Vintage Boat Tales

Vintage Boat Tales

by Tegan Shockley Every summer weekend, the Lake of the Ozarks shines with flashy new boats, from catamarans to cruisers. But on the quieter days, a rarer breed of boater comes out to play: vintage boat owners.   The 1956 Larson Falls Flyer - Ernie Lierman  Ernie...

read more
The Amazing Amphicar

The Amazing Amphicar

The rare, amphibious car that cruises the Lake’s shorelines sports a fascinating back-story. by Tegan Shockley Is it a car? Is it a boat? Yes!  The Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious automobile to be mass-produced, and one resides right here at Lake of the...

read more
The Great Loop

The Great Loop

Boaters Tommy and Tina Osborne complete a year-long journey through salt and fresh water. by Annika Bringman & Nathan Bechtold   In a spur-of-the-moment decision in the fall of 2021, boaters Tommy and Tina Osborne decided to fulfill their decade-long dream of...

read more
Boatloads Of Memories

Boatloads Of Memories

From the heyday of excursion boats on Lake of the Ozarks, these four may be the most beloved and nostalgic. by Nathan Bechtold; Tom Sawyer reporting by Vicki Wood; Governor McClurg story from Damming The Osage, Lens & Pen Press.  Available at...

read more
The Blob!

The Blob!

These strange, jelly-donut-looking blobs are some of the Lake’s most curious critters. And when you spot one, it’s a good sign. by  Nathan Bechtold "What is that blob floating in the Lake?” It's a common question every summer, and it has an easy answer. While Lake of...

read more

Secret Caves

Cruise into the Lake’s caves you can only access by water… if you dare.   by Nathan Bechtold, with photos by Tegan Shockley As water dissolves rock, the voids left behind seem carved into the subterranean landscape by a mysterious and whimsical hand: springs,...

read more

Wine With A View

At Shawnee Bluff Winery, sip and stay all day… or all weekend! Shawnee Bluff Winery on Bagnell Dam Boulevard, in Lake Ozark, offers a range of wine and food deliciously inspired by Northern Italy, while the amazing view of Lake of the Ozarks seals the deal as a...

read more

Best Wake Lake!

The Lake of the Ozarks is a beloved summer hotspot for residents and visitors, and in 2023 it was voted the best lake for water sports in the country, by a USA Today readers poll. The Lake was among 20 destinations across the U.S. selected by a panel of travel experts...

read more

Turn On The Blower!

Boat explosions after refueling happen every summer on Lake of the Ozarks. Here’s a guide for refueling safely. by Scott "Sky" Smith, republished courtesy of LakeExpo.com Safe boat refueling isn’t a no-brainer: boaters have to consider what’s unseen and take...

read more

Papa Chubby’s!

This lakeside resort serving up Chicago-style food is a must-go and must-stay this season! by Kate Robbins/LakeExpo Staff Chicago-style cuisine on Lake of the Ozarks? Boaters can find the best of the Windy City at Papa Chubby’s Lakeside Resort. With their lakeside...

read more

The Family Resort Revival

Something remarkable is happening to the Lake’s lodging scene: old family resorts are coming alive again. by Tegan Shockley, Deborah Wolfe, and Nathan Bechtold In the first few decades after Bagnell Dam was completed (in 1931), the Lake mostly drew anglers, coming to...

read more

A Nauti Makeover

Nauti Renovations transforms boats with flooring that looks downright amazing. by Kate Robbins   Since 2018, Nauti Renovations has been the exclusive dealer of AquaTraction in Missouri and the surrounding areas. During that time, Erica and Rick Butkovich have...

read more

The Ceramic Difference

Midwest Coating Solutions helps boats shine like never before. by Adrienne Brown It’s a growing trend at the Lake: the application of a ceramic coating to boat surfaces, including the paint job, glass, and lights. Midwest Coating Solutions owner Alex Baum explains the...

read more

$100,000 From Grandpa’s Honey Hole

Brock Boyher’s Big Bass Bash story has it all: underdog, nostalgia, drama, a hailstorm, and in the end: victory. by Kate Robbins You’ve never heard a fish story like this one. On his very first cast at his very first tournament, Brock Boyher won the 2023 Spring Big...

read more

(Extremely) High Performance Marine

Johnny Alles knows boats that go zoom. And he helped build some of the most legendary ones of all. “I think I might have been conceived in a boat.” Whether a boat is truly where Johnny Alles first sparked to life or not (surely he wouldn’t be the first!), he’s been...

read more

Katie Angles

She started fishing Lake of the Ozarks during Covid lockdowns. Now Katie angles like a pro. by Kate Robbins  Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020 disrupted the lives of people across the country, and being stuck at home is a time that few look back fondly on. But for one woman,...

read more

A Trail To Connect The Lake

The gloriously ambitious Magic Dragon Trail System is happening, and it could expand the Lake’s tourism profile in a groundbreaking way. by Kate Robbins & Nathan Bechtold It’s an enormously ambitious undertaking, and one that could play a major role in the Lake of...

read more

The Gamble

The race to build a casino at the Lake resembles a well-known card game. by Nathan Bechtold The Deal In 2020, a group of local investors called Osage River Gaming pulled up to the table, announcing their intent to bring a casino the region. And then in October of...

read more

Grand Welcome!

This new franchise is bringing national brand power to Lake of the Ozarks vacation rentals “Local heart, national reach.” That’s the tagline for Grand Welcome Lake of the Ozarks, a new vacation rental franchise making a major splash in the Lake area’s vacation rental...

read more

Vacasa! Vacation Rental Management, Solved

Lake of the Ozarks is a top tourist destination in the U.S. with all the miles of shoreline, tasty restaurants, and amazing real estate. And that’s why Vacasa Missouri (“Vacasa”) entered the vacation market here in the spring of 2022. Vacasa is a premier full-service...

read more

Avaria Means No Compromise

A luxury day boat for those who want to break away. by Sue Rodman, republished with permission from MarineMax Lifestyles Magazine They say every good party ends up in the kitchen. On the water, that kitchen is the exquisitely designed Aviara luxury day boat built in...

read more

Kirby <3s Malibu

Champion wakeboarder Kirby Liesmann, of Kirby’s School of Wake, talks about his Stateamind/Iguana partnership, and reveals why he loves Malibu and Axis boats. by Nathan Bechtold When three-time wakeboarding world champion Kirby Liesmann started wakeboarding...

read more

DockBloxx Roxx!

This ingenius device is taking docks by storm. Why? Because it holds everything. By Annika Bringman Keeping a dock tidy can be tough. From fishing poles to life jackets to kayaks, figuring out where to store boating accessories is a perennial challenge. It’s tempting...

read more

Big Developments on the Lake

After two or three years of talking about it, my cousin Trevor and I finally got our families together for an afternoon of boating. On a cloudy Saturday in September, we climbed aboard his wake boat—me, my oldest three kids, Trevor, his son, and his dad David (the...

read more