How to Plan a Weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks

Connecting with nature is a primal urge. Many people believe that modern society is too sedentary and too focused on indoor activities. To break this trend, you can plan a vacation that allows you to enjoy the fruits of being outdoors. The sun warming your skin, the breeze whistling through your hair.

The Lake of the Ozarks is the perfect spot. You can easily plan your ideal weekend. If you’re not the biggest outdoors person, you can focus on luxury. Where someone else might want to spend hours or all-day outside, you might get your fill in 30 minutes.

Here are some planning tips you can follow.

1. Pick the Right Season

Depending on the time of year, the lake can be bursting with tourists and activity or it can be fairly quiet. Book your vacation for a time that meshes with your wants. If you’re looking for a wild weekend with lots of opportunities to party, show up during one of the busier weekends. This will be more expensive but you and your group should be able to meet a lot of people.

2. Form Your Crew

Think about who you want to invite. The group experience will be better if everyone has a good relationship with each other. If there’s any drama poisoning your relationships, work it out before the trip.

Don’t let the size of your group become too unruly. If there’s a lot of people, it’ll be hard to seat you guys together when you go out. The group will naturally splinter.

Still, this will be the easiest part of your planning.

3. Start Organizing

Figure out the logistics of the trip early on so you can smooth out potential wrinkles. To make payments easy, convince the group to adopt an app like Venmo or Zelle. Paying cash for everything might not be feasible when there are daily ATM limits.

Break down the expected costs so no one is blindsided.

4. Lodging

You have to sleep somewhere. When you’re at the lake, you have a ton of options. You can rent a room at one of the resorts or through Airbnb if you’re looking for a home-like environment. Interested in something more rugged? Look into camping or renting a house boat.

The most luxurious option is to seek out a yacht charter. You can travel and stay on the lake in style. A yacht is the ultimate symbol of luxury.

Stock up on groceries as soon you arrive. Even if you plan on eating out most meals, no one will regret having a cooler full of snacks back at the hotel. They’ll satisfy your cravings when you’re drunk and hungry at 3 a.m.

5. Activities

There are a ton of things that you can do at the lake. You can laze about on the water or get active. Talk to the rest of your crew and figure out what everyone is in the mood for. Fishing, golfing, every traditional outdoor activity that you can think of is available at the lake.

If you’re spending more a few days in the area, everyone should have time to explore on their own. Make sure your schedule isn’t too rigid.  

There are a couple of major sites that visitors to the Ozarks often enjoy seeing. For instance, the Lake of the Ozarks State Park is a great place to go camping and hiking. The park offers visitors stunning natural sights. If you’d prefer to see more unique geological sights, you can visit Ha Ha Tonka State Park. It has caverns and unusual rock formations that you can explore.

Of course, you can also devote your time to the water. You can engage in every water sport activity that you can think of. Water skiing is popular among athletes while people of all fitness levels can enjoy fishing.

6. Schedule Your Vacation

A group vacation in the Ozarks can turn into the most fun thing you do all year. It’s a great opportunity for you and your friends to relax in a low-stress environment. You can spend the entire time enjoying yourself.

If the idea of traveling with other people is unappealing, go by yourself. The Ozarks are so popular that it shouldn’t be a challenge to meet fellow travelers if you want. You can also go to a remote area where you’re unlikely to even see another human being.

The Ozarks covers a huge expanse of land. The Lake of the Ozarks, located in Missouri, is a man-made reservoir created with the Bagnell Dam.