Missouri Campgrounds Fully Booked Last Holiday Weekend

Missouri local campgrounds are packed and busy over the holiday weekend. 

As per a report, the Mark Twain Cave Complex said a long line of RVs and cars were waiting to enter the campground on Friday.

Despite having more campsites than they had the previous year, they were still full.

“We are listed in the top ten places in the country to celebrate the Fourth of July. And I really just feel like Hannibal does the Fourth of July right,” said Jessica Bonvillian, Mark Twain Cave Complex Manager of Special Projects.

Quincy residents Amy O’Dear and her family stayed there because of National Tom Sawyer Days.

“We’ve done the carnivals the other night downtown and then go and watch the parade today, and then we are gonna be going in tonight to watch the fireworks,” O’Dear said.

Bonvillian said 99 campsites, including full hookup RV and tent sites, were booked for weeks.

We even added sites this last winter, and so even with those additional sites, we were able to completely book out our campground weeks in advance.

O’Dear said she goes camping with family and friends each year; on Sunday, they watched a movie on a blowup TV screen outside.

“It builds memories, especially, my kids are getting older, so I’m not gonna have too much time with them on doing stuff like this, so it’s just something that we want to do,” O’Dear said.

O’Dear encourages more people to get outdoors and camp at the complex.

“Very clean… family-friendly, pet friendly, it’s just all-around a great place,” O’Dear said.

Bonvillian said that many of the people who camp there also go on cave tours and enjoy drinks at the winery, which provides them with an economic boost.

Bonvillian also said that they recently switched to an online reservation system, making it easier for campers to book reservations without having to be on a waiting list. 

According to its Facebook page, Mark Twain Cave Complex features the world-famous Mark Twain Cave and Cameron Cave, a 99-site campground, and Cave Hollow West Winery.

It also has water, sewer, and electric hookups, back-in and pull-through sites, and features fire rings, picnic tables, and a shade pavilion. 

Campers can enjoy the great outdoors even more with cave tours, walking trails, and more. 

For more information, visit https://www.marktwaincave.com/campground/. 

This story originally appeared on WGEM. Featured image from Mark Twain Cave Complex.