial State Park
(6)
Bennett Springs State Park (8)
Branson
Ha Ha Tonka State Park
(1)
Jones Confluence State Park ?
Lake of the Ozarks
(4)
Meramec State Park
(2)
Robertson's State Park
(4)
Table Rock Lake state park (8)
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Babler Memorial State Park
Generally located: 30 miles south of St. Louis
on I-44
Best known for it's: brand new park and closest
park to St. Louis.
Part of our 7-12-09 trip where we went to Pere
Marquette, Babler, Robertson's, Meramec.
Phone:
Date stayed: 7-21-09 - just drove thru.
Directions: Off I-44, then about 15 miles.
Size of park: Medium
RV Camping: yes. Sites are close together.
Showers and restrooms:
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
none. Park is well managed and all dogs on leash.
Cabins: none
Length of trails:
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park:
Sites to see outside the park:
Pros: brand new park. Wide roads.
Cons: Exiting from the RV area, we scrapped the
bottom due to a drainage ditch.
Fishing:
Date built:
Dogs we took: Snowflake, Gap, Sache
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities: no
Other info:
Nearest cities: St. Louis
Website:
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Bennett Springs State Park
Generally located: Missouri - Half way between Tulsa and St.
Louis - 12 miles east of Lebanon off of I-44.
Best known for it's: beautiful park, trout fishing, canoeing,
small river runs thru it, lots of trees, nicely developed but
not overly so.
Phone:
Date stayed: 5-9-09. This trip we stayed first at Bennett
Springs, drove to Ha Ha Tonka state park. Then took the RV to
Lake of the Ozarks state park. Then went home on Wed. (big storm
was coming in and Marilyn had a birthday party to host for
Taylor on Sat. along with a lot of girls from Lois's work
place).
Directions: take I-44 out of Tulsa past Joplin and Springfield.
At Lebanon, turn west on hwy 64, about 12 miles.
Size of park: very large
RV Camping: 7 areas. 184 spots total. All 5 miles from the
entrance. Check out time - 2:00 PM on reservations. If you just
show up like we did, check out time if 3:00 PM !
we stayed at spot 530 - great spot. No one to the door side of
us. Just an open wooded area. In the turnaround area of the
road. To get water to our spot takes a 120' long hose. Area was
at the top of a steep hill (the overly nice RV area was at the
bottom of the hill).
No water on any RV spots in our area. The RV area with full
hookups (just a short distance down the big hill from us) was
all nicely paved with asphalt and concrete lined spots - it was
full. Very nice looking area but all spots very close together.
In Missouri, most spots are reservable. You can just show up and
take a spot but if someone calls in to reserve your spot, you
have to leave the next day.
Cost of RV spots:
Showers and restrooms: "shower house" was separate from the
bathrooms. Good bathrooms. Lavatories in both buildings.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
Cabins: lots of them.
Length of trails:
2 trails were washed out. Marilyn took off her shoes and socks
on one trail. I would not cross it.
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park:
Sites to see outside the park: Ha Ha State park - has the burned
out castle, Natural Bridge, Bridal Cave.
Pros:
Cons: Lots of ticks. Do not go in the summer.
Fishing:
Date built:
Other info:
Has a very nice restaurant we ate at. I had the pork sandwich
and Marilyn had chicken strips.
Nearest cities: Lebanon - 12 miles to the east.
Dogs we took: Snowflake (her first park), Sache, Gap. (we left
Katy at Stephens house in Catoosa).
Website:
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Branson (3-26-11 trip
with Stephen, Sarah, Bryson, Mymphis).
Generally located: Southwest Missouri
Best known for: Silver Dollar City
Phone: The Wilderness - 800-477-5164
Cost - $30 per night and you get a 14% discount
if you have a season pass to Silver Dollar City.
Date stayed: 3-26-11
Directions to The Wilderness:
From I-44 going into Springfield, take Hwy 65
south. There is a short cut hwy that takes you from I-44 to Hwy
65 on the south side of Springfield. It is hwy 360/ hwy 60
Exit at hwy 465 and go west until it dead ends
at Hwy 76 and turn left.
Go to the first light and turn left on Hwy 265.
Go 1/2 mile and it is on the right.
RV Camping: The Wilderness RV park in Hwy 265.
We stayed at spot# 45 - the best spot if you have dogs. There
was a large undeveloped area behind us where we can let the dogs
go to the bathroom. This spot was also wide enough for the RV
and 2 cars (most of the spots were narrow). They have a shuttle
to Silver Dollar city. Leaves at 9:00 am, 12:00 PM.
Showers and restrooms: the best. Showers have 2
doors. 2 separate shower areas in the same building.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
none.
Cabins: Yes, but no bathrooms in them!
Length of trails: none
Animals we saw: none
Pros: just a few miles from Branson.
Cons: None
Places we went to at Branson:
Dinosaur museum - cost $18 per person. Small
place. I don't recommend it.
Hollywood wax museum - fun place. Recommend it.
Ripley's Believe it or not - great fun place.
Mirror place - a small house of mirrors. You can
get lost here. Small place. A little fun (next door to the
Ripley's museum).
Silver Dollar city - On Sunday, it was so cold
we could not stay long. Marilyn got pneumonia because she was so
cold.
Showboat - we had tickets but could not get
there is time due to the flat.
Ride the Ducks - we had tickets but it was too
cold.
Places we ate at:
Short Small - a BBQ place. Very nice, modern,
and large.
Mollys Buffet - inside Silver Dollar City. Nice
but nothing special.
McFarlains - inside a small mall. The best
cornbread I ever had. Nice, modern, country cooking.
Lamberts - in Ozark - just north of Branson.
Famous place where they throw rolls at you. We didn't go here
unfortunately.
McDonalds in Ozark - Marilyn and I ate there on
the way back. Large parking area behind it to park the RV but
tricky to pull in off the street. There was a gas station across
the street that was easy to pull into with the RV on the back
and easy to get back on the highway. The gas station was small
however and as long a no one was getting gas on the one open
side of the gas pumps, then getting in was no problem,
otherwise, you cannot pull in. We left Branson on Monday morning and
arrived at Branson Saturday afternoon. In Ozark, there are alot of
restaurants
Hoods truck stop - On the way out of Branson,
just south of Springfield, MO. Exit 61 going south - great place
to stop. Huge parking area behind the truck stop with a place to
let the dogs run without leashes.
Other info:
We got a flat on the way up south of Springfield
on I44 on Saturday. We had tickets to the Showboat but had to
miss it.
Marilyn bought 2 self-propelled scooters at the
mall where McFarlain's was in.
We drove around Table Rock lake with Stephen and
Sarah and all in Stephen's minivan.
If you have a season pass to Silver Dollar city
- a lot of places give you a discount.
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Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Generally located: central Missouri - north of Bennett Springs
state park and south of Lake of the Ozarks state park.
Best known for it's: Bridal Cave, Robert Sydner Castle and tower
(vandals burned it down), River Cave Area (closed off however),
Natural Bridge (it is small).
Phone:
Date stayed: 5-10-09
Directions: North of Bennett Springs and south of Lake of the
Ozarks.
Size of park: small
RV Camping: None. Day use area.
Cost of RV spots: none
Showers and restrooms: a water less bathroom only.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes: none
Cabins: none
Length of trails: 1 trail at the castle. We walked it. Nothing
to see. Takes you by several glades (a sign tells you what a
glade is - don't look it up, it's not worth it).
Animals we saw: none
Sites to see inside the park: The castle overlooks a nice vista
of trees.
Sites to see outside the park:
Bridal Cave costs $15 per adult for a 1 hour guided tour. You
can get married here! We did not take the tour because Marilyn
did not want to wait.
Pros:
Cons:
Fishing: none.
Date built: 1906 - the castle.
Other info: it was raining that day and we got wet on the very
long wooden walking trail between the castle and tower and
natural bridge.
Day use area only.
Nearest cities:
Dogs we took: Snowflake, Gap, Sache.
Website:
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Jones Confluence State Park -
Generally located: North of St. Louis and south
of Alton. About 2 miles south of the Mississippi river.
Best known for it's:
Phone:
Date stayed: Park was closed due to high water
when we went by on 7-12-09
Directions:
Size of park:
RV Camping:
Showers and restrooms:
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
Cabins:
Length of trails:
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park:
Sites to see outside the park:
Pros:
Cons:
Fishing:
Date built:
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities:
Other info:
Nearest cities:
Website:
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Lake of the Ozarks
Generally located: central eastern Missouri
Best known for it's: resort area and overly developed areas
(think Grand Lake and Monkey Island and the Grove area).
Phone:
Date stayed: 11-11-09. Part of our trip that we first stayed at
Bennett Springs, then drove to Ha Ha.
Directions: North of Bennett Springs state park.
Size of park: 14,000 acres - the largest in Missouri
RV Camping: one very large area. Most spots are reservable.
Cost of RV spots: $19 night
Showers and restrooms: very nice ones.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes: yes
Cabins: many
Length of trails: lots of trails and well laid out. Each trail
had it's own map !
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park:
OGC - Ozark Group camping - this is camping way out away from
everything and everyone. We drove a long way before we found the
cabins deep in the woods.
Sites to see outside the park:
Pros:
Cons: Lots of ticks.
Fishing:
Date built:
Other info:
Nearest cities:
Dogs we took: Sache, Gap, Snowflake.
Website:
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Meramec State Park
Generally located: 50 ? miles south of St. Louis
off I-44 near Stanton, Missouri.
Best known for it's: closeness to Meramec Caverns
Phone:
Date stayed: 7-16-09 - just passed thru. There were
too many people with families. Kids and people everywhere. Difficult
to drive around due to so many people. One dump station.
Part of our 7-12-09 trip where we went to Pere
Marquette, Babler, Robertson's, Meramec.
Directions:
Size of park: huge park.
RV Camping: over 100 spots, maybe 200.
Cost of RV spots:
Showers and restrooms: Only 2 for the entire place.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes: none
Cabins: none
Length of trails: none
Animals we saw: none
Sites to see inside the park: none
Sites to see outside the park: just Meramec Caverns
Pros: none
Cons:
too many people and only 2 restrooms.
This place is too popular because of the Meramec Caverns.
One dump station! (could be a long wait when leaving).
Difficult to drive around because of all the kids and families.
Fishing: none
Date built:
Dog we took: Snowflake, Gap, Sache.
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities: no
Other info:
We actually parked and completely hooked up our
RV, went to pay, and the girl in the booth said our spot was
reserved and we had to move (when we first got there the girl
said to take any spot we want in this certain area, which we
did). Marilyn was so mad she said to just leave and drive
straight home and we got home about midnight.
Nearest cities: Stanton, Missouri.
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Robertson's State Park
Generally located: 20 miles south of St. Louis
on I-44, between Babler State park and Merramac state park.
Best known for it's: isolated park and boat
launch area and day use area.
Phone:
Date stayed: Just passed through on 7-15-09.
Part of our 7-12-09 trip where we went to Pere
Marquette, Babler, Robertson's, Meramec.
Directions: Take exit#247 of I-44.
Size of park: small.
RV Camping: 14 sites only. All somewhat close
together but separated with trees and bushes.
Showers and restrooms:
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
none. Only asphalt roads.
Cabins: none
Length of trails: none. Only place to walk is on
the asphalt roads!
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park: none
Sites to see outside the park: Merramac caverns
near by to the south.
Pros: none.
Cons: to small.
Fishing:
Date built:
Dogs we took: Snowflake, Gap, Sache.
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities: no
Other info:
This small park has 3 separate areas:
(1) RV area - very small area.
(2) picnic area and day use area - very nice
(3) boat launch/picnic area
Nearest cities: None
Website:
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Table Rock Lake State
Park
Generally located: southwest Missouri - south of
Branson - 220 miles from Tulsa (our house)
Best known for it's: lake
Phone:417-334-4704
Date stayed: 8-13-11
Directions: Take I-44 northeast to just south of
Springfield, MO. Go east on Hwy 360/60 to Hwy 65. Then south.
Exit at Hwy 165 (south of Branson) and go west to the first stop
light, turn left. then go 3/4 mile to the stop sign and turn
right. Go 5 miles. The park is on the left. 5272 State Hwy
165, Branson, MO
Size of park: large
RV Camping: We stayed in campground 2 at spot#
265 - only 200' from the bathroom and trash bin and the dog
walking area (about 400' away). Our spot was 60' long and 14'
wide. All concrete!. Spots are nicely spaced out. Very nice.
Spot# 230 and 232 are even closer to the bathroom but butt up to
the main road.
Cost of RV spots: $26 a night during season, $22 a night off
season. Full hookups (ie your own sewer connection). Check out
time - 2:00 PM
Showers and restrooms:
On our end of the campground were 2 unisex
separate bathrooms. Each bathroom had a lock on the front door
and has one toilet and lavatory. At the other end of the
campground were the showers - 8 of them - free to use - and each
had a lock on the front door and a large fan that sucked out the
moist air in the shower. Next to the showers were the bathrooms
with 2 toilets and 3 lavatories with real glass mirrors and
plenty of flat counter space to lay out your toiletries. Also a
laundry room attached.
Places to let the dogs run without leashes: by
the dam, north east side.
Cabins:
Length of trails:
Animals we saw: None
Sites to see inside the park:
Went to Silver Dollar city. Mostly watched
Mymphis ride the kiddie rides. Silver dollar city closes at 6:00
PM.
Sites to see outside the park:
Went to the Butterfly Palace on the east end of
Hwy 76. Has a glass mirror/window maze. A large room with
butterflies flying all around and they sometimes land on you.
They had a tall climbing tree that you have to wear a harness
on. Nice gift shop. Cost $67 for the 4 of us.
We went to the Titanic. Self guided tour. Nicely
done exhibit.
We ate at the Plantation (on the east end of hwy
76). A buffet. Advertises they have " best pan fried chicken in
branson" (not really true, the chicken was bland and overcooked
(ie dry). The thin sliced roast beef was bland, the fried fish
was OK. Rolls were bland. All the food is country cooking food.
The staff was, how to say this nicely, the lowest paid
restaurant employees in Branson. However, the Plantation
had one thing that was the best Marilyn had ever had - fried
okra. Good mac and cheese (per Mymphis). Cost - $12 per
person - includes a drink. Mymphis was $7.00. Good iced tea.
Ate inside Silver dollar city at the Mining
restaurant. A buffet, next to Molly's buffet. Country food. It
was Ok, nothing special.
We later had dippin dots ice cream (for the last
time in our lives).
Pros:
Cons: We left the Titanic (on the east end of
Hwy 76) at 5:30 Pm and tried to go west but couldn't
because of the heavy traffic so we went back to the RV.
Fishing:
Date built:
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities: no
Other info:
2 grocery stores 5 miles away and lots of eating
places. Branson is only 7 miles away.
Hoods is the best place
to stop on the way to Branson to let the dogs out (best place we
have ever been to). Hoods is south of Springfield at Exit 61.
Hoods is 63 miles from Table rock state park. 160 miles from
Tulsa.
Nearest cities:
Dogs we took: Gap, Sashe, Snowflake and Cindy
and Mymphis also.
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Template:
Name:
Generally located:
Best known for it's:
Phone:
Date stayed:
Directions:
Size of park:
RV Camping:
Showers and restrooms:
Places to let the dogs run without leashes:
Cabins:
Length of trails:
Animals we saw:
Sites to see inside the park:
Sites to see outside the park:
Pros:
Cons:
Fishing:
Date built:
US Army Corps of Engineers facilities:
Dogs we took:
Other info:
Nearest cities:
Website:
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