Big Spring Campground - Van Buren, Missouri

Krisha Ferguson

This campsite is peaceful. The restroom was close by. Short walk to a shallow creek type area of water. They offer hot water showers, which were clean and the water was hot. Only down fall to the shower is the water pressure isn't the best. We also seen the residential wild turkey. The spring is also beautiful

Chris Bloomfield

The good; Big Spring is beautiful, lots of deer and wood chucks, access to the river (though it is right through a campsite), pretty peaceful most nights.

The bad; showers were pretty far from camp and most didn't have hot water or working lights, only reservable, so we couldn't just get one more night even though we wanted to and no water at the site only one rickety leaking faucet near the bath house that is hard to access from the street to fill your camper (stop at the dump site to get water before coming).

The ugly; never saw the camp hosts do anything, trash all around camp, no soap in the woman's bathroom, one night people were loud past quiet time and no one told them to stop. Basically the hosts are just getting a free spot to stay, which is annoying.

Doug & Rose Vogel

Nice place to camp with either a camper or tent (or both as we did). Only electric at the designated individual sites. The RV campsite slips are level enough that I didn't even bother stabilizing/leveling. The camp loop 200 is all in level river bottom terrain and perfect for pitching tents. Nice restroom and hot showers house available also. The individual sites are large enough you shouldn't be crowded by neighboring campers. An unexpected bonus was the offloading trail across the river: NPS Road 123, locally known as the “Tram Road”.

Nathan Pierce

This campground was really quiet and nice when we stayed here. They are in the middle of doing some major upgrades it appears so some of the amenities were not available to us. The 200 block offered electricity and that’s where we stayed in our camper. We didn’t use the bathroom facilities much but seemed adequately maintained. Each site has a fire pit and a lantern hook. Our spot was really close to the river and was just a short walk away. This campground offers a few hiking trails and the Big Spring that is very scenic. Would like to come back in the summer but I imagine this place stays pretty packed. All in all we enjoyed our stay but we had most of everything we needed in our camper. Would definitely come back again. The park ranger we talked to at the visitors center was very helpful. It is being renovated right now, but this campground offers a dining lodge that’s right on the river and several cabins you can stay in as well on top of the regular campground.

Tyler Dlugolecki

I hate leaving only a 3 star review for this place. The river and Ozark National scenic Riverways is such a beautiful area. 5 star destination. But the “hot” showers were pathetic. They replaced the bathrooms in every loop and I was expecting them to add new showers to it.. but nope. Showers are still a drive away from the sites and it’s only one like warm shower if you’re lucky. The rest are cold showers. Not great when you’re camping in the fall. They were also gross. Mold growing on the curtains. The fire pits were full to the top with ashes. Couldn’t even lift the fire pit grate up to scoop out the ashes it was so thick. They used to keep them cleaned out. Budget cuts I suppose but pretty disappointing.

Rachel Wray

Overlooked the river from above. However river spots are very rare as most campers are long term and have the best spots. Call 6 months in advance for a shot at a river spot. Kids loved the beach below the camping site. Great floating nearby plus an ice cream shop in town.

Joanie Bleck

Sufficient for our brief, overnight spot. No campground host while we were there. Central bathroom okay, but may be a long walk for some depending on your site location. Must drive from front campground to one of two shower houses labeled "Hot Showers" the other "Cold Showers". While we loved seeing the beautiful springs themselves, would recommend stopping for that and then moving on instead of camping.

Marc G

We camped here in October in the 200 loop, the campsite was clean. The river and spring was beautiful. There were several access points to the river. Great place for the entire family. I wish they would put showers on all of the restrooms. We're most likely to come back in the summer.