Free Campsite- Vandalia Lake
If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the past year, it’s that sometimes the best campsites are the unexpected ones!
While driving through central Missouri, we decided, once again, to try and find a free campsite. We didn’t just find a free campsite, we found an entire free campground!
Location
The GPS coordinates for the exact spot that we stayed are 39.234864, -91.535721 . Click here to open in Google Maps.
This free campground is about 2 hours Northeast of Lake of the Ozarks State Park, which is where we camped the night before.
You are allowed to stay here for up to 14 days, FREE OF CHARGE! See more info on this Missouri Department of Conservation website.
Getting There
The road you will take to get to this area is Audrain Rd 524. The road is gravel for the last few miles, so be prepared to get a little dust on your rig!
There is a sign on that road that indicates where to turn into the Vandalia Lake Conservation Area.
From there, simply follow the road in to see the campsites that have gravel driveways and are moderately level.
Amenities
Being a free campground, we had our expectations low for any additional benefits, other than a free place to park. There are no electric, water, or sewer hookups here.
There are, however, several perks to camping here. First of all, there is a toilet building with clean pit toilets, that looks to be brand new.
Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table.
Another bonus was the dumpster that was available, as getting rid of garbage is sometimes a hassle when boondocking.
Lastly, there is a nice picnic shelter, and a boat launch!
Our AT&T hotspot had 2 bars of service here.
Our Experience
We camped here for 1 night in March. It was a little windy and chilly, but the sun was out, which made it tolerable to be outside.
Just like the night before at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, we were the only ones camping here! It was nice to see a sheriffs deputy drive by on two different occasions, ensuring that the park is safe.
While staying here we explored the campground, which the dogs loved, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over an open field.
This free campsite is one that we highly recommend!
If you enjoyed this Free Campsite – Vandalia Lake, Check out some of these other great Free Campsites!
Free Campsite on Colorado River BLM – Ehrenberg, AZ
Free Beachfront Camping – Magnolia Beach, TX
Cheap Campsite – Lake Havasu, AZ
-Kyle G.
The best way I found to go to Farber MO -Farber Lake is:
From Vandalia, MO ( 4 miles East of Farber on US. 54):
At THE 🛑 STOP Sign go due straight South ⬇️ on Adrain Co. Rt. W (Nice pavement South). You follow ‘Rt. W’ straight South — outta town for maybe 5 miles and then little signs say Lake Access ➡️ (Turn due West)
Then turn WEST ⬅️. Go approximately 2 1/2 – 3 miles? On a. solid gravel Rd. 524 WEST. 524
West takes you right to this nice little fishing and camping lake. Outhouses, I saw 3. Clean,
This is the most direct and best way to go — South on W and west on 524 from there ands you turn into lake ⬆️ North from there. There are two areas. tithe Nothern one is a big one and really meant for a group.