Ray Behrens Campground

We like this place. Had about 90 sites booked when we were there and it was quiet. Water is available on the grounds but not on each site. There are full hookups available if you prefer; fire rings are provided. Staff was helpful and friendly and so were the other campers we met. My Verizon worked great but wife's ATT didn't.

We arrived mid day on a Friday, late September and there were very few sites available. Many loops/arms of the campground were gated off (maybe due to later in the season). We tried a nearby campground first (Frank Russell) and it was completely full. Only 1 section of campsites was open at Frank Russell. No one was manning the pay booth. But registering was simple with the envelope service. The campsite we got was very spacious and the fire pit area was very clean. They raked the pit and we found very few pieces of trash.

Lots of big rigs (big 5th wheels and class As). Many of whom appeared to be set up for an extended stay. Very few tents or small campers. The campsites were spaced out well, however the woods did not offer much in the way of privacy. We could see our neighbors clearly on all sides. Hiking offered nearby, along the lake. One small loop, and plenty of miles for out and back. Lots of boats humming during the daytime. There must have been a shooting range nearby as we heard gunshots most of Friday afternoon. Overall the campground was clean and felt very safe. We would not return based on the little privacy offered and the fact that we do not participate in many of the activities it appears most people utilize this area for (boating, fishing, hunting).

Enjoy camping here but they need to enforce the speed limit. There are children who are with their parents and most of the people who camp here don't observe the speed limit. Some child is going to get hurt. Something needs to be done about making sure everyone is going the speed limit and watchin out for children otherwise a child could get hurt and then there would be a lawsuit then maybe they would enforce the speed limit. That should be done before some one's child is hurt or even an adult.

I had checked this Corp. campground out earlier in the year when I was on a fishing trip. I wanted to make a stop here sometime and this happened to be the weekend. We pulled in on a Saturday (took the chance as we were passing through) and the very nice and helpful hosts steered us to an area with some open sites.
The sites here are great. Most are blacktop with rock outside camper. There are some full hookups but we chose the electric only (50 amp)
We can only stay 2 days this time but we will be back for sure.

We pulled into this park on a weekday and were able to get one of the first come, first serve FHU sites. The site was fine, lowland that stays pretty wet, especially with the rain they had. Unfortunately there were many folks gathered in a group of tents that were noisy and constructed a questionable toilet over the FHU sewer hole!!! When the corp ranger was notified, they did nothing to remove it and did nothing when the group washed out the "toilet" on the grass! Lovely sanitary conditions for the next guest. The hosts even shrugged when told about it. We did not see a ranger presence during our stay either. The park is far enough away from most everything that we would not bother to seek it out if ever in the area again. It has potential but just does not look like there is care for this campground.

We enjoyed a very pleasant three night mid-week stay in the Little Bluestem Campground. Roughly 1/3 of sites were occupied. We walked all three campgrounds in this recreation area a couple of times. All sites and facilities appear clean and well maintained. Our particular site had an accurate warning of a relatively steep grade. It worked fine for us, but I'm sure some people might have an issue.

We had intermittent 4G with one bar for our AT&T cell phones...so, didn't spend much time on social media. There was a free wi-fi available via a third-party vendor with poor/fair signal. It was slow and not very reliable...at one point a screen popped up offering service for a fee, but we didn't pursue it further.

Typical US Army Corps of Engineers park. Large sites, green grass, beautiful Fall colors on Mark Twain lake. What's not to like? Many sites are standard electric but we snagged a fhu site. Shower house was small, dated but quite functional. The men's had one stall, one urinal and 2 showers and oddly 2 regular sinks and 2 laundry type (deep) sinks. The shower was the 'prison type' meaning all stainless steel with a tiny showerhead and needle spray. The water pressure and temp regulation was great. There was no ota tv or free wi fi, but we opted for paid wifi which worked great. It's $4 day or $20 per week. We streamed Prime and Netflix. We enjoyed our stay, were able to use our 'geezer pass' ($13 night), had a great meal at the Rustic Oak Cabin steakhouse (very close) and would return to explore Hannibal, Mo and all it's Mark Twain history.

Ray Behrens is an excellent COE. Friendly helpful staff, clean and quite camp sites. Entry and park road is nicely paved and the sites are large paved site with picnic table and fire rings.Unfortunately Mother Nature decided it was time to rain for my three days so I was forced to stay inside and did not get to venture out to see the whole park.Mark Twain Lake is large and offers great fishing. It is located on the east side of Land Between the Lakes. If you are coming from Nashville your exit and road to the campground is typical curvy narrow country roads so take it easy and enjoy the ride.Its about 7-8 miles to Florida, the birth place of Mark Twain. There is very little for me to complain about with this park. Top tier COE.

We were passing through MO and stopped here for the night. We had heard about COE campgrounds and this was our first experience with one. Can’t beat the price with 50% off with Senior Pass.

Big lake! Lots of trees.

Lots of campsites, not very many people here in early May. Most things were in good condition but our 30A outlet was flakey. We found it odd that most of the paved camping pads had a slope to them. Don’t they issue levels to the COE? 😀 We looked around and found one that was level.

Good place to camp so we will probably be back!

Nightly fee reflects Senior Pass discount.

Beautiful campground on Mark Twain Lake. Sites are large and paved, although many have a significant front to back slope. Site 131 is in the northernmost section (Cedar Ridge, sites 117-157) and was right on the lake.

The rating you give it will probably depend on what you come for. Like most CoE sites on a reservoir, it's main attraction is boating and/or fishing. If that's what you're looking for you'll probably consider this a 5 star. Other than that, and the peaceful setting, there's not a lot to do. There are about five miles of trails, pretty but not spectacular. And it is only about 30 miles from Hannibal.