SDC's Wilderness Campground

[U Smell Smoke]

I have two (other than the waterslide across the street) fond childhood memories of the campground.  First is my grandma.  It never ceased to amaze me the kind of breakfast buffet she could whip up with nothing more than a Coleman stove and a cooler. The food was great and the smells were not bad either!  The second memory regards some folks camping next to us.  They must have had a wild night.  A couple of them crawled out of the tent early one morning and proceeded to pull out all the poles holding the tent up. As the tent collapsed on those still sleeping inside, one of the bandits yelled out at the top of his lungs "Fire in the Hole".  Needless to say, the folks inside the tent were not amused.  However, we were!

[biscuitcreek]

Shuttle service uses the same roads as everyone else.  It runs once or twice an hour so sometimes you can have a long wait when you're ready to leave the park.

[mbrownx4]

Ok, now I'll finish.  I usually go by myself to tent camp, since I am the only one willing to do it.  Way back before the kids, the wife and I camped one weekend there and one evening many of the campers were robbed by some teenagers that had come in to camp and then took off.  We didn't have anything they were interested in but the people next us lost several items.  That is an isolated incident though, the other times I have gone have always been great, no complaints.  I had also camped at the Old Shepherds Campground, but the Wilderness was the better of the two.  Fond memories of getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and hearing something move near the tent.  Hard to hurry with no shoes and sharp gravel to traverse.

[cheesehead57]

Back on the computer now.....My husband and I tent camped  both when it was SDC and Wilderness....we had a great time, tent sites were clean as well as the bathrooms. The staff went out of their way to be helpful. We stay in motels now....getting to old to  tent camp and like air conditioning.

[History Buff]

^^I actually preferred Old Shepherd's simply because it was down in the valley and away from the road.  I wish someone would do something with the property, but running a campground is not a hand-off business.

[Junior]

It's hard for me to imagine why Old Shepherd's has been closed and abandoned for so many years. Good location, pretty sites, who knows? But I agree, I wish something could be done with the property.

[MissinTheGreenTrams]

I been both for tenting and cabin purposes. I stayed in the loft cabin with 5 adults one teenager and a 3 year old. I dont suggest that as there was one bathroom and a two seater couch. Not alot of space but really nice and clean. The pool was clean and high on chlorine. The whole campground itself is clean and staff friendly. 

[okiebluegrass]

I last stayed there in 2002 with my two sons and my ex-wife. She hated the outdoors so camping with her was never fun. I need to try with wife 2.0 and see how she likes it. She is a true hillbilly (like me) and she loves camping, and horses and fishing and rivers, and all that stuff the ex hated. Next time I go there I might actually get to enjoy it.

[joshblakebran]

My family and I have been camping at the Wilderness for five years. We absolutely love it. It's clean, the staff is friendly, close to SDC, and the shuttle service is great. We stay in an RV and have never had any troubles there with anybody messing with our things whatsoever. My parents have stayed in the cabins and have enjoyed them greatly. If you're a season pass holder, you get 15% off each night's stay for the RV/Tent spots. You get 15% off the cabins if you stay for at least 2 nights. Anyway, we've tried Compton Ridge and Tall Pines, but continue to come back to the Wilderness as it just feels like home. Trailer Life rates the park very high. It is very clean, has all the amenities including wireless internet service anywhere in the park and free cable at each space. We refuse to stay anywhere else at this point since our experience at the Wilderness has been so great.

[adairmd]

Where was Old Sheperd's, I'm guessing it was near SOtH?

[sanddunerider]

shepherds campground?

about 1/2 mile east of SOTH main entrance,  "south" side of rode.  You can still see a long gravel driveway headed downhill, going west..   

Real easy to spot coming from Branson headed to SDC.

 have not been down there for years. i am surprised somebody has not rebuilt the area with RV popularity growing every year.

[adairmd]

Can you still drive down to it?

[Junior]

Last time I drove by earlier this month I think the driveway is blocked with a gate or some type of barrier. I think it has been in place for many years. Not much to see back there anyway, I would expect. It would be all grown up and nothing much there anyway. It is a prime piece of property, and had nice views of the valley below back when it was in use as a campground.

[sanddunerider]

didnt notice gate/barricade,  but still a sign there, and there is a "street" sign that reads.  "shepherd rd"?  or something like that..

[BransonInfo.org]

My wife and I were driving by there on the way back from SDC last weekend, and noticed they had a WiFi AP set up.  Kinda surprised me - even I'm not quite that attached to technology... yet.