Planning Your Next Trip To The Missouri Ozakrs

If you have never taken a trip to the Missouri Ozarks this region of the country really has some great lakes to offer. You are probably familiar with Lake of the Ozarks but there are many lesser known bodies of water that can really provide you and your family with a great trip. If you are looking to get away from the crowds then you might want to check out Lake Pomme De Terre, Truman Lake, or Stockton Lake. All three of these lakes are about the same distance from St. Louis as Lake of the Ozarks but are much more “off the beaten path”. All three of these lakes are fueled by water from the Osage River and will provided you with a destination that is far different from the party atmosphere of the Ozarks.

Lake Pomme De Terre is located in Southwestern Missouri and was originally made as part of a large flood controll project. Locally Pomme De Terre is famous to fishermen for one main reason, the lake is stocked with Muskie. This is done by the Lost Valley Fish hatchery, who stock the lake with up to 10,000 Muskie every year. Pomme De Terre is not only popular for fishing, the lake has very little commercial development and therefore is very popular with nature enthusiasts. A very neat aspect of Pomme De Terre is that there are two state parks around the lake with a total of over 650 campsites! These sites are not just typical campsites either, many have electric hook ups for RV’s and all of them are really well kept. Another really cool feature of the lake is that there are two public beaches that have imported sand so they are a lot nicer than the typical sand bars that can be found around waterways in Missouri. Overall if you are looking to take a relaxing vacation or weekend getaway and enjoy the beautiful Missouri Ozarks then Lake Pomme De Terre is sure to provide you with everything you are looking for.

Truman Lake is located in Central Missouri about 45 minutes from Columbia. A little known fact about Truman is that it is actually the largest man made lake in the entire United States. Truman is located very close to Lake of the Ozarks and is a very popular tourist destination. The lake is great for all types of boating activities due to its large size. Another great aspect about visiting Truman is that there is minimal boating traffic on the lake, this is great for finding smooth water to ski on or a secluded cove to catch a few fish in. Truman has a little more commercial development than Pomme De Terre but there is still a really nice mix of resorts and campsites all along the shores of this huge lake.

Stockton lake is located in south western Missouri somewhat near Springfield. This lake is somewhat famous locally and throughout the United States with a select group of people, sailing enthusiasts. The reason is that the lake is constantly battered by strong winds that sweep across the lake from west to east. There is even a large sailing club on Stockton Lake that holds several races each year with large turnouts. In general Stockton is a great lake to visit if you want to enjoy a relaxing vacation away from any large crowds but still stay at a nice resort. Stockton is typically not very crowded, in fact it is not unusual for to spend a day out on the lake and see only a few boats out on the water! Even though the lake is not very crowded there are about 15 – 20 real nice resorts spread throughout the lake as well as numerous campgrounds.

I hope you enjoyed this small review on each of these three lakes, and more importantly I hope you find some time to get out and take a weekend trip to one of these lakes, I promise you wont regret it.

I was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and currently help opperate a tourism website in the State of Missouri Called Show-me-Lakes. If you are looking for places to stay on any of the three lakes mentioned in this article I encourage you to check out out pages on:

This article can also be found on our E-zine page at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sam_L_Bell