Montauk State Park

I had heard that Montauk was a trout fishing destination, so I booked this specifically for my husband so he could get some outdoor therapy away from the hustle and bustle of his working life. When I heard this place was always packed, I got a little nervous, but booked it anyway. We had a great time!

We had spot 320, which was right on the water, and he was able to walk down the rocks to wade in the knee deep water and fish. You need a tag to fish in the park, which can easily be purchased at the lodge for $4 for a day pass, but unsure about multi-day rates.

We didn't have a water hook up, but were right next to the spigot to fill the camper manually.

There were no trees directly over us, but our picnic table had a decent amount of shade from the trees around for most of the day, which was nice.

The headwaters of the current river are there and it's also a trout hatchery. At night, we saw them stocking the fish, next to our site which was pretty cool. (I thought someone was throwing trash in the river lol)

About 10 min down the road, there are places you can swim, but you can't swim in the park, which I knew going into the weekend. The swimming area is close enough. It was 100° the entire time we were there, but we were able to seek refuge in the cool waters at parker, then again the next day, on an 8 mile float with Jadwin canoe rental.

Shower house in loop 4 was a quarter mile walk from our site, but it was very clean (it even smelled clean) and although it was public, I only ever saw 1 person there at a time and didn't find myself waiting to use the bathroom or shower at all. I noticed they did have some private shower stalls on one side, and laundry which is always a bonus.

The lodge was close. It was really nice, with a well stocked gift and necessities shop. If it hadn't been 100°, it was probably a half mile walk.

I gave the noise rating because there were a few times where kids were being kids and not paying attention to the fact that it was early in the morning. (I wake up at 530am, and this was happening around 6am, as a few families around us were gearng up to fish, and maybe another group was getting ready to float) it didn't bother me since I was up, but I could see it being an issue for anyone trying to sleep in. Since some of the sites are close together and several campers had groups of 10ppl at their sites, the ambient people noise was lounder than I'm used to in a campground, but not bothersome to me. It's something to consider.

We stayed Sunday evening, and left Monday, and a lot of the spots had vacated the day before.

Free WiFi, fairly decent. Beautiful, remote location. Campground staff very helpful. Site was somewhat wet due to rain that day; driveway was flooded but dried. Cutout view of the river through the vegetation. Sites in our loop (1) were fairly far apart, but tall trees bare almost to the tops, didn’t provide any privacy. Bathroom & shower pretty good. Fire pit has seen better days. My only real complaint is that our neighbors on both sides did not respect the quiet time and were partying late into the night. We’ve stayed in closer quarters and gotten better nights’ sleep. Would return if the website provided photos of the sites so we knew what to expect.

Got lucky enough to squeeze in here to the only electric site left mid-week. 245 was in a great location but had no shade. There are lots of really nice campsites that back right up to the Current River--check the campground map online. We could hear the river (the few times we had our AC off) and see it from our campfire. Really nice sites, lots of families and bigger groups but noise level was low and we really enjoyed just kicking back. Great trout fishing here (for most--not us :P) and we saw a lot of people fishing up and down the river. Special areas for fly fishing only and we saw a couple of people stopping through from Colorado and other states wanting to give it a try. Montauk has a pretty nice camp store with a little restaurant at the lodge. Had a pretty good burger and fried chicken while watching about 20 humming birds around a feeder. Very relaxing. One person told us to use the showerhouse by Campsite Loop 4 as the showers were better but we didn't try them out. Nice dump facilities--two sewer openings with water in a row. We came into the park from the east side and it was fairly easy drive. Left out going west toward 63 and it was a very windy two lane which was a bit dicey in the driving rain. Would definitely come here again but you'll want to get reservations early as it fills up quickly. Missouri State Parks are usually really nice and this is definitely one of the best we've stayed at.

We happened to roll through this place during one of the biggest trout fishing weekends of the year. The river that rolls through the campground is incredibly clear and well stocked with trout, making it very popular with fisherman. Luckily, we were able to get one of only two open spots. The park is VERY popular but well maintained and organized. If you are planning a visit, be sure to call ahead to make sure they have some spots available!