Lake of the Ozarks State Park

About this park

Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri's largest state park at more than 17,600 acres, protects an extensive stretch of shoreline along one of the state's largest lakes, offering visitors genuine solitude in undeveloped coves even as the broader Lake of the Ozarks region around it has grown into one of the Midwest's busiest vacation destinations. That combination of untouched park land directly bordering a highly developed recreational lake gives the park a genuinely unique character within the Missouri system. Civilian Conservation Corps crews left behind extensive stonework throughout the park during the Depression era, and today's visitors can explore that CCC legacy alongside the park's more unusual attraction: Ozark Caverns, a guided cave tour experience with its own dedicated visitor center, offering an underground counterpart to the park's extensive above-ground trail network. Hikers, backpackers, equestrians, and bicyclists wind through open woodlands, sunny glades, small springs, and streams to reach dramatic bluff-top views overlooking the main lake. Two swimming beaches, boat rentals, paved boat ramps, and marina stores give the park a genuinely complete set of lake-based amenities, while year-round overnight accommodations ranging from standard campsites to Outpost cabins and yurts offer a range of experiences rarely found together at a single Missouri park. Despite its scale and the lake's surrounding development, the park's natural beauty and quiet coves remain remarkably undisturbed, giving visitors genuine wilderness access just minutes from extensive shopping, dining, and entertainment.