Camping Places in Independence, Missouri

The city of Independence, Missouri is surrounded by lakes and parks, with rolling hills and many acres of open water that offer a wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation. Camping is one of many ways you can enjoy the outdoors in the Independence area. Hundreds of campsites provide accommodations for tents and RVs alike, with options ranging from busy urban campgrounds to secluded lakeside retreats less than an hour from the city.

  1. Between Two Lakes

    • Nestled around the shores of Blue Springs Lake and Lake Jacomo, Fleming Park is less than 15 minutes from Independence and has two campgrounds. The Blue Springs Campground features more than 80 electric tent and RV campsites, many of them with full hookups including water and sewer. The smaller Jacomo Campground has 57 sites, including a few primitive non-electric campsites. All sites include picnic tables and campfire rings, and visitors to both campgrounds have access to modern restrooms and hot showers. Fleming Park also provides a variety of recreational facilities, including boat ramps, fishing docks and picnic shelters.

    Lots to See and Do

    • Longview Lake Park is about 20 minutes south of Independence and spans more than 4,800 acres on the shore of Longview Lake. The park includes a campground with more than 100 campsites that range from primitive tent sites to full hookup sites for RVs. The campground features campfire rings, picnic tables, hot showers, modern restrooms, laundry facilities and RV dump stations. With a swimming beach, full-service marina, 18-hole golf course, model airplane flying field, horse park, 4 miles of hiking trails and 6 miles of bike trails, it would be hard to run out of things to do at Longview Lake Park.

    World-Class Fishing

    • Spanning more than 7,200 acres, Smithville Lake is about 35 minutes north of Independence. The lake is home to some of the best fishing in the region, and with a current Missouri fishing license you can catch bass, crappie, walleye and numerous other species. Clay County Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites operates two campgrounds on the shoreline, with more than 750 campsites in total. The Camp Branch Campground and Crows Creek Campground both offer electric and non-electric campsites that are open to RVs as well as tents. A few sites at the Crows Creek Campground also include water hookups. Showers, restrooms and laundry facilities are provided, and many campsites are right on the shoreline. In addition to shore fishing access, boat rentals, launch facilities and docks, campers have access to several hiking, biking and horseback riding trails.

    Quiet and Secluded

    • Watkins Mill State Park is about 40 minutes from Independence, and this relatively small state park contains 1,500 acres of meadows and oak hickory forest around a quiet 100-acre lake. The lake's calm waters are ideal for canoeing and kayaking, and you can explore the surrounding forest on a 3.75-mile paved bike path and a 4-mile network of hiking and equestrian trails. The centerpiece of the park is the Watkins Mill State Historic Site, which preserves an old mill that produced wool and yarn during the late 1800s. Watkins Mill State Park also includes a campground with nearly 100 campsites, 74 of which have electric hookups. The campground is shady secluded, with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. A primitive camping area is also available for large groups.