Watkins Mill State Park

This is a very nice well maintained State Park. There were lots of hiking trails with one 31/2 mile paved one around the lake. The shower/Bath house was very clean. Our site was limerock and super unlevel side to side. There were some sites that were paved concrete and I would recommend one of those. There is a very nice museum on site with a Historic house and woolen mill tour.

This was our second trip to Watkins Mill, but the first time we stayed long enough to visit the information center and take the tours. A few of the sites in our loop had level concrete pads that were not marked as handicap only, but our site was gravel and sloped enough left-to-right that we maxed out our leveling blocks on one side and it sloped enough front to back that our hitch was nearly on the ground. No complaints, though because it was all manageable.

The information center had a diorama that illustrated the site's size and building orientations so when we took the tours, we had a better appreciation for the size of the operation. The center had displays of farm, travel, and manufacturing equipment, but we missed the period actors. There was also a small, working loom for visitors to try out.

We spent $5.00 each for a tour of the house and mill and both of the park rangers were knowledgeable and entertaining. We'll take the tour again the next time we go, but read more about the Watkins family and mill history before the trip to add to the overall experience.

My wife and I work from the road and we connect to ATT and Verizon 4g networks with cellular embedded routers. We had no issues with either service while at the park.

This is one of our favorite state parks to visit when we are in the Kansas City area. It's about 30 minutes north of downtown KC. This state park has mostly shaded and spacious RV sites. They only offer electric at the site, but there is a dump station and water at the entrance to the park. The restroom and shower facilities are clean and the camp hosts are always around if you need anything. Watkins Mill offers that peaceful campground feel, yet close to shopping and restaurants. We will definitely return again :)

Man, it was loud, too! LOL Nice Mo S.P.. Great hot weather place to go just North of Kansas City, Mo.. They have a lake w/swim beach, fishing and trails galore. None of the sites have water or sewer but it's available. The shower houses and restrooms were spotless and functional. The camp hosts were helpful, hardworking and friendly. The Mo website lists Wi-Fi in the park but when I asked the host about it she laughed. It does not exist. Most of the driveways are nicely graveled but fall off sharply on both sides. Be careful after dark. Plenty of things to do in the immediate area. Oh yeah, the $8.50 fee to do my own, on-line reservation irks me.

Overall this is a nice campground which seems to serve as a convenient weekend getaway for Kansas City urban dwellers. The first 2 cul-de-sacs (1-11 & 14-34) were mostly car campers, pop-ups, smaller trailers, and tear-drop campers. The last loop/cul-de-sec (40-93) had some class A and all the larger trailers and 5th wheels, which on this July Friday and Saturday seemed pretty crowded. Sites were of variable length, width and degree of levelness. Site 21 for our class C worked out just fine. The cul-de-sac sites seem to have the most space around them. It was getting dark when we arrived and the campground staff was making the rounds and were very nice. They allowed us to get set up and brought us our post paperwork. Even though I had a 1-night reservation they seemed to think I was staying for 2. I paid $23 plus the $8.50 fee for the one night. I had to use the call center to make the reservation because I found out two things about Missouri campgrounds - many require 2-night minimum (not unusual I guess) and some don't allow a Saturday departure. That along with not being able to make an online reservation less than 3 days before arrival sent me to the call center. They were helpful in finding a park that would allow a 1-night stay and it worked out fine. Water was spread throughout the park, the shower buildings looked clean and modern, the playground really nice, dump station very functional and the park well maintained and clean. The best parts of the park were the trail around the lake, the numerous access points to the trail and picnic areas, and the museum/house/mill historical site at the north end of the park. NOTE: there is a 12'6" underpass just before the Mill site (if heading north) on Park Road. All the signs point to the park EXIT being to the south (main entrance) onto Jesse James Farm Road / NE 161st Road but there is also a gated entrance from the north (Watkins Road) off of County Road MM. The museum has excellent displays of the history of the Watkins family and the mill. A path takes you to the fully restored house and mill. The grounds are beautifully maintained with volunteers in period dress providing tours and demonstrations. The museum is free but tours require a ticket and alternate between the house and mill on the hour.

Photo on net showed this as level and long for our fifth wheel. Three layers of boards under one side and ran out of boards. Large limb fell out of tree in middle of night, no wind or storm. Glass damage. Camp here at your own risk. Large acerage but trees too close. Suggest call and let them pick your site. Photos are not accurate. Staff excellent. GPS not accurate to the location.