CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · MO

Frank Russell

ReservableBookable through November 22, and from April 2 through April 15.

Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:30 UTC
A night: $24–$30Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 72All of them booked ahead

Photos · USACE

88 ftLongest rig

700 ftElevation

1,594 ftWater · Mark Twain Lake

8.2 miSE of Monroe City, MO

23%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices

In the agency’s own words

Frank Russell Campground offers spacious campsites and convenient access to a variety of recreation opportunities. Visitors can enjoy playgrounds, a designated fishing pond, scenic shoreline trails, a bike trail, and a multipurpose equestrian trail with a designated equestrian camping area and horse corral. The Archery Park features a static range, an elevated 3D target course, and a fitness trail with integrated archery shooting lanes. For boating and swimming, Spalding Recreation Area, featuring a boat ramp and swimming beach, is located just 4 miles north on Highway J. Keep reading

Recreation

Facilities

Adjacent to the campground, equestrian campers can make use of the shaded horse stalls. Campsites are equipped with electric hookups, paved parking, grills and picnic tables. Other amenities include showers, playgrounds and vault toilets.

Natural Features

Mark Twain Lake is sourced by the Salt River in northeast Missouri. The Clarence Cannon Dam sits on the eastern edge of the lake, providing flood control and hydroelectricity to the region.

Nearby Attractions

While here, many visitors tour the birthplace of world-famous humorist and author, Mark Twain, in Florida, Missouri. The David C. Berti Shooting Range is below the dam and the M.W. Boudreaux Visitor Center is located on the south end of the Dam.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

Firewood restrictions are in effect to prevent the spread of invasive insects and disease; http://dontmovefirewood.org/ Click here for more information

Rule

Horse stalls are for Frank Russell registered campers only; Stalls are first come, first served

Rule

No livestock permitted in campground

Everything else this campground posts · 2

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.

Rule

Campsites 8-16 have 20/30 ampere service on each site. Campsites 1-7 and 17-67 have 20/30/50 ampere service on each site.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 72 · 7 equestrian
Hookups: 72 electric, 56 water, 56 sewer
Longest rig: 88 ft
Paved pads: All
Accessible sites: None listed
Pets: Allowed at 65 of 72 sites
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets: Vault Toilets; “…include showers, playgrounds and vault toilets. Natural Features Mark Twain Lake is sourced by the…”
Showers: Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind; “Other amenities include showers, playgrounds and vault toilets.”
Drinking water: Yes; DRINKING WATER on 54 of 72 campsite records, WATER SPIGOT on 7 of 72 campsite records
Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp: Yes
Playground: Yes

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Water, toilets and showers: counted from this campground’s own campsite records and read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, River, Beach; Fishing
Night sky · 64th darkest of 118 in MO: Bortle 4

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

10 of 144 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:30 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough November 22Bookable now through November 22, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for April 2, 2027 through April 15, 2027. Today at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 16, 2027.recreation.gov

A night$24–$30plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$56–$68DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 17

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A night, per site$24–$30

Equestrian campsites - Electric$24

Standard Electric$24

Full Hook-up$30

Group area, a night$30

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 3, 2026 to Nov 22, 2026.

Check-in Time:05:00 PM

Checkout Time:4:00 PM

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$32–$38

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$56–$68

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $24–$30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 5

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Oct 1, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 16:30 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

72 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 72 mapped sites

79 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomLoop FRID 058 139 ftLoop FRID 048 139 ftLoop JOAN 013 130 ftLoop CVIE 026 130 ftLoop FRID 031 119 ft

Least roomLoop FRID 038 33 ftLoop FRID 039 33 ftEquestrian campsites #065 34 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 72 sites

72 of 72 sites located

RV / electric65Equestrian7

021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 #061 #062 #063 #064 #065 #066 #067 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046A 046B 047A 047B 048 049 050A 050B 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019A 019B 020A 020B

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 36 of the 72 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 72 of the 72 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.


CVIE	021	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp	83 ft	510 ft	3,171 ft	$24–$30
CVIE	022	standard electric	63 ft	20/30/50 amp	79 ft	446 ft	3,200 ft	$24–$30
CVIE	023	standard electric	69 ft	20/30/50 amp	79 ft	388 ft	3,234 ft	$24–$30
CVIE	024	standard electric	69 ft	20/30/50 amp	43 ft	301 ft		$24–$30
CVIE	025	standard electric	54 ft	20/30/50 amp	43 ft	281 ft		$24–$30
CVIE	026	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp	130 ft	319 ft		$24–$30
CVIE	027	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp	78 ft	443 ft	3,167 ft	$24–$30
CVIE	028	standard electric	53 ft	20/30/50 amp	78 ft	481 ft	3,124 ft	$24–$30
CVIE	029	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp	96 ft	535 ft	3,071 ft	$24–$30
Equestrian campsites	#061	equestrian electric	66 ft	20/30 amp	50 ft	1,493 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#062	equestrian electric	70 ft	20/30 amp	49 ft	1,534 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#063	equestrian electric	74 ft	20/30 amp	49 ft	1,581 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#064	equestrian electric	72 ft	20/30 amp	61 ft	1,640 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#065	equestrian electric	61 ft	20/30 amp	35 ft	1,530 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#066	equestrian electric	72 ft	20/30 amp	35 ft	1,553 ft		$24
Equestrian campsites	#067	equestrian electric	70 ft	20/30 amp	57 ft	1,610 ft		$24
FRID	030	standard electric	67 ft	20/30/50 amp	119 ft	506 ft	2,961 ft	$24–$30
FRID	031	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp	119 ft	435 ft	2,886 ft	$24–$30
FRID	032	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	401 ft	2,843 ft	$24–$30
FRID	033	standard electric	54 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	411 ft	2,863 ft	$24–$30
FRID	034	standard electric	68 ft	20/30/50 amp	100 ft	389 ft	2,872 ft	$24–$30
FRID	035	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	119 ft	370 ft	2,872 ft	$24–$30
FRID	036	standard electric	64 ft	20/30/50 amp	74 ft	361 ft	2,751 ft	$24–$30
FRID	037	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp	74 ft	327 ft	2,720 ft	$24–$30
FRID	038	standard electric	70 ft	20/30/50 amp	33 ft	256 ft	2,653 ft	$24–$30
FRID	039	standard electric	74 ft	20/30/50 amp	33 ft	232 ft	2,656 ft	$24–$30
FRID	040	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp	48 ft	264 ft	2,573 ft	$24–$30
FRID	041	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	48 ft	218 ft	2,530 ft	$24–$30
FRID	042	standard electric	55 ft	20/30/50 amp	94 ft	259 ft	2,622 ft	$24–$30
FRID	043	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp	72 ft	260 ft	2,651 ft	$24–$30
FRID	044	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp	47 ft	276 ft	2,685 ft	$24–$30
FRID	045	standard electric	88 ft	20/30/50 amp	47 ft	298 ft	2,716 ft	$24–$30
FRID	046A	standard electric	59 ft	20/30/50 amp	69 ft	284 ft	2,774 ft	$24–$30
FRID	046B	standard electric	56 ft	20/30/50 amp	91 ft	268 ft	2,760 ft	$24–$30
FRID	047A	standard electric	51 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	276 ft	2,768 ft	$24–$30
FRID	047B	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	303 ft	2,767 ft	$24–$30
FRID	048	standard electric	79 ft	20/30/50 amp	139 ft	291 ft	2,734 ft	$24–$30
FRID	049	standard electric	64 ft	20/30/50 amp	80 ft	475 ft	2,911 ft	$24–$30
FRID	050A	standard electric	72 ft	20/30/50 amp	80 ft	489 ft	2,913 ft	$24–$30
FRID	050B	standard electric	64 ft	20/30/50 amp	105 ft	473 ft	2,938 ft	$24–$30
FRID	051	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	62 ft	526 ft	3,018 ft	$24–$30
FRID	052	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	62 ft	557 ft	3,060 ft	$24–$30
FRID	053	standard electric	65 ft	20/30/50 amp	91 ft	583 ft	3,097 ft	$24–$30
FRID	054	standard electric	70 ft	20/30/50 amp	96 ft	612 ft	3,137 ft	$24–$30
FRID	055	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp	102 ft	651 ft	3,180 ft	$24–$30
FRID	056	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp	79 ft	727 ft	3,252 ft	$24–$30
FRID	057	standard electric	55 ft	20/30/50 amp	79 ft	796 ft		$24–$30
FRID	058	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp	139 ft	929 ft		$24–$30
FRID	059	standard electric	61 ft	20/30/50 amp	60 ft	1,044 ft		$24–$30
FRID	060	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp	60 ft	1,083 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	001	standard electric	64 ft	20/30/50 amp	70 ft	1,188 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	002	standard electric	72 ft	20/30/50 amp	70 ft	1,157 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	003	standard electric	78 ft	20/30/50 amp	84 ft	1,064 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	004	standard electric	72 ft	20/30/50 amp	84 ft	980 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	005	standard electric	72 ft	20/30/50 amp	114 ft	850 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	006	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	748 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	007	standard electric	56 ft	20/30/50 amp	92 ft	663 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	008	standard electric	61 ft	30/50 amp	95 ft	572 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	009	standard electric	77 ft	30 amp	67 ft	453 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	010	standard electric	73 ft	30 amp	67 ft	412 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	011	standard electric	56 ft	30 amp	38 ft	249 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	012	standard electric	68 ft	30 amp	38 ft	225 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	013	standard electric	61 ft	30 amp	130 ft	298 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	014	standard electric	69 ft	30/50 amp	93 ft	450 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	015	standard electric	52 ft	30/50 amp	70 ft	528 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	016	standard electric	68 ft	30/50 amp	70 ft	585 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	017	standard electric	69 ft	20/30/50 amp	116 ft	730 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	018	standard electric	72 ft	20/30/50 amp	99 ft	745 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	019A	standard electric	69 ft	20/30/50 amp	48 ft	820 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	019B	standard electric	61 ft	20/30/50 amp	48 ft	847 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	020A	standard electric	51 ft	20/30/50 amp	80 ft	950 ft		$24–$30
JOAN	020B	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp	80 ft	1,028 ft		$24–$30

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

25 of 72 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate39.53556, -91.64750

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone573-735-4097

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

John C. Briscoe Group Use1.2 mi

John Spalding Rec Ar1.4 mi

Ray Behrens1.6 mi

Indian Creek (MO)4.6 mi

Bluffview (Mark Twain Lake)4.8 mi

Dry Fork Recreation AreaMark Twain National Forest · 58 mi

Getting there

From Hannibal - Hwy 36 west 17 miles to Hwy J, south 9 miles.

From Monroe City - Hwy 36 east 3 miles to Hwy J, south 9 miles.

From Paris - Hwy 154 east 20 miles to Hwy J (Perry), north 10 miles.

From Perry - Hwy J north 10 miles.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today52°Partly Sunny6% rain

Tonight40°Partly Cloudy

Saturday54°Sunny

Saturday Night41°Clear

NWS forecast for Center, MO

Source: National Weather Service, LSX forecast office · Oct 16, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 44°F, day 67°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 19°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: VANDALIA, MO (USC00238577), 18 miles away and 64 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Frank Russell is in Missouri’s 6th congressional district. Its representative, Sam Graves (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 30 of the next 30 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026 and November 2026. It names 72 of the 72 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 14, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 72 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 0.35 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 118 rated federal campgrounds in Missouri · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Cell signal: the Army Corps’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest place of any size: Center, MO, 6.2 mi WNW. Straight line.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026