bass river resort

Bass' has a little bit of everything and lives up to it's name as a "resort." Rafts, canoes, fully-furnished cabins (with satellite TV!), campgrounds, horses, a mess hall, a general goods store, and probably more that I didn't even see. Bass' certainly caters to your preference of camping and floating. When (not if) I go back to Steelville, I'll probably consider Bass' first.Disclaimer: My trip was prearranged and I never dealt directly with Bass,' so if there were any behind the scenes shenanigans regarding reservations or extra fees and charges, I wasn't privy to them.

We have a huge group that floats 2-3 times a year. The 3rd trip to this outfitter was THE LAST STRAW. Checkin people were nice. The after the float buffet is horrible, cold overcooked gross! The staff act as if they would rather fall over dead than assist you with anything and God forbid there is any type of emergency. They cannot be bothered. After myself and 2 other floaters got off of a bus to assist a young man that fell out of the back of a pick up truck onto a gravel road, our bus driver took off and left myself and 3 other people to walk 1/2 mile back to our cabin. When we went to the store/office to find out why that had occured, we were told that the bus driver had to stay on schedule and oh well. This sub human man that was "the management" was rude, loud, and ignorant. He had many other colorful words of wisdom to share as he blubbered back and forth. The other "management " person on duty would not even give us the time of day in person, she waited to call me after we were home. Her explanation for such hidious behavior was no better than the neanderthal behind the desk. This incident occured 3 years ago (the date was not available on your trip advisor . In that time I have heard similar stories of ignorance and neglect regarding this outfitter. All I can say is that word gets around and you should stay away !!!!!

When I was younger we did the canoe and camping here, and the Bass boys were always nice and accommodating, now that I ma older, the last five or six times I have stayed with the OTA, doing trail building. Now the Bass Boys are men, and their staff is still nice and accommodating. I love that they let us OTA trail builders stay for free; that they care about building and maintaining a trail that will encourage people to get out and explore the area.

We stayed here over Labor Day weekend with our 2 kids. The resort was very clean and the staff was very friendly and efficient. The resort is huge-horses, floating, cabins, tent/rv sites, pool, and play ground. There was decent access to the river with rock bars. Good for smaller kids as it wasn't too deep. We floated on Saturday, so it was a little rowdy as there weren't a lot of kids on the river. They did have showers available, but we didn't use them. They also had a restaurant that had breakfast buffets (we did not use this either). We did get ice cream from a vendor on site, and it was very good. The full hook up sites do not have a lot of shade. We will try this place out again!

I have never wrote a review before, and I feel that people should really know what they are getting before they go and especially if you have never been here before like us. First they miss led us when I made reservations, they told us if was $11.65 a night for a tent camp site, when we got there is was $11.65 per person per night we paid $110 to just camp for 3 days, for 3 of us,2 adults and a teenager, crazy! Then we went to shower and it cost Money to shower 50Cents for 5 minutes. Then we went the next morning to rent a raft to float and that was $105 for the day and we wanted just tubes those where $25 for each one to rent. This was the highest I've ever seen, but we had no choices on price or river or hours to float. It's shows choices, but it's missing leading, when we asked about the different ones we where told we could only do this, we just wanted to do like a 2 hour float the first day cause it rained and we didn't get to go out on the river until 1:30. We usually go to Emince, they accommodate you for any float trip you want to take, plus the water the is absolutely beautiful and clear as can be, but we thought we try some place new. Raft prices are usually $45 and tubes $12 at most places. I noticed a lot of people where from St Louis or Kansas City,and I think they take advantage of this fact. This was the most expensive camping and floating trip ever and we floated, they told us the Merimac River the only one we could do this day. It's was so murky, not a nice river at all, feels dirty, and not clear.We were very disappointed. The girl that helped us plan this float was rude and did not try to accommodate us in any way. We floated again the next day another $105, started early at 11 so we could make sure we had choices, because I saw different rivers and I was not going to float that one again, the girl was nice and she was av great help and we went on Huzzah River which is beautiful and is very clear, so definitely do this river and skip the Merimac. This camping place also makes you feel like your in a compound, they have security every where, when you buy ice or fire wood you have to go to different places, you have to them a recite for everything to be double checked, then they keep them after with your permission, but it makes you feel like they are so money hungry and untrustworthy. Oh yeah everything is extra, they have a swimming pool, but you have to pay to use that too! I love camping and going to camp sites, because of the down to earth feel, but this place is lacking that which to me is so so important. This camp makes you feel like your in a city camp we will never go back here again! They need to treat thier costumers better and value thier money and thier return, because we do have choices they are not the only place to go and thier is way better places than there. I understand business sense but they also need to practice costumer appreciation.

We have stayed ad Bass River Resort and everything about this resort is done right. They have perfected the entire floating experience of all the resorts in the area.

Cabin - We rented Hickory Hollow Cabin with two other families (a total of 13 people) and it was perfect! Beautiful and open with 4 bedrooms with doors, an open loft with two beds and a basement with three fold out beds. Like others have said, nothing is provided, you have to bring everything with you. Extremely clean and good smelling with great location. Warning, you have to go up some very heavy gravel and a steep incline to get to it so have good tires. Property - There's a perfect little beach where you can play in the river that the kids loved. We went on Sunday-Tuesday so it was pretty quiet and the campgrounds were well kept. Communication - There is NO signal (except a rumor of one by the horse barn :) ) so expect no communication with the outside world. Check in - The girls checking us in (wish I had got her name) has blond wavy hair and was so helpful and kind. She made the whole experience great, telling us the Courtois River was too low right then to float (they hadn't had rain in a long time) and suggesting we go the Meramac instead, even helping us figure out the right configuration of boats to tubes. I wish I had read these reviews earlier because the river doesn't move so we had to tie the tubes onto the rafts.Float Trip - The driver Clint was awesome and upbeat! I wish there had been some kind of little signs along the way because we had no idea where we were or how much longer. It seemed like the never ending trip LOL The driver on the way back is usually the horse guy and he was super kind when one of our group hurt herself by taking a kidney shot on an underground root system.General Store - The prices are hugely inflated. Milk that was $4.69 in town was $7 at the general store. But the fire color changers are worth it at $2, they last for 30-40 minutes! I'd like to say it was all positive but they got only 4 stars because of the issue checking out. One member of our group tried to check out with their souvenirs and was told by the woman with brown hair and glasses that none of them were on sale even though they were clearly marked, they ended up leaving with one shirt. We had spent 30 minutes looking through all the shirts and found two on the 50% off rack. Went up to check out with the same woman and she said that the one my daughter wanted was off the 2 for $20 rack and I had to pick another one from the same rack. I asked if I could just buy the one for $10 and the other for 50% off and she said that I couldn't. I went to the rack, picked a shirt, put it on the counter and she said, "This is 50% off too so it won't work." I then got pretty irritated (after having searched that long and them being on the wrong rack twice) and told her to keep the shirts. At that point another girl walked up and asked what the problem was and after it was explained she gave us the shirt at 50% off ($15).Wasn't bad but I think I would rather have a cabin on the river and maybe a little signal :)

I stayed here through a full very hot weekend. My group loves to "rough it" and tent camp. It was so hot and our water/electric hookup tent site didn't have a single bit of shade. We figured, oh well, we can just hang out in the pool and relax. Nope! The pool is only for renters of condos and cabins. What? Really? This is the first campground I've ever been to that excludes guests from their amenities based how how they stay on their property. There were four adults and three children. We stayed two nights through the weekend. We paid well over $150 for the weekend, just to camp in our tents (2). I understand the great reviews on the floats, as any place that offers floats, offers the same. Floating is fun and everyone should try it. I would just pick a more friendly location, that's not just in it for the money!

Bass has some of the best floating in the Steelville area. We rented a canoe on July 4th and floated from the resort to the Onondaga Cave access for a quieter stretch. The beginning of the Courtois River was curvy and a bit challenging to maneuver through, but it straightened out after awhile. We eventually met up with a bunch of other floaters who were having a rowdy time. I recommend the Bass to Onondaga float stretch to anyone looking for the best of both worlds!

We stayed at the Bass River Resort on the 8th, 9th & 10th of July 2014 in Cozy Cabins 5 & 5A. Leaving on the 11th. The campground is very well maintained, the staff was very friendly and courteous. We rented tubes for 7 of us to float the Courtois River on July 9 at a price of over $150 for the usage of the tubes and transportation up the river to the drop off point. The River is so slow that you do not move when you are in the tube, we had to walk most of the 6-miles as we did not have paddles and when you are "in" the tube you cannot reach the water to paddle with your hands. We were the ONLY people on the water in tubes, looking very foolish. I went up to the office when we finally got back to the lodge and complained. A nice employee told me that she wished she would have waited on us that morning and she would have told us that the river does not run fast enough to move a tube and that even if the water if very high, this particular part of the river does not have a current. I told her that I wished she would advise all the staff to tell customers about this because the staff person that waited on us told us it would be a good family trip to tube the Courtois. It was a terrible experience and because of it we will not go back to Bass River Resort. I feel that all the employees should be up front and honest and tell customers that the River isn't a good tubing adventure and to consider another means of transportation down the River.

We went for a float today with our grandchildren, ages 8,6, and 3. Staff was friendly and well organized. We called ahead to reserve our canoes. The bus met us and took us upstream. We floated 6 miles on the beautiful Courtois River, which took us about 4 hours. It was an easy float for us and the kids. We stopped on a gravel bar for lunch and kids were able to swim. Lots of wildlife and no cell phone service(yahoo).

Awesome vacation. Friendly staff, clean restrooms, felt we got our money's worth. Going back over Labor Day .

Stayed here over the 4th of July weekend and it was very busy as expected. We stayed in one of the A frame cabins and it was very nice. Didn't expect AC and satellite TV. One tip during the warm summer is to reverse the ceiling fan to circulate the cooler air upstairs. Be sure to read the fine print on bringing your own bedding and cooking items as they are not provided. Each cabin has a picnic table by the fire ring and on the porch as well as a charcoal grill out by the fire ring. Very nicely done. The on-site store has many things but best if you shop before you arrive as they are pricey (as expected). The Pool area is nice and most of the other activities are very close by. Our float trip was nice and the 6 miler is about 6 hours so be prepared if your going by tube. The kayaks seemed to be a better option. The river was a bit low but manageable and most of the people on the river were courteous but there were definitely some large rafting groups that you had to work around.Probably the biggest issue was the amount of noise going on after supposed quiet time. Loud music and some dude doing karaoke (couldn't sing worth a damn) till very late. Security seemed to not notice so that was very disappointing. All in all, it was OK but nothing to write home about. I think the other campground in the area looked a little better but it's hard to know without staying there.

THe campground was clean and well taken care of. The shower houses were all clean, and only about $1 for a nice shower. We stayed in the loud area. Well, at 230am we were hoping to that the music would stop, however it continued to pound loud, very loud, until 430am. Just wondering why the security didn't do anything to stop it! It would have been nice to get a little more sleep then 2 hours. The Courtois River is extremely low and we had to drag our raft more then we actually floated. We wish we would have been on another river. The buffet breakfast is also a plus and the front desk shop is nice too. We would go back but not to float on that river and def will stay in the quite section!!

Bass River Resorts provides everything you need to enjoy kayaking the Courtois, Huzzah and Meramec rivers. The owners are extremely knowledgable of river conditions and anxious to help make your trip special. They spotted my car for me and were willing to wait to see the weather conditions which allowed me the option of either a long or short trip. I had two cars and could have shuttled myself but this was so much more convenient.