theruggednerdOsceola, MO
If you’ve ever driven through the Midwest and have come within 100 miles of Osceola, odds are you’ve seen the classic billboard for Osceola Cheese… 6-foot-tall mouse, yellow background, giant letters with the name. Yeah, that one. What I never knew was there, nestled in what is apparently the fromage capital in the Heart of America, is the quaint, quiet, sleepy Osceola RV Park.
What isn’t there to love here?! Spacious sites right next to a nice sized pond, populated by good ol’ boys and their sweethearts, boomers just looking for a quiet resort for the next week or two, and the sweetest older couple serving as camp hosts to this no-frills park. Seriously zero frills, nothing glamorous… if an RV park had a 5 o’clock shadow and a strong firm handshake with a calloused hand, Osceola RV Park would be it. And that’s why we loved it. Bonus, the park is pet friendly, which is important because we always try to take our old dog, Ume (oo-may), with us on these trips.
Sometimes people say, “you get what you pay for,” with a negative connotation… which 99.99% of the time the sentiment is justified. Here, it’s the opposite. Coming in at less $20 a night for full hookups, with a dump station charge of just $3 for anyone passing thru, the park takes it easy on the budget on all counts.
This campground is just a few minutes from Hwy 13, but far enough to have zero road noise. Additionally, location, location, location! Just a little over an hour from many all-day attractions: 40 minutes to Truman Reservoir, 45 minutes to Stockton Lake, just over and hour to Lake of the Ozarks, Pomme de Terre Lake or Ha Ha Tonka State Park, and an hour and a half to Kansas City. Osceola can serve as the perfect jump off point for a week’s worth of activities in west-central Missouri.
Our Site
Reservations can be made on the phone, and you can pay a deposit via credit card or, if so inclined, mail a check in ahead of time. Pat is an absolute sweetheart and will help you get the right setup for your rig.
We stayed in site J which had full hookups that carried 20/30/50 amp options. Site J is the pull through closest to the bathhouse. The bathhouse men’s side has two showers, three or four stalls, and a sink (bring your own soap). It was updated recently and in excellent condition.
They also had a laundry but we didn’t need to use it for our short stint. There was a trash bin within 100-150 feet walking distance, located towards the main entrance. The small pond was about 500 feet or so from our campsite, and they have a lot of spoonbill/paddlefish boaters and anglers that visit annually between March thru April or May for tournaments on the pond. The park was about 20% full for the weekend. Most of the folks we chatted with were passing thru. There were folks from as far south as Louisiana and north as Wisconsin (I bet they came to rate the cheese…)
There was a row of primitive camping sites long the northern most road. Other RV sites all looked similar and they were very level if you line up on the center of the gravel pad. The only thing I could pick on for the entire park was there were are a dozen or so dilapidated RVs and trailers on the property that are stored there. They made it seem more run down than it was for sure. Also, some of the property could use a mow, but it was not a bother at all for us. Our kids had a blast in the fields and on the small, quaint playground near our site. And while there is no wi-fi, we had 3 bars of signal with our Verizon service at the park. Data for maps and the Fishbrain app were super slow, but we were able to make phone calls and send/receive texts without issue.
Osceola
Osceola has a super small town feel, but Osceola Cheese is definitely worth the visit. Hundreds of quality cheeses, smoked sausages and jerky, and general take home gifts.
Just down the road is some of the best barbecue you can find in all of Missouri or Kansas: Sugar Foot BBQ. Everything there is excellent, and this time we picked up some of their amazing fry seasoning which goes amazing on roasted potatoes as well!
We drove an hour or so to Truman Reservoir to check out the dam and lake. Truman State Park was cool! The visitor center sported an AMAZING view of Truman Reservoir and lake. We fished the lower reservoir which was busy but had plenty of room along the shore for a Saturday. We pulled 3 nice sized white bass that were aggressive due to spawning in mid-April.
Osceola RV Park
URL: http://www.cityofosceolamo.com/rv-park—campground.html
Pat & Larry Welch
Office phone: (417) 646-8675
Cell: (660) 351-6977
or (660) 351-2882
