Lake of the Ozarks State Park is a
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
state park on the
Grand Glaize 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 Cr ...
and is the largest state park in the state.
[ This is also the most popular state park in Missouri, with over 2.5 million visitations in 2017.“The 10 most popular state parks in Missouri“]
'' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (July 1, 2018).
The park includes of shoreline on the lake (which has a total of of shoreline—mostly privately owned); two swimming beaches with imported sand, 12 trails, the Ozark Caverns, a boat launch, and the
Lee C. Fine Memorial Airport
Lee C. Fine Memorial Airport a public airport located in Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Kaiser, Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tie ...
which has a runway. In addition there are campsites and cabins within the park.
One of the most famous aspects of the park is
Party Cove which is a rowdy gathering spot that has been featured on the
Playboy Channel
Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States.
History
The channel first launched on December 9, 1980, as Escapade by AMC Networks, Rainbow Programing Services (a joint-venture of four cab ...
and the front page of the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
Travel Section.
History
The park's initial development began in 1934 with creation of a
Recreational Demonstration Area The Recreational Demonstration Area program (also known as the Recreation Demonstration Area program) was a National Park Service program during the 1930s and early 1940s that built forty-six public parks in twenty-four states on , chiefly near urba ...
(RDA), one of 46 nationally and three in Missouri established by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
to convert sub-marginal farm lands to recreational purposes. Missouri's largest RDA, now known as Lake of the Ozarks State Park, was established three years after the impoundment of the
Osage River
The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river ...
at
Bagnell Dam
Bagnell Dam (informally, the Osage Dam) impounds the Osage River in the U.S. state of Missouri, creating the Lake of the Ozarks. The dam is located in the city of Lakeside in Miller County, near the Camden-Miller County line. The tall concrete ...
. Three
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
(CCC) camps were busy over sixteen camp periods constructing group camps, administrative buildings, roads, a landscaped public beach, and other facilities. In 1946, all RDAs were donated by the federal government to the state park system.
[
;Historic sites
The following CCC-related buildings and national ]historic districts
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...
were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1985 under their respective NRIS number and are included in the Emergency Conservation Work (E.C.W.) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933–1942, Thematic Resources:Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
between 1934 and 1942. They include several notable log structures, including a small shelter at the park entrance, the park office, the old pumphouse, and a rest room in the main picnic area.
References
External links
Lake of the Ozarks State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Lake of the Ozarks State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Protected areas of Camden County, Missouri
Protected areas of Miller County, Missouri
State parks of Missouri
State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands
Protected areas established in 1946
Lake of the Ozarks
Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri
Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Buildings and structures in Camden County, Missouri
National Register of Historic Places in Camden County, Missouri
Buildings and structures in Miller County, Missouri
National Register of Historic Places in Miller County, Missouri
1946 establishments in Missouri
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