0
Pull-thru
USFSMark Twain National Forest · Missouri
Pinewoods Lake Rec Area
Overview Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area sits next to Pinewoods Lake in southeastern Missouri.
Sites161 reservable
Elev.863ft
Comf.Mar-Nov9 months
Max rigtents
Electricnonesites
From St. Louis3h11real road time
The honest read
Synthesized from
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
At 863 ft, Pinewoods Lake Rec Area has a 9-month comfortable window (Mar-Nov). Winter nights average around 29°F, so the shoulder seasons turn cold fast. 16 sites total: 1 reservable and 15 first-come, first-served. Within about 4 miles: lake or river access.
The campground at a glance
01 · CHARACTER
Reads strongest on shade and cool nights. Softest on quiet.
Six axes, each scored relative to every other federal campground in the region: quiet (miles to a major road), cool (elevation), roomy (average site spacing), shade, RV-fit (longest rig), and how reservable it is. All six come from data, nothing hand-tuned.
When to go
02 · CLIMATE
avg highavg lowfrost-freedriest · Sep
Mar-Nov
Comfortable window: nights stay above 35°F, days below 90°F.
75%
Of summer weekend-days are dry.
Mar 30
Last spring frost; first fall frost Oct 30.
71°F
Average July low.
Getting there
03 · ACCESS
01
St. Louis
162 mi
3h11
02
Springfield
164 mi
3h20
03
Kansas City
331 mi
6h31
By drive time
Routed road time (OSRM). Nearest major highway 0.5 mi away.
Picking your site
04 · 16 SITES
0
Walk-in
0
50-amp
1
Accessible
0
Prime
16
Sites
★ The standout
Site 06
Pinewoods · shaded.
0
Type
Standard
What's within four miles
05 · TRAILS · PEAKS · WATER
Trails & Peaks
Trail segments
3
Water & Access
Lake / river access
yes
To nearest major road
0.5 mi
Method
We synthesize public data layers: RIDB and Recreation.gov facility and site records, Open-Meteo climate normals, OpenStreetMap roads, trails, and water, OSRM drive times, and USGS elevation. We take no bookings, no ads, and no paid placements. Independence is the entire point.