Lower Current District Backcountry Campsites
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:43 UTC
- A night
- $10–$25Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 28All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 2 notices
In the agency’s own words
Lower Current District Backcountry Campsites will be reservable in advance beginning October 1st, 2025. If calling the Recreation.gov Call Center to make your reservation, please state the campsite you are wanting to reserve is in the “Lower Current District” of Ozark National Scenic Riverways and then state the campground and site number. Please download the Recreation.gov app before starting your journey to the backcountry sites, as cell service can be limited or simply non existent in these remote areas of the park. Keep reading
Within Ozark National Scenic Riverways, a "backcountry campground" refers to campgrounds with some basic amenities, but not as many as developed campgrounds. All backcountry sites have picnic tables, fire rings, lantern posts, and vault toilets. These campgrounds may have fewer amenities, but they are some of the most beautiful locations in the park. Certain sites are located right on the river's edge, allowing quick water access. Some sites are far away from other campers, giving you a chance to enjoy natural peace and quiet. If you crave a camping experience that is off the beaten path, these are the sites for you! Keep in mind that these campgrounds are often harder to reach due to their location. Most backcountry sites require driving down gravel roads. Some roads are unsuitable for vehicles with low clearance. Horse camping is not allowed within ONSR. Trail riders who desire to camp should contact local campgrounds with stables. Day trail riders can park horse trailers during daylight hours at Shawnee Staging Area and Broadfoot Staging Area.
Recreation
The Current River flows past the campground, offering excellent canoeing, tubing, swimming and fishing. Over 130 miles (209 km) of waterways exist within the park. Canoe and kayak rentals and outfitters can be found nearby. Several miles of hiking and horseback riding trails crisscross the region, include the Alley Overlook Trail, Chubb Hollow Trail, Ozark Trail, Cave Spring Trail and Big Springs Trail.
Facilities
These campgrounds have vault toilets available. Picnic tables, fire rings and lantern posts are provided.
Natural Features
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways protects 134 miles of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers and some 80,000 acres of river, forest, open field and glade environments. Riparian habitats are a major component of the park. Typified by sycamores, maples, cottonwoods and willows, floodplain forests line the rivers. These provide habitat for Swainson's warblers, wood ducks, great blue herons and a wide variety of other species. As a significant karst resource, the park contains the world's largest collection of first magnitude springs. It also contains over 300 known caves, numerous sinkholes and losing streams. The park also contains several "Missouri Natural Areas", parcels set aside due to their unique scenic beauty or scientific value.
Nearby Attractions
Round Spring Cave is nearby, with ranger-guided tours offered daily during summer months. Historic and picturesque Alley Mill and Alley Spring are also nearby. The mill is open daily in the summer and ranger-guided tours are available upon request. Scenic Big Spring is the largest freshwater spring in North America and produces an outflow of 280 million gallons a day.
What the agency tells you
If you arrive and another party is occupying your reserved campsite, please call Arrowhead Dispatch at 1-844-460-3604 for a Law Enforcement officer to be dispersed to your location for removal of the unauthorized party.
In our park, "backcountry campground" refers to sites that have some basic amenities, but not as many as developed campgrounds. All backcountry sites have picnic tables, fire rings, lantern posts, and vault toilet restrooms. These campgrounds may have less amenities, but they are some of the most beautiful locations in the park. Certain sites are located right on the river's edge, allowing quick water access. Some sites are far away from other campers, giving you a chance to enjoy natural peace and quiet. If you crave a camping experience that is off the beaten path, these are the sites for you! Keep in mind that these campgrounds are often harder to reach due to their location. Most backcountry sites require driving down gravel roads. Some roads are unsuitable for vehicles with low clearance. Be sure to double-check the location of your site before making a reservation.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 28 · 2 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 27 of 28 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Scenic drives
- Swimming
- Wild Horse Viewing
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 11th darkest of 118 in MO
- Bortle 3
- Cell signal · Cell signal · Park Service says
- Spotty
36 of 56 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:43 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $10–$25 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.
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
recreation.gov availability, read 15:43 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
28 sites
All 28 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 26 of the 28 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 1 | standard nonelectric | $10–$25 | |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 2 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 3 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 4 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 5 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 6 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $10–$25 |
| Big Tree Campground | Big Tree Campground - Site 7 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Cedar Spring Campground | Cedar Spring Campground - Site 6 | standard nonelectric | $10–$25 | |
| Cedar Spring Campground | Cedar Spring Campground - Site 7 | standard nonelectric | $10–$25 | |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 1 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 2 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 3 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $10–$25 |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 4 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $10–$25 |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 5 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $10–$25 |
| Clubhouse Campground | Clubhouse Campground - Site 6 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 1 | tent only nonelectric | ||
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 2 | tent only nonelectric | ||
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 3 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 4 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 5 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 6 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 7 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $10–$25 |
| Gooseneck Campground | Gooseneck Campground - Site 8 | standard nonelectric | $10–$25 | |
| Grubb Hollow Campground | Grubb Hollow Campground - Site 1 | standard nonelectric | 19 ft | $10–$25 |
| Grubb Hollow Campground | Grubb Hollow Campground - Site 2 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $10–$25 |
| Grubb Hollow Campground | Grubb Hollow Campground - Site 3 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $10–$25 |
| Grubb Hollow Campground | Grubb Hollow Campground - Site 4 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $10–$25 |
| Grubb Hollow Campground | Grubb Hollow Campground - Site 5 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $10–$25 |
25 of 28 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Jacks Fork / Middle Current Backcountry Campsites0.0 mi
Upper Current District Backcountry Campsites0.0 mi
Shawnee Creek CampgroundOzark National Scenic Riverways · 4.1 mi
Two RiversOzark National Scenic Riverways · 5.0 mi
Broadfoot CampgroundOzark National Scenic Riverways · 5.6 mi
Powder Mill CampgroundOzark National Scenic Riverways · 6.1 miBIG TREE:
Physical Address
NPS Road 219 Kelly Township, MO 63965
Directions
The agency publishes this point for 3 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Eminence, MO
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 73°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 21°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Lower Current District Backcountry Campsites is in Missouri’s 8th congressional district. Its representative, Jason Smith (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…starting your journey to the backcountry sites, as cell service can be limited or simply non existent in these remote areas of the park.…”