Dam West Recreation Area

Beautiful park on a lake. This is the kind of place you dream of when you think of camping. The site was long & mostly level. Electric hookups only. Didn’t use electric because I would’ve had to wade thru 6” of water to do so & back up to reach with my cord. The site was not level at the back so I stayed put. Well spaced sites, concrete pad plus gravel area with picnic table. Dump area & potable water available at entrance. Good AT&T 5Ge signal.

I arrived on a Saturday in a downpour. Camp host wouldn’t just let me check into a site unseen & made me go scope them out. By the time I returned the rain was downright biblical & his internet had gone down. Had to walk back later to get checked in.

Someone played loud music & bellowed along to the songs till sometime after 11pm. I turned on a white noise app at high volume & fell asleep instantly. I asked the camp hosts the next morning & they said that was unusual.

We hit this park in the afternoon and were lucky to get the last spot. We were in site 3 which was nice and quiet with shade all day. Almost all site are large level paved areas with fire ring and picnic table. There is really good spacing between most sites. This is a well kept walkable park. Visitor center is very small but the host was nice and informative. I would recommend this park for anyone who wants to visit this area or drive into St. Louis like we did.

Stayed at Dam West Campground on 6/21/21, site #24. The cost was $8 using our senior pass. This site has a spacious double-wide asphalt pad and is also extra long. Sites are well-spaced and very level. There is a nice circular raised concrete area with fire ring and grate. The grounds are clean and well maintained.. Many sites are right on Carlyle Lake and others have great lake views. The restroom at the end of this loop consists of individual-use rooms with toilet, sink and shower in each. There is a centrally located field for play along with a basketball court and 4 horseshoe pits. This end of the campground is close to Rt 75 so there is noise from traffic and trains. We stayed at this campground again on our way home, 7/7/21, in site #73. We got the last site, camp full on a Wed night. This area has a community air-conditioned shower house/restroom.

This was a quick overnight stay heading to Wyoming. The sites are fairly close together with full hookups for some sites not all. Great walking path to the shipyard nearby. The location of the campground is 16miles from the highway. The bathroom facilities were clean. Everyone we talked with or spoke to was super friendly. We will definitely stay again.