ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 1 opens May 1.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
A night
$16–$28Across the site types the agency prices
Sites
51All of them booked ahead
84 ftLongest rig
950 ftElevation
445 ftWater · Table Rock Lake
1 miS of Shell Knob, MO
42%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices

In the agency’s own words

Viola sits along the Kings River Arm of Table Rock Lake in the Missouri countryside. Boaters and water sports enthusiasts are particularly drawn to Viola for its easy access to the clear blue waters of Table Rock Lake. Keep reading

Recreation

Whether on water or land, Viola Campground offers visitors countless recreational activities. Picnicking, swimming, scuba diving, boating, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing are all popular pastimes at the park. Kings River Marina, located in the Viola Recreation Area offers everything from fuel to equipment rentals, to boat storage for visitors. Fishing licenses can also be purchased at the marina and anglers can go from there to try their hand at the excellent bass fishing the lake provides. Adjacent to the Marina, a playground, boat ramp and designated swimming area, each provide endless avenues for outdoors entertainment.

Facilities

Viola Campground offers 56 reservable campsites. Amenities like hot showers, drinking water, a dump station and electric hookups create a comfortable camping experience.

Natural Features

Table Rock Lake is a beautiful body of water surrounded by a forest of oak and hickory trees. Its waters wind down through the valleys and hollows of the Ozark Mountains, from Branson, Missouri to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. More than five million visitors per year take advantage of this recreational oasis. Originally built for flood control, the Table Rock Dam has created a lake that boasts 779 miles of shoreline for the public to enjoy.

Nearby Attractions

The Dewey Short Visitors Center is located at the south end of Table Rock Dam. It offers three educational films focused on the history of the dam, the story of Lewis and Clark and the history of eagles and their endangerment in the state of Missouri. The visitor center also contains exhibits about the natural history of the area. Viola Campground is about 36 miles from Branson, Missouri, which offers grocery stores, gas and additional tourist attractions.

What the agency tells you

Rule

Staffed booth hours are between the hours of 8:00 a.m-10:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., seven days a week. Camphost and or Rangers will issue campground hangtags after valid check-in. Please check-out on departure. If Camphost is not present, please drop pink tag off at the drop box.

Rule

All checkout times are at 3:00 p.m. All RV's, vehicles, and supplies still on site after 3:00 p.m. may be subjected to impoundment our towed at the owners expense.

Rule

All discounted passes (Golden Age, Senior Lifetime, Senior Annual, Access) must be physically present upon arrival. Fraudulent use of a Golden Age or Golden Access Passport (Printouts, photos etc.) is prohibited and will not be discounted.

Everything else this campground posts · 9
Rule

Failure to pay day use fees, and or properly display applicable receipt, permit or pass is prohibited. All daily guests must pay a day-use fee and have day-use receipt properly displayed. Day passes and USACE annual passes may be purchased at the kiosk next to the booth.

Rule

All personal equipment (boats, trailers, personal supplies etc. ) must be stored at reserved campsites. No equipment shall be stored in boat ramp/day-use parking for overnight storage.

Rule

Camping at one or more campsites at any one water resource project for a period longer than 14 days during any 30 consecutive day period is prohibited without the written permission of the District Commander.

Rule

One tent and one RV, or two tents are allowed per campsite.

Rule

No dumping of household trash, gray water, rubbish, black water or any other waste material or waste liquid. All waste generated must be disposed of at the dump station or removed from the project lands.

Rule

Shower tents, changing tents, and latrines are prohibited.

Rule

Pets must be penned, caged, or on a leash under six feet in length at all times.

Rule

Please be advised that providing business services within a USACE campground is prohibited per Title 327.18(a) The engaging in or solicitation of business on project lands or waters without the express written permission of the District Commander is prohibited. This includes services such as RV or tent delivery & set-up, firewood sales and delivery.

Rule

Please review the Title 36 brochure for complete rules and regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/chapter-III/part-327

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
51 · 1 tent-only
Hookups
37 electric, 32 water
Longest rig
84 ft
Paved pads
All
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Showers
Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
“Amenities like hot showers, drinking water, a dump station and electric hookups create a comfortable camping experience.”
Drinking water
Yes
“…campsites. Amenities like hot showers, drinking water, a dump station and electric hookups create a…”
Dump station
Yes
recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp
Yes
Playground
Yes
Camp host
On site
recreation.gov lists “Host”
Stay limit
14 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, River, Beach
Biking
Boating
Fishing
Hiking
Kayaking
Picnicking
Swimming
Water sports
Wildlife viewing
Night sky · 104th darkest of 118 in MO
Bortle 4
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

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

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 1, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 1, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay14 nightsthe facility record
A night$16–$28plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$40–$64DerivedFriday 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.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Sat, May 1 2027 is open for booking.

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 · 18

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A night, per site$16–$28
Standard Nonelectric$16
Tent Only Nonelectric$16
Standard Electric$23
Standard Electric$25
Standard Nonelectric$28
These are next season’s rates, May 1, 2027 to Sep 14, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
Gate attendants are happy to help you with your inquiries, but cannot make reservations over the phone.
Please call (877) 444-6777 for reservations.
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$24–$36
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$40–$64

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $16–$28 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

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

51 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 51 mapped sites
55 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
86%of tent sites sit clear of electric or RV sites
Least roomLoop VIOL 18 20 ftLoop VIOL 19 20 ftLoop VIOL 56 21 ft

All 51 sites

51 of 51 sites located
Standard13Tent only1RV / electric37
SleepsTakes aUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 51 of the 51 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

VIOL01standard nonelectric32 ft30 ft104 ft$16–$28
VIOL02tent only nonelectric16 ft30 ft92 ft$16
VIOL03standard nonelectric32 ft44 ft106 ft$16–$28
VIOL04standard nonelectric42 ft44 ft96 ft$16–$28
VIOL05standard nonelectric35 ft69 ft118 ft$16–$28
VIOL06standard nonelectric35 ft55 ft127 ft$16–$28
VIOL07standard nonelectric38 ft55 ft157 ft$16–$28
VIOL08standard nonelectric30 ft46 ft44 ft$16–$28
VIOL09standard nonelectric20 ft46 ft81 ft$16–$28
VIOL17standard electric25 ft30 amp50 ft137 ft$23–$25
VIOL18standard electric24 ft30 amp20 ft124 ft$23–$25
VIOL19standard electric40 ft50 amp20 ft113 ft$23–$25
VIOL20standard electric30 ft30 amp34 ft152 ft$23–$25
VIOL21standard electric30 ft30 amp34 ft179 ft$23–$25
VIOL22standard electric65 ft50 amp83 ft211 ft$23–$25
VIOL23standard electric37 ft50 amp63 ft218 ft$23–$25
VIOL24standard electric33 ft50 amp63 ft258 ft$23–$25
VIOL25standard electric84 ft50/30 amp37 ft345 ft$23–$25
VIOL26standard electric36 ft50 amp37 ft382 ft$23–$25
VIOL27standard electric40 ft50 amp70 ft406 ft$23–$25
VIOL28standard electric55 ft50 amp90 ft309 ft$23–$25
VIOL29standard electric42 ft50 amp62 ft265 ft$23–$25
VIOL30standard electric42 ft50 amp57 ft357 ft$23–$25
VIOL31standard electric42 ft50 amp57 ft314 ft$23–$25
VIOL32standard electric60 ft50 amp143 ft220 ft$23–$25
VIOL33standard electric22 ft30 amp70 ft367 ft$23–$25
VIOL34standard electric60 ft30 amp85 ft320 ft$23–$25
VIOL35standard electric33 ft30 amp70 ft310 ft$23–$25
VIOL36standard electric27 ft30 amp47 ft238 ft$23–$25
VIOL37standard electric28 ft30 amp50 ft217 ft$23–$25
VIOL38standard electric36 ft50 amp47 ft195 ft$23–$25
VIOL39standard electric25 ft50 amp48 ft148 ft$23–$25
VIOL40standard electric36 ft50 amp48 ft107 ft$23–$25
VIOL41standard electric26 ft50 amp77 ft122 ft$23–$25
VIOL42standard electric30 ft50 amp56 ft125 ft$23–$25
VIOL43standard electric24 ft50 amp58 ft55 ft$23–$25
VIOL44standard electric40 ft50 amp56 ft106 ft$23–$25
VIOL45standard electric26 ft50 amp58 ft44 ft$23–$25
VIOL46standard electric40 ft50 amp55 ft47 ft$23–$25
VIOL47standard electric27 ft50 amp50 ft112 ft$23–$25
VIOL48standard electric25 ft50 amp50 ft113 ft$23–$25
VIOL49standard electric40 ft50 amp55 ft54 ft$23–$25
VIOL50standard electric40 ft50 amp59 ft128 ft$23–$25
VIOL51standard electric40 ft50 amp60 ft64 ft$23–$25
VIOL52standard electric40 ft50 amp66 ft76 ft$23–$25
VIOL53standard electric25 ft50 amp76 ft161 ft$23–$25
VIOL54standard nonelectric22 ft70 ft237 ft$16–$28
VIOL55standard nonelectric20 ft42 ft208 ft$16–$28
VIOL56standard nonelectric25 ft21 ft234 ft$16–$28
VIOL57standard nonelectric25 ft21 ft213 ft$16–$28
VIOL58standard nonelectric20 ft42 ft167 ft$16–$28

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

25 of 51 listed

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate36.56167, -93.59472
The phone417-858-3904
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

From Shell Knob, Missouri, take Highway 39 south for 7 miles and turn west to campground entrance.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon59°Chance Rain Showers10% rain
Tonight41°Chance Rain Showers then Mostly Cloudy10% rain
Saturday64°Sunny
Saturday Night40°Clear

NWS forecast for Shell Knob, MO

Typical weather

Typical October night 44°F, day 70°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 22°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: GALENA, MO (USC00233094), 18 miles away and 77 ft higher

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Eric Burlison, official portrait

Viola is in Missouri’s 7th congressional district. Its representative, Eric Burlison (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.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate: the number below is the only way to be sure.
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.