Meramec State Park

Missouri State Parks are in general a pretty solid bunch, so it's no surprise that Meramec State Park is everything you'd expect. Sites are well spaced, the campground is shady and quiet, amenities are good, and the price remains reasonable ($25 for a water/electric pull-thru).

The on-site cave, Fisher, was only open on weekends in May for two tours a day. The Meramec River flows by the campground and is scenic, but swimming is not advised and the current was strong. The campground can be closed due to flooding across roads. Expect a long, curvy, and hilly entrance road.

Even though the campground is 3-4 miles from I-44 and down in a valley, Verizon data service was good, with a booster and external antenna.

Pulled in November 11. Four other campers. If making reservations during high season. Sites 1-20 and 178-180 are in front of the river. Nice sites. Lots of wildlife. There is a boat launch down from site 180. In off season. Simply park at an empty site, the DNR will stop by in morning and pick up fees...River is beautiful Would be a great canoe trip. Meramec caverns are upriver. Make sure to stop in and see the beautiful caves. They are amazing.

Camped 10/15/17
$23 Rate for Electric site, "on-season". 5 types of sites: Basic, Electric, Electric/Water, Sewer/Electric/Water and Group.
No entrance fee to the state park.
We had no cell service, but there was limited wi-fi.

Although we only stayed 1 night and didn't get to explore, park was beautiful with a nice drive in, and not far from I-44. Very wooded, and the campground is semi-wooded along the river. Sites are open, with no privacy, and there are many to choose from (some reserve-able, some not). There was a cement pad to park on (our site was muddy after heavy rains), and the picnic table was on a cement slab. Site also had fire pit & lantern hook. Some sites were in grassy areas, some along the woods weren't as grassy (like ours), and more expensive electric/water & sewer sites were along the bluff over the river.

Shower house is centrally located at between loops, and there was only 1 vault toilet in the loop where we camped. This is my only problem with the park's campground, being there are so many campsites in a large area. It's a bit of a hike from a lot of campsites to get to a bathroom. Shower house was nice and clean, and the VT was not smelly.

Deer were roaming the grassy area along the road as we drove into the campground, which was neat to see. We would definitely stay here again and explore more next time.

Its off season so we had the place to ourselves. Good trails - recommend hikit the River Trail and the Bluff trail together.

Camped 9/15/2018 -10/7/2018 This is a nice park. Lots of rain before we got there both times so sites were muddy. Only walked the campground during our stay. Did not use facilities.
It is a nice stop when we travel west from Michigan and probably would only stay one night.

We stayed here on March 4, 2021. Yhe campground host was so friendly and helpful. The campground was clean and beautiful! Most sites were flat and paved. Campground was about 4 miles off of I44. Absolutly no verizon signal in some areas but we had enough signal to stream a movie on site 8. Definitely recommend this campground!

Nice state park close to STL. Campsites have a variety of amenities: we used a full hookup site. The Meramec iis a great river for recreation: fishing, tubing, kayaking, rafting, and boating. There is a nice sandbar nearby.
FYI: Bourbon RV is 5 miles away on I-44 if you run into a problem. We like them.

Done sites have full hook up. Ours had electric only but was a great loop- less crowded and very quiet with large mature trees and plenty of wildlife. Lots of amenities in the park. Close to St. Louis metro area

Campground is 2.75 miles from SR-185 on a winding hilly road. Two spots on this road are marked not passable if flooded.
After November 1st pick up water at dump station about .25 mile before check in station. Self check in.

Lovely park. We were the only campers 12/27/22. Vault toilets as the water was off for the winter. Close to highway but would be tough drive if icy or snowy. We will definitely be back.