Featured amenities
About Big Spring
Number of accommodations: 132
Nearby Activities & Attractions
Hiking
Horseback Riding
Water Activities
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
Water and Hygiene
- Showers
Report Incorrect Information
Help us improve by reporting any incorrect amenity information for Big Spring.
Rates, Sites & Availability
132 Sites Available
No sites found matching your criteria.
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Site Details
Select a site to view details
132 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (239)
What Guests Are Saying
Big Spring Campground offers a beautiful and peaceful setting with stunning natural springs, clean facilities, and hot showers, making it a great spot for outdoor enthusiasts. While some reviews noted maintenance issues, such as poorly placed picnic tables and unclean fire pits, many visitors appreciated the spaciousness, cleanliness, and convenience to nearby attractions like Van Buren. Overall, guests enjoyed their experiences and expressed a desire to return, highlighting the campground's charm and natural beauty.
What Guests Are Saying
Big Spring Campground offers a beautiful and peaceful setting with stunning natural springs, clean facilities, and hot showers, making it a great spot for outdoor enthusiasts. While some reviews noted maintenance issues, such as poorly placed picnic tables and unclean fire pits, many visitors appreciated the spaciousness, cleanliness, and convenience to nearby attractions like Van Buren. Overall, guests enjoyed their experiences and expressed a desire to return, highlighting the campground's charm and natural beauty.
Review Summary
LINDA M
VerifiedSeptember 19, 2021 • Stayed at: 209, Loop: Loop 200
Nice Campground and nice employees. Very helpful. I would have rated 5 star but bathrooms have too many spiders for me and showers are so far away, you have to drive there, but otherwise, good visit
Kenneth K
VerifiedSeptember 17, 2021 • Stayed at: 222, Loop: Loop 200
The campsites were very large which we really enjoyed. The only thing missing was a campground host. We had neighbors a few campsites away which were very disrespectful of nature by cutting down trees to burn for wood. In this day and age we didn't want to confront them.
Leon S
VerifiedSeptember 3, 2021 • Stayed at: 214, Loop: Loop 200
Tough approach in a large unit. If you're towing a car unhook in van buren. Sites upgraded to 50 amp but the 50 amp didn't work. Only one leg of the service ever showed up. Used the 30 amp instead which worked well.
Nancy C
VerifiedSeptember 2, 2021 • Stayed at: 229, Loop: Loop 200
The bathrooms at the campground are very clean, however, the bath house that has the showers is not kept up. The drains are clogged and water does not drain well and the over all cleanliness lacks a lot to be desired. There was no camp host when I was there.
Patricia M
VerifiedSeptember 2, 2021 • Stayed at: 214, Loop: Loop 200
Camp site was clean, ready for my camping. Bathhouse and restrooms were maintained. Rainier at the springs was very knowledgeable and very helpful, answering all questions. It was quiet at night, all guests respectful. Will be back, absolutely beautiful. But next I will bring something to detour flies.
Stephen C
VerifiedAugust 31, 2021 • Stayed at: 206, Loop: Loop 200
This is my families favorite place to go camping. We live around 5 hours away and have made the trip every year at least once a year since first discovering it. The campsites are a little on the small side considering the size of rigs now. We have a 38 foot pull behind that we struggle with at some of the older campsites. We need a total of 63 feet from the rear of the camper to the front of the truck when hooked up. Most of these sites seem to fall right around the 40-45 foot length. They have updated the electricity on a lot (maybe all) of the sites and have 50A service. Unfortunately some of the sites the electrical box is directly behind the pad instead of to the side. This compounds the problem for the length of the pads as you can’t overhang the back of your camper over the grass because you’re limited to how far you can back up your camper on the pad. We absolutely love the area. Soooo many things to see in relatively short driving distance. Big Spring is right there. There’s a nice trail that leads to it from the turnoff to the campground. Rocky falls a 45 minute drive as well as Allie Spring. Blue Spring is about an hour away and a short lovely hike. It seems most people are there for either tubing down the beautiful current river or have canoes or kayaks. There is a nice gravel bar at the campground that you access by going behind one of the sites with a gradual slope in the river that we bring our bag chairs and a canopy and put in the water to sit and cool off when we have beach days. There are two sections of the campground that aren’t used as much as they have no electrical connections. I wish they would develop at least one of those section and put in deeper sites with water and sewer hookups as the dump station is a pretty good drive for even dumping your blue boy. I feel a lot more people would visit the campground. The shower houses are very well kept up on
Jared S
VerifiedAugust 29, 2021 • Stayed at: 219, Loop: Loop 200
Beautiful campground. Very quite and easy to park big rigs!
Nancy C
VerifiedAugust 20, 2021 • Stayed at: 229, Loop: Loop 200
The bathrooms in campground are kept clean, however, the shower house needs more attention.
RICHARD L
VerifiedAugust 20, 2021 • Stayed at: 210, Loop: Loop 200
Great campground. Clean restrooms. Enjoyed our time there.
Dave N
VerifiedAugust 17, 2021 • Stayed at: 203, Loop: Loop 200
Park was in poor shape. Compared to other federal campgrounds this was one of the worst
Location Big Spring
Address:
Po Box 490
Van Buren, MO, 63965
United States
Big Spring Campground is located four miles (6.4 km) south of Van Buren, Missouri. Turn south on Missouri Highway 103 and continue south for four miles (6.4 km) to the Big Spring Unit of the park.
Big Spring Campground is accessible via Missouri Highway 103, which connects to the nearby town of Van Buren.
Latitude & Longitude: 36.9625 / -90.9831
Elevation: 138 feet
Policies & Rules
General
- If you arrive and another party is occupying your reserved campsite, please call Arrowhead Dispatch at 1-844-460-3604 for a Law Enforcement officer to be dispersed to your location for removal of the unauthorized party.
- 50-amp electric hookups are now available in the 200 loop only (bring converters if necessary).
- There is no direct water hook up at the campsites. You may fill your tanks at the station near the front entrance.
- There are no sewer hookups. A dump station is available at the campground entrance.
- Two tents or 1 RV and 1 tent per site only on Standard Family sites
- Modern restrooms are open April 15-Oct. 15. During other times visitors will be directed to an alternative, which may be a short distance from their campsite.
- No glass bottled beverages are allowed in tubes or non-motorized vessels
- All reservations and reservation changes MUST be completed through the Recreation.gov user profile or by calling toll free 1+877-444-6777.
- For more information about the campground, please call (573) 323-4236 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30pm weekdays, or e-mail OZAR_Campground_Operations@nps.gov.
- Free standing Hammocks only. NO hammocks are allowed to be tied to trees.
- Water systems shut off Oct. 15-April 14. (Water off means most bathrooms and faucets in campgrounds will be closed and facilities winterized, including picnic pavilions. The exception are the heated shower houses/flush restrooms at Round Spring, Big Spring and Alley Spring campgrounds.)
Nearby Campgrounds
Last updated: June 13, 2026