Ha Ha Tonka State Park is a public recreation area encompassing over on the Niangua arm of the

Lake of the Ozarks Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impoundment: the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek ...

, about five miles south of Camdenton,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

's most notable feature is the ruins of Ha Ha Tonka, an early 20th-century stone mansion that was modeled after

European castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s of the 16th century. The park also features

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s, and bluffs overlooking the

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. It is a prominent example of

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

topography, which is geological formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock. A portion of the park was designated as the Ha Ha Tonka Karst Natural Area in 1981.

History

Looking Up at Ha Ha Tonka Ruins - panoramio

Construction of the Ha Ha Tonka castle was started in 1905 by Robert McClure Snyder Sr., a Kansas City businessman who purchased the large property after first visiting there in 1903. Alluding to the natural springs on the property, "ha ha tonka" was said to mean "big laugh" or "smiling waters." Following Snyder's death in a car accident in 1906, the castle was completed by his sons Robert Jr., LeRoy, and Kenneth Snyder in the early 1920s before the

Stock Market Crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especia ...

. The building was used as a summer and weekend home by the Snyder family, who lived in Kansas City. In the late 1930s, it was used as a hotel; however, it was destroyed by fire in 1942. The state purchased the castle and grounds in 1978, adapting them for use as a state park and opening them to the public. The water tower was repaired in 2004, with a new roof installed. Although the castle walls were stabilized in the 1980s, a new survey in 2016 determined that portions of the ruins including its arches were seeing mortar and stone failure with the potential beginning of collapse. Some areas have been closed off from the public. The ruins can be seen from an observation point across from the park office.

Activities and amenities

The park has 15 miles of hiking trails leading to caves, sinkholes, natural bridges, and the castle. The park also features boating, fishing, and swimming.

Trails

As of 2020, there are 14 trails at the park.

Gallery

File:Ha-Ha-Tonka.jpg, American Castle Panoramic

References

External links

Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Ha Ha Tonka State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Missouri Protected areas of Camden County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1978 Lake of the Ozarks 1978 establishments in Missouri