Council Bluff Recreation Area

This is a National Forrest Campground. I wish it was open all year, but it is seasonal. It is my favorite campground in Missouri. The beach area obviously is seasonal. and also the best swim beach in Missouri. The only issue with campground is that the water pump was down so the spigots did not work when i visited over July 4th weekend, and again 3 weeks later. i know it was a temporary issue, and had enough water with me the 2nd weekend. They did allow us to fill water containers at the concession building at the beach if needed.

Campground was quiet, bluegill fishing was good, trout fishing not as much. Raccoons were around, they were getting into everything in the camp at night. There were box turtles walking on all of the roads and paths in the morning.

Some deep-woods OFF and some mosquito nets would have been really helpful. The bugs weren't pestering, we barely noticed them, but we did get chewed up pretty good.

Great wooded sites with lots of privacy, clean pit toilets and grounds. The lake is wonderful and clean. The beach is excellent and clean restrooms. Great place for a family

The sites are not so close together and those group sites can get rowdy. The lake was beautiful and a must see. The shower house was filthy…..definitely did not see where it was renovated!!

For primitive camping and no way to keep boat on bank - it was good. Lake is beautiful and fishing is excellent.

My reserved campsite had someone else's name on it. I found out later that they had cancelled, and I reserved it after they cancelled. The reservation sign was never updated. Ended up camping in a different spot that was not as remote and very noisy.

Council Bluff is a beautiful wooded area of the forest. Our camp site was walking distance to a large crystal clear blue lake and a 12 mile hiking trail around that lake. The campground was clean, neighbors were respectful, and bathrooms and water were easy to find but not distracting from the surrounding nature. I will be back!

Our favorite type of tent-camping area - very secluded sites, almost no mowed grass (almost all woods), no electricity (keeps crowds down a bit), but still clean running water. Solid site fixtures (large/heavy-duty picnic tables, fire rings, covered "counter/bar", groomed tent pads). Very nearby hiking trails, mostly around a lake; small man-made beach for cooling off in summer, with nice little play ground, about 10 min drive from the campground.

Lot's of early morning noise from cycling event. Would have liked to known that was happening. The beach was closed but the weather was near 80 degrees. Would not have chosen this site had we known the beach would be closed. Any improvement over pit toilets would be a huge plus!

My party and I book early to ensure that we get a particular campsite. Our trip is tradition and we have stayed at the same site every time. When we arrived, another party was already camped at our site. The campsite attendant didn't bother to go out and out up reservation signs to make sure others didn't camp there. We had to find a different open campsite to stay on and downgraded from a double campsite to a single as we didn't want the party currently there to have to break down camp and move. After all it wasn't their fault. All in all we were very disappointed and part of our trip was eaten up trying to get answers about why our campsite was taken and where we could go.