Echo Bluff State Park

There is a creek that runs through the park, so the children play all day. The sites are all concrete and level. There are bathrooms at each end of the campground as well as showers. Fishing, kayaking, birdwatching, wild horses, everything you want from camping. It is really remote, so bring food with you. You can get supplies at the lodge shop, but it’s expensive. You can also do laundry at the lodge, but it’s only two machines. There is no cell service or data at all. The park does provide free Wi-Fi at the campsites. We could zoom meetings, and watch videos with no problem, except on the days that it rained.

The rate we paid was the weekday rate and is an excellent value. The sites are spacious and not crowded. The park opened only in 2016 and has a new and fresh feeling. As others have noted, the campground is treeless although the planted trees seem to be holding on. We got no cell service on Verizon or T-Mobile but the free and unlimited wi-fi was great with no hiccups. We streamed to our TV frequently without a problem and were able to connect our other devices at the same time. We could make phone calls too, using the wi-fi calling feature on the phones.

Sinking Creek flows through the park and along the base of Echo Bluff (which actually does echo) making a beautiful setting. Very nice trails within the park, both for hiking and mountain biking and there's even a section of mountain biking obstacles. It's a great facility and the lodge is beautiful with a terrific restaurant overlooking Echo Bluff and Sinking Creek.

This is a great base for access to the Current River for floating, and access to the major springs along the way, including Round Springs which is a short drive and well worth the visit.

Very family friendly and quiet while we were there.

Off season camping-it was a bit cold and rainy, but this was a wonderful place to stay during rainy/cold times. There are a couple of frost free water spigots and an open year round shower house in the campground. All campground sites have concrete pads. All RVnsites have water/electric, but most sites are full hookup. Site specific water hookups may not be available depending on the time of year. The park includes a lodge which is open year round. There is a restaurant in the Lodge with good, albeit pricey, food. Wonderful state park-just opened in 2016. Everything works well. The only warning I would leave is a note about the wild horses throughout the park. There is lots of horse poop spread throughout grounds. Just be careful and you will not step in it, but it is scattered throughout the park. Overall, still an awesome place to camp!

This state park is fairly new and it is an amazing place to stay. We were lucky enough to get in at the last minute. However, most sites book up months in advance, so I would mark your calendar to make reservations. It showed booked up on the website, but a call confirmed availability. The camp hosts are friendly. There is a restaurant, lodge, cabins, and town homes to rent. The restaurant was average and overpriced for the quality of the food. I will say though the grounds have amazing views and blue water. If you are exploring Ozark Waterways, you should try and stay here. Cellular coverage is spotty at best, but the wifi is fast for a campground as I was able to watch youtube and Netflix with no major issues.

Welcome to Missouri's newest state park campground: Echo Bluff. Located in the heart of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, this park serves as a perfect basecamp for exploring the best of the Missouri Ozarks, with beautiful springs and river ways nearby.

The campground itself is very nicely developed and well maintained with large concrete pads. The bathhouses were clean, and the WiFi was shockingly fast. The park has a good little camp store, a lodge and restaurant, cabins and amazing tent sites, and a super fun playground. The playground is built with some natural materials to echo the natural area. Kids will love the spray ground, too.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the lack of trees is definitely a downfall, especially if you are visiting in the heat of summer. We opted to spend our daylight hours exploring the region and jumping in the creek instead of sweltering in our RV.

While most visitors play in the creek in front of the lodge, you can also find a peaceful section to enjoy at the base of the campground, close to site #1. Just walk through the woods, and you'll find a great stretch of Sinking Creek. Our kids enjoyed playing in the crystal clear waters.

If you get out and explore the area, you can explore the historic Alley Mill, find a waterfall at Rocky Falls, visit several brilliant blue springs, take a float trip on the Current River, and much more.

The mighty four (mightyfour-RV.com) made a trip to this park May 16-19. We both have 30 foot fifth wheel units. We stayed in the full hookup section of the park and paid $30 per day plus an $8.50 reservation fee. The parking pads are large and level The only reason I gave this campground 4 stars was due to the lack of shade. In about 3 years it will be a 5 plus. The interesting thing is that the campsites are all positioned so campers get sunshine on the door side of their campers. Summer will be brutal in this campground until the trees mature.

Camp host Don is friendly and helpful. Check-in was efficient and pleasant. Lodge is first class and the restaurant has good food with indoor and outdoor seating and a view of the bluffs. There is considerably more outdoor seating than indoor on the huge deck. Outdoor tables have nice umbrellas for shade and interesting solar powered led lights for evening. When we were there on Tuesday through Thursday, the restaurant was only staffed with one server and one cook and they weren't serving outdoors. No reservations are taken, only a wait list and indoor seating is very limited at 24 people.

Wild horses in the area come to eat the beautiful clover planted by the park. They frequently appear in the campground and are harmless, but still require respect.

We hiked painter ridge trail about 2 miles which was an easy hike. We reached the bluff overlook pavilion at the end of loop 2 but there really was not much to see since trees block both the bluffs and the lodge view. Still the hike was nice. Camp fire wood is available at the campground check-in point for $5 per bundle. Lots of very nice attractions within about 30 miles of the park. Current river state park is a 5.25 mile hike, one way from echo bluff and a 2 mile drive. We chose to drive. Here are few attractions with driving distances:
Round Springs 2.5 mi
Alley Springs 20.9 mi
Blue Springs 32.7 mi
Rocky Falls 28.8 mi

Missouri State Parks hosted a camphost training rally here that we attended. ( Rally was free for us, but we did pay for an additional night to explore. This park opened in the summer of 2016 . The RV section is well laid out. All sites are concrete with reasonable spacing. Trees have been planted, but they are very young, so shade is non-existent at this time. There is a lodge with rooms and a restaurant, as well as camper cabins. Tent spaces are all walk in and private, with platforms for your tent. There are carts at the parking area to help transfer your gear to your site.
At this time there are two hiking trails, and there are trails planned that would connect to nearby Current River State Park, and another to nearby wild area.
Although there is no Verizon service, AT&T is spotty in the campground, but reasonable near the lodge. BUT the WiFi here is better than any Park we've been to. There are several WiFi spots in the RV area, and one was right next to us. Glory Hallelujah!
Go slow on hwy 19 & 32 on the way. Both are windy and have little to no shoulder, but we were ok in a 36 foot motor home with a towed.