By Bill Cooper

After a long, hot summer, fall has finally arrived. Cooler temperatures and approaching fall colors create what I think is the best time of year for camping.

It’s a fact. Most people camp during the summer. School is out, weather is warmer, which many like, and time off work aligns to make outdoor travel convenient and enjoyable.

Summer temperatures make sleeping in tents, swimming, and spending long hours outside comfortable without freezing nighttime lows, the experts say. Personally, I’ve spent many summer nights sweating in a tent. Summer nights can be extremely hot. That’s why we see campers of today enjoying summer nights in air-conditioned travel campers.

When kids get out of school for the summer, it provides families with a wide window of opportunity to go camping and enjoy other outdoor activities. The longer daylight hours allow more time for hiking, setting up camp, and enjoying evening activities like sitting around a campfire.

Another advantage to summer camping is the fact that national parks, private campgrounds, and recreational trails operate at full capacity with open roads, visitor centers, and water systems during the summer.

Vacation traditions follow the summer solstice as well. Many families treat summer camping as an annual tradition to disconnect from screens, relax, and enjoy nature together.

An exact total number of people who camp in the Missouri Ozarks each year is not tracked in a single combined metric, but major public recreation areas in the region draw hundreds of thousands of campers annually among millions of overall visitors.

Because the Ozarks span a massive multi-agency landscape of national parks, national forests, state parks, and private campgrounds, statistics are reported separately.

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways records roughly 1.3million total visitors each year, with about 30,000 of those camping on the associated river gravel bars, or in the park’s designated campgrounds.

Mark Twain National Forest, which spans 1.5 million acres across the Ozarks plateau, sees nearly 800,000 visitors annually, with camping representing one of the core recreational activities alongside floating and hiking.

The Ozark Region of Missouri State Parks includes Lake of the Ozarks State Park, which sees 1.4 million total visitors and tens of thousands of occupied camping/lodging nights per year. Johnson’s Shut-ins, Montauk and Meramec add hundreds of thousands more campers to the regional total.

Additionally, private float-trip resorts, commercial campgrounds, and free primitive conservation areas host hundreds of thousands of additional weekend visitors during the peak spring-to-fall floating and camping season. Over 300 free primitive camping areas are available on Missouri department of Conservation areas.

Despite the grand availability of camping areas and facilities during the summer, I still far prefer the cooler temperatures, fewer campers, and vivid colors that fall brings. Camping means different things to different people. While most these days desire the creature comforts of home, there are still those that prefer the wild scene over the refined. Fortunately, agencies and private businesses cater to both ends of the spectrum in the Missouri Ozarks. 

Fall is my favorite time of the year, therefore I choose the cooler weather seasons to do most of my camping. And like a growing number of other folks, I prefer to camp in wild areas to escape modern distractions, immerse myself in untouched nature, and experience total freedom away from crowded public campsites.

Crowds of campers do not trip my trigger, despite the fact that both public agencies and private campgrounds do a fabulous job of controlling noise and other obnoxious behavior. Private campgrounds, in particular, have come a long ways towards keeping things civil. They’ve learned that peace and quiet  are still an important element of most people’s camping experience. Therefore, it behooves them to maintain a level of quietness to encourage return visits.

Camping in cooler weather holds several attractions for me and others. I prefer cool over extreme heat. There is something very refreshing about the cooling winds of fall. Too, I know that fall brings more wildlife activity. Ducks, geese, and songbirds are migrating. Most migrate at night and are not seen or heard by most people. Recently radar indicated that there were 180 million birds in the skies migrating in one night. It is incredible to witness the sights and sounds associated with such movement.

Too, wild turkey flocks become more visible as hens and young hit the open fields to chase grasshoppers. Elk begin bugling by early September. Listening to their loud screams echo through the hills will make the hair stand up on your neck. Deer become more visible as the rut approaches and bucks throw caution to the wind as they seek out mates. And wildlife populations area at their peak during fall. 

Of course, fall colors are a major attractant for cool weather campers. Floating and camping on one of our many Ozark streams is a prime way to see the colors up close and personal. Often float-camp trips can be made without encountering another person. That adds a special touch of wild and alone to any trip.

Our mid-Ozark region is blessed with many cool weather camping opportunities. The private campgrounds and canoe liveries welcome off-season campers. The cool weather season is their slowest time of the year and the business is welcome. 

I recently purchased an over the cab camper for my truck. I took it on its maiden voyage to a Missouri Department of Conservation primitive campground. Usually busy in the summer months, I enjoyed the camp all alone. A river flowed by within 100 yards. Barred owls serenaded me as I enjoyed a blazing campfire to cut the evening chill. Cool weather camping is…cool.