Thompson Campground in Missouri
Camp Missouri: I’m talking with Troy Bock today. He is the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Moberly. We’re going to talk about Thompson Campground today. It is in Rothwell Park. How’s it going this afternoon, Troy?
Troy Bock: It’s going quite well.
Camp Missouri: So, let’s start with how Thompson Campground got started and about how long it’s been around.
Troy Bock: Well, it was named after Lionel Thompson Campground, who is a local man who helped provide some of the funding to initially establish it. It’s been around, I believe, since the 1980s, and it’s really been thriving more the last several years. We have 24 full hook-up spots. Several of them are pull-through spots. Easy to accommodate big rigs, and it’s set within a 500-acre Park, which is Rothwell Park. And there are a variety of other amenities, which we can get to after a while.
Camp Missouri: Okay, sounds good. So, you have the RV camping there. Do you guys have tent camping as well?
Troy Bock: Yes, we do. Right next to the RV campground, we have a tent camping section. There aren’t designated spots, and so it’s an open green area with a few trees scattered within that.
Camp Missouri: Okay. And what are the most popular amenities in the Park?
Troy Bock: We had an Aquatic Center built in 2009 with large slides, two diving boards–
Camp Missouri: Cool.
Troy Bock: –which is open from Memorial Day to the end of August. We have several meeting facilities, including a new lodge, which was built in 2010. We have about four miles of paved walking trails. Several landscaped areas with flower gardens. And we have a Tree Nursery, giving us a 500-acre Park naturally. There are thousands of trees on the property, as much of the Park is either lake or forest, and so we have a Forestry Program and tied into the lake we have two ADA accessible fishing docks as well as two boat landing on two out of three of the lakes within the Park. We have several large playground areas, and about ten shelters within the Park.
Camp Missouri: Okay. Now, what are some of your favorite attractions in the area outside of the Park, around there?
Troy Bock: Sure. We have right across the road to the north, there’s a family amusement park area with go-kart rides and mini golfing. There are some conversation areas, including Rudolph, and just to the south, adjacent to Rothwell Park, we have what’s called the Howard Hills Athletic Complex with eight fields. And during the summer, naturally they’ll see a lot of activity from our organized leagues to tournaments. Softballs and baseball tournaments that come in, and even a football tournament in September. Those tournaments bring in people from across the State and occasionally from surrounding States. We also have, adjust to Rothwell Park, a 43.5-acre wilderness area, which is amused by horse riders, bird watchers, and mountain bikers, and so on. You know, a wide range of people, and so those are just a few of the other amenities within the area.
Camp Missouri: All right, just two more questions for you, Troy. If you were going to spend just one hour at Thompson Campground in Rothwell Park there, how would you spend your time?
Troy Bock: At the Youth Center at Rothwell Park, there’s a war memorial area, which has a memorial for each of the wars the US has been involved in, but also have a very large bronze statue of General Omar Bradley, who is the last of the five star generals of the 1900s, who was also the first joint Jesus staff. He’s from the Moberly area here and a well-known figure in the US and military history.
Camp Missouri: Cool. And if you could spend just one night in Rothwell Park, camping, which specific campsite would you stay at and why?
Troy Bock: Well, number ten is at the backend of the loop with more green area. There’s some lawn space surrounding it as well as it backs up to the forested area, and it’s quieter. So, that would be definitely the space to visit, and it accommodates the larger units that many folks travel in, especially retirees.
Camp Missouri: All right, perfect. Thanks for the tip, and thank you so much for taking some time out of your day, Troy, to chat with us about Thompson Campground at Rothwell Park in Moberly and Missouri.
Troy Bock: Thank you, I appreciate it.
