Editor’s note: I’ve never seen an episode of Ozark, but I’m still always game for a beautiful lake and some cool caves. Our resident rock hound. Morgan, offers even more in this awesome glimpse at a place most of us have heard of, but few have visited. For more of Morgan’s writing, click here to visit her index page.

In the 4-season dark drama Ozark, a finance employee working in downtown Chicago while living in the suburbs ends up moving to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, purchasing a fixer-upper, and getting involved in all kinds of messes.

I fully admit I wasn’t able to make it through the entire series, but, as I love to share, my mom lives in the Chicago suburbs, working in finance downtown… and my parents purchased a fixer upper at Lake of the Ozarks! Their lives are far less dramatic than those of the characters in the show, though, and our family has been traveling from Chicago to the Ozarks for my entire life. Therefore, I’m delighted to share some lovely nuggets of knowledge from the area that were probably skipped on the show – such as the opportunity to find mozarkite, Missouri’s state rock, and explore hundreds of unique limestone cave formations.

Lake of the Ozarks Basics

Lake of the Ozarks is a human-made lake in Missouri’s portion of the Ozark mountains. Hydroelectric power generator Bagnell Dam, built from 1929-1931, dams the Osage River to create the lake and power the region. The power company still operates the lake and adjusts the lake level to about 5 feet lower each winter for maintenance.

Several towns relocated for the lake’s creation process, meaning that some of their structures still stand beneath the water. If you’re a SCUBA diver and that piqued your interest, keep in mind that visibility is poor and boat traffic is unpredictable; the only divers are typically professionals for cleanup or investigation purposes. However, it’s still interesting to think that there might be a late-1800s City Hall beneath you as you waterski or wakeboard.

Most visitors to Lake of the Ozarks know about the typical tourist spots, such as Party Cove, which can get pretty wild throughout the summer and on major holiday weekends. But there’s so much more to the area, including below the watery
surface.

Lake of the Ozarks Caves and Geology

Missouri isn’t just the Show-Me State; it’s also the Cave State, and contains over 7300 caves. More than 300 of those caves surround Lake of the Ozarks, some with man-made paths, stairs, and accessible entrances, with entrance fees going to private or public entities. Others can be found only through word of mouth. Whichever your flavor of cave, you’re likely to find sparkly limestone and dolomite formations, stalactites, and cave creatures. Lake Ozark State Park has a formation called “Angel Showers” – a seemingly never-ending, year-round shower of water from above, which is actively creating new limestone formations as it falls. Jacob’s Cave contains mastodon and other fossils. Bridal Cave, with its underground lakes, offers blacklight tours to see the limestone illuminated in patterns that aren’t always visible with regular headlamps. Several caves in the area contain helictites: stalactites that change direction rather than forming in a straight downward path.

The Lake of the Ozarks area, especially the west side, also contains mozarkite (named as a portmanteau of the words ‘Missouri’ and ‘Ozark’). This hard variety of chert often contains multiple colors swirled together, and works well for lapidary and tumbling purposes. Historically mozarkite also made strong arrowheads for the Osage Nation.

The Ozark Mountains extend far past the lake, all the way to St. Louis on the northeastern border and into Arkansas and Oklahoma on other portions, and include 4 distinct geological areas. The Ozarks were not created like the Rockies and the Appalachian Mountains (from tectonic plate edges). Instead, the Ozarks were actually a result of tectonic movement much further south, which pushed a flat area of what used to be a sea floor up out of the crust. This plateau, also called the Ozark Uplift, eroded over time with wind and water, leaving what’s known as a karst landscape: the peaks and valleys (and caves, sinkholes, and fossils) found today.

Other Lake of the Ozarks Activities

If partying and caves aren’t your thing, check out the world-class fishing. With more coastline than California, the lake has plenty of quiet coves and inlets. The Big Bass Bash tournament each year offers $100,000 for the heaviest bass caught. If you prefer to avoid that busy time (where roughly 4000 anglers compete), you’re still likely to do some great fishing throughout the year – even in winter, since the main channels don’t freeze over.

Museums document the building and history of Bagnell Dam and creation of the lake. Local shops contain handmade goods, including solid wood furniture created by Amish and Mennonite craftspeople. As you might expect in a mountainous area, great hiking trails abound, including at state parks like Ha Ha Tonka, which boasts waterfalls, natural rock bridges, and a European-style castle ruin.

Getting to Lake of the Ozarks

If you’re not already in central Missouri, journeying to the lake might feel like a trek. From St. Louis, Missouri, take an Amtrak train or bus to Jefferson City, where a rental car or shuttle can get you to the lake. If you plan to explore the nearby area (such as the aforementioned state parks and caves), a rental car is recommended.

Flying options include Springfield, Missouri, which is about 100 miles from the Lake. Again, you’ll need a shuttle service or rental car at that point.

As a bonus, driving to the area will bring you through some beautiful road cuts, which can yield beautiful sparkly quartz specimens. And from the west coast, it’s about a 3-day drive with stops at the Petrified Forest and more! But that’s a story for another day.

While you can certainly find a few settings here and there like you’d expect after watching Ozark, Lake of the Ozarks by and large contains plenty of caves to explore – and don’t skip visiting some peaceful, quiet coves to appreciate the water lapping at the shore and the fish biting at the hook.

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