What to do with kids at Lake of the Ozarks

The Lake of the Ozarks is a well-known Midwest destination for summer fun and recreation. With 84 square miles of water, 1100 miles of shoreline, and a host of on-land attractions, the Lake has something for everyone. Here’s a taste of what to do with kids at Lake of the Ozarks:

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The Bagnell Dam Strip:

This classic taste of the Lake offers fun, touristy attractions like old-time photos, a haunted hotel, and the Dog Patch Arcade, an open-air arcade with an old-school nostalgia.

Fun parks:

LeMans Family Fun Park, on Bagnell Dam Boulevard, offers single and double go-karts, a miniature go-kart track for the little ones, bumper boats (a great way to cool down on a hot day), and miniature golf with a view of the lake. They also have two other locations around the Lake area. If the weather’s bad, try Miner Mike’s, an indoor fun-plex with arcade, Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and more, open year-round.

Boating:

Boats and personal watercraft are available for rental all over the lake area. Fishing, tubing, skiing, and swimming in the quieter coves of the lake are perennial favorites.

Sightseeing Cruises:

Tropic Island Cruise takes guests on a 1 1/2-hour cocktail cruise in a 75-foot boat, highlighting some impressive multi-million dollar lakeshore homes. This is a great a date if you’re staying at a resort that offers child care (like Tan-Tar-A or the Lodge of the Four Seasons), but if you bring the kids along they might just get to steer the boat.

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State Parks:

Ha Ha Tonka State Park was developed to feature the ruins of a castle built on the bluff overlooking the Lake. With hiking trails, a large spring, and a boardwalk stairway connecting the blufftop with the Lake, this is a highlight of the Lake area—and free to the public. And Lake of the Ozarks State Park offers beaches, mountain biking, a water trail, camping and cabins (even yurts!), and cave tours.

Food:

What would a vacation be without great food? From fine dining to down home Ozark cooking, the Lake has it all. Check out Tonka Hills Restaurant for casual, family-friendly atmosphere, with breakfast all day, a salad bar, and a fabulous fried grouper sandwich. If you’re on the lake, pull in around the 8-mile mark and grab a bite at Alhonna Resort’s Bobber’s Cafe.  For a quick dessert, stop at the outdoor service window at Randy’s Frozen Custard, on Osage Beach Parkway, for a concrete or a cone. (Bonus: they have an air-conditioned room around the corner reserved for their customers, with an air hockey table.)

Shopping:

Osage Beach Outlets features more than a hundred brand name stores, from shoes to apparel to cutlery, and is open year-round. And who can resist the classic Ozarkland, whose exterior tells you everything you can find within its walls?

Other fun:

Tan-Tar-A resort has horseback riding and an indoor water park, both of which are open to the public as well as to resort guests, who get a reduced rate. The lake also boasts more than a dozen high-end golf courses.

On summer weekends, the Lake area fills up with visitors from surrounding metro areas, so if you can come during the week you’ll find the water and the roads less crowded. There are transitional seasons in the later spring and early fall in which some attractions are open weekends only, and many places close down in the winter, but during the Christmas season the Lake area offers several light displays worth driving through.

Be sure to check out our additional posts on Big Surf Waterpark, Bridal Cave, and the family-friendly Alhonna Resort!

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Portions of our trip were made possible by the Tri-County Lodging Association’s Lake of the Ozarks Hospitality Bank, but all opinions are our own.

Church Landing at Inns of Mill Falls, Lake Winnipesaukee

The following review is written by Pit Stops for Kids’ reader Deirdre Hall.

As we drove north into New Hampshire I regaled my children with tales of camping at Lake Winnipesaukee when I was a girl: the smell of the campfire, marshmallows roasting, and running full steam down a long dock to cannonball into the chill lake.

church landing

When we pulled into Church Landing, one of several Inns at Mills Falls in Meredith, NH my kids were given an altogether different impression of “roughing it”. Greeted by a generous front porch with geraniums in bloom, we made our way inside to discover it was almost as if we were still outdoors, yet free of what I didn’t mention about my childhood days camping: mosquitos, damp sleeping bags, and the constant smell of lake water. Birch logs and branches stretched toward the ceiling and the overall rustic décor was a nod to the summer camps the lake had long supported. However, without having to look too closely it became clear that the first class service and amenities suggested this wasn’t a cottage on a big pond.

church landing

As we settled into our room, the kids were fascinated by a stepstool to climb into the very cushy bed and the many forest accents brought indoors, from the furniture made from rustic birch logs and barn board with minute detail down to the twig handles to the retro postcard wallpaper in the bathroom. While they explored we enjoyed the placid lake-view from our balcony.

We took a short walk to the neighboring Shops at Mills Falls Marketplace where we enjoyed brick oven pizza accompanied by live music in the quaint yet festive Giuseppe’s Pizzeria and Ristorante. By the time we were done with our meal many of the shops had closed, but we promised to return the following day. Venturing back to Church Landing in the dwindling daylight we watched the ducks play in the water while we enjoyed homemade ice cream on the docks.

church landingOnce back at Church Landing we were met with twinkly lights which will forever remind my kids of fairies, especially with the birch and cedar accents nearly everywhere you looked. We promptly donned our swimsuits and the kids hopped in the heated pool which had an underwater passage-way outside and we grown-ups relaxed in the hot tub. The scene was quiet except for our own splashing and we felt comfortable and at home.

The following morning a small complimentary continental breakfast of muffins, cereal, yogurt, hardboiled eggs, granola bars and fruit was offered while overlooking the water. Shortly after we took a stroll around the grounds admiring the lake and doing some more reminiscing about summers spent camping out. We visited the shops back at the Marketplace and bought some homemade chocolates for the ride home. After another swim and checkout we asked the helpful staff about areas of interest close-by. They directed us to a public park at the Community Center just down the street where we let the kids blow off some steam aboard a playscape replica of the M/S Mount Washington and another structure with climbing, sliding and twisting features. Our final stop was the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.

Date last visited:

July 2012

Room rates:

Rooms and suites start at around $250 in the high season, and $230 in the winter. Rates will vary. Mills Falls has six properties in total: see a comparison of Mills Falls locations.

Amenities:

Rooms feature free wifi and fridges, and free parking is available as well.

Dining options:

In addition to the shops and restaurants described above, Church Landing offers The Lakehouse Grille and Lounge, open for lunch and dinner daily.

Directions:

Church Landing is located at 281 Daniel Webster Highway. From I-93, take Hwy 104 to merge with the Daniel Webster Highway.

Deirdre Hall writes for Ladies Holiday Blog and Aliment a cookery blog. Along with her family, she is an adventurous and luxury seeking traveler.

Montana dude ranch vacation: Flathead Lake Lodge

On my very first morning of a week-long dude ranch stay at Flathead Lake Lodge in western Montana, I sat down to breakfast in the historic lodge dining room and couldn’t find a spoon. I looked about, but the wait staff was busy, so I turned to a fellow guest…a veteran of many summers at the dude ranch. “Oh, just start checking the drawers,” she said, pointing to a cabinet. “I think they’re in the second from the left.”

I felt odd, digging through a restaurant’s silverware, but before I’d reached the second drawer, I had more help. “Spoon? Oh yeah, right here,” a man said, directing me to the correct drawer. When looked up to thank him, I realized the owner of the lodge himself, Doug Averill, had come to my rescue. “We’re really causal here,” he assured me, waving away my sheepish apology for helping myself. “Whatever you need, just feel free.”

I quickly learned that this sense of ownership and familiarity is typical at Flathead Lake Lodge. Take the mid-week morning, for instance, that I rounded the corner from the main lodge toward the outdoor volleyball court to see my eighteen-year-old giving a new eight-year-old buddy a piggy back ride toward the barn…a little boy we’d never met before that week. Or the time my 12-year-old informed me he couldn’t tell me where he was headed, because he and a gaggle of other middle schoolers had found themselves a ‘secret’ hideout never before discovered. Or the time the owners took their staff out on Flathead Lake one evening for an appreciation party, leaving with a cheery, “Try not to burn the place down!” in farewell.

flathead lake lodge

Guests at the ranch would never mistake this casual approach to hospitality for neglect, however. The ranch staff, from wranglers to housekeeping to water sports instructors, were attentive, friendly, and enthusiastic, without exception. The difference was, we were treated like family rather than like visitors. And at a ranch like Flathead Lake Lodge that caters to providing a full but relaxed family vacation, this treatment made all the difference.

We’ve now stayed a week at three different dude ranches, and have learned extensively about many more. They each offer their own take on the dude ranch experience, but I have taken to calling Flathead Lake Lodge a ‘dude ranch plus’. More than any other ranch we’ve reviewed, it embodies a full mountain vacation experience. Horseback riding and ranch life is a big part of it, but by no means defines it. Flathead Lake Lodge is just as much an ‘all inclusive lakeside resort’ as it is a dude ranch.

What to expect from a Montana dude ranch vacation at Flathead Lake Lodge:

flathead lake lodge

Flathead Lake Lodge sits on 2500 acres of lakefront and forest on Flathead Lake, Montana. It’s just a short walk from the quaint town of Bigfork, and about 45 minutes from both the airport in Kalispell and the entrance to Glacier National Park. On the property, guests enjoy private shoreline of the lake, with a small but well-stocked marina that includes three small sailboats, two larger sloops, several cruiser boats, motorboats, a ski boat, and a collection of paddle boards, kayaks, and canoes. Also on the lake front are docks to fish from and swim from, a swimming pool, and plenty of lounging space on rolling lawn.

Just up from the lake sits the historic main lodge, which dates from 1945. This houses the communal dining room with its massive stone fireplace, the kitchen, bar, and the lodge office. The main lodge is a central hub at the ranch, where guests and staff alike relax, eat, and mingle.

flathead lake lodge

Tucked around the lodge is a smattering of small cabins, ranging in size from one to three bedrooms, which house guests, as well as the South Lodge, which offers lodge rooms for guests who don’t require an entire cabin. Our family of five stayed in the South Lodge in two adjacent rooms, one of which included an upper loft. All lodge rooms have their own bathrooms. The sand volleyball court sits between the South Lodge and the main lodge, and a path up the hill away from the lake leads to the gift shop and laundry facilities, tennis courts, and barn.

flathead lake lodge

If the main lodge is the central hub for meals, the barn is the central hub for horseback activities and the central play area for children. How so? Above the working space of the barn (where horses are saddled, etc) the upper level houses ping pong tables, a pool table, and other games. Kids tend to gather here before or after their rides. Below the game area, a well-stocked and staffed arts and crafts room occupies a large space. Behind the barn is a large horseback riding arena, with pastures on other sides.

dude ranch vacation

Guests arrive and depart on Sundays. Upon arrival, we were shown to our rooms and given the chance to get settled, then were able to attend an orientation at the barn, which introduced us to the wrangler staff and horse program. I liked that there’s a chance for guests to get up on a horse Sunday evening; this is perfect for people who are less familiar with horses and want to get their feet wet in the controlled space of the arena under the watchful eye of a wrangler.

It’s not necessary to sign up for horseback rides, as they’re offered daily with no reservations required, but on Monday morning, guests have the opportunity to sign up for additional activities that do require advanced notice. These activities include the ones offered by outside outfitters or operators, such as guided fishing trips, mountain laser tag (more on that later), whitewater rafting, clay pigeon shooting, massages, and yoga. These activities come with an extra charge. Monday morning is also the time and place to sign up for horseback riding lessons in the arena, guided hikes, and guided or non-guided mountain biking, which are offered by lodge staff (of these, some hikes and mountain biking do come with an extra cost).

dude ranch trail ride

Here’s what’s always included in your stay, and do not require a Monday reservation:

  • horseback riding
  • water sports including waterskiing and wake boarding
  • canoe, kayak, and paddle board use
  • sailing (sailing on the large sloops requires a day-of sign up)
  • horseback lessons (you can sign up for these on Monday but also make reservations later)
  • hiking or mountain biking on your own (with your own bikes)
  • long rides (that include lunch or breakfast)
  • all meals, including the ‘riding’ meals to a steak fry dinner and to breakfast
  • tennis
  • volleyball
  • kids activities, including campout, fire truck riding, and kids’ rodeo

Meals are served in the main lodge, and include breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast cereals and pastries are available from about 7 am on, with either a hot buffet or plated breakfast (depending on the day) served at 8:30 am. Lunch is buffet style, served at 12:30 pm. Dinner is served buffet style for kids at 6 pm and as a plated meal for adults at 6:30 pm (one choice of entree, with specialty options such as vegetarian or gluten free meals offered with advanced notice). Kids can absolutely eat with the adults; the 6 pm buffet simply gives you the option in case you have kids who would rather eat and run. My teens ate the adult meal with us every evening, while my 12-year-old opted for the kid fare so he could go play with friends.

flathead lake lodge

On the schedule, there are also kids’ meal times for breakfast and lunch listed (30 minutes before adult dining), but we found these times to be more of a suggestion: the food is the same, but the lodge staff simply puts it out half an hour earlier for kids should they want it. Adults can certainly jump in line with the kids. As noted above, everything is causal at Flathead Lake Lodge.

We found the food served at Flathead to be well above average for a dude ranch. Dinners were exceptional, with entrees such as salmon, beef tenderloin, and chicken with risotto on the menu. Lunch buffet was so good, we often over-ate…I tried very hard to utilize only the well-stocked salad bar at lunch, but often found myself tempted to sample far more. The buffet items included a pasta bar, Mexican and Chinese food days, and seafood. Breakfast included fresh fruit and berries, plenty of cereal and granola choices, and hot dishes that usually included breakfast meats, eggs, hash browns or potatoes, or pancakes. Between meals, snacks are always on offer on a counter in the lodge, and water, lemonade, and tea are always available, as well as coffee.

flathead lake lodge

Kids’ activities such as lawn games are usually scheduled for the 6:30 hour so adults can know they’re busy doing something with staff while they eat dinner, but everything is optional, and there’s no formal childcare or kids’ club (you’re responsible for your kids). Before dinner, there’s always a happy hour in the bar from 5:30-6:30 pm. The way the bar operates is unique: while some bottles of wine and beer are available for purchase, guests are encouraged to bring their own liquor, beer, and wine to the lodge, label it with their last name, and store it in the bar. During happy hour, the bar is staffed and the bartender will mix drinks and pour wine, with appetizers served. This is a great time to chat with fellow guests about the day. At any other time, guests can treat the bar as their own, stepping behind the counter to access their own alcoholic beverages.

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WilloughVale Inn and Cottages, Vermont

Few places are as beautiful and family-friendly as Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Think brisk fall days, clear lakes, and great hiking. If you’re looking for a great place to stay while visiting, I highly recommend the WilloughVale Inn and Cottages at Lake Willoughby. Lake Willoughby is cool, clear, and beautifully situated between two steep mountains, making it an idea spot to swim and play in summer and hike and boat in autumn, all while enjoying the view. The WilloughVale Inn sits right on the shore, and even has a lakeside playground with a play structure, a shed full of lawn toys, and a water trampoline moored about 30 feet off the shore. There are also canoes, kayaks, and a paddleboat available to guests of the inn free of charge.

Lake Willoughby VT

We stayed in one of the lakeview cottages, and enjoyed a full kitchen, living room (with a fireplace!), two bedrooms (one with a Jacuzzi tub!) and a beautiful porch with stunning lake views. The cabin made it easy to serve the kids an early breakfast, accommodate naptimes, and put the kids to bed early without hiding out in a hotel hallway waiting for them to fall asleep! Dinner at the inn was a breeze too: Gil’s Bar and Grill has a nice selection for adults and kids, and even serves a popular local delicacy: Ben and Jerry’s!

WilloughVale Inn

What to do at Lake Willoughby:

The lake will keep you busy, especially if you have water babies in your group, but just in case you encounter a rainy day, there are plenty of day trips in the Willoughby area. The WillougVale Inn has a list of activities including the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury, VT and (in season) the Vermont Corn Maze in Danville, VT. We lucked out during our visit and caught the Sunday afternoon show at Bread and Puppets, a local theater company specializing in…you guessed it…puppets! The Bread and Puppets campus has a puppet museum and produces shows during the summer (check the website for times and dates). Bread and Puppets is a unique experience, and I’ll only recommend it if no one in your group finds giant papier mache puppets, um…creepy.

For a tamer option, the Cabot factory is about 30 minutes away in Cabot, VT and the Ben and Jerry’s factory is always a hit (about an hour away in Waterville, VT).

Date last visited:

7/15/2012¬–7/17/2012

Distance from the interstate:

About 20 miles off I-91 at exit 23 in Lyndon, VT.

When to visit:

Summer and fall are the peak seasons at Lake Willoughby, but the WilloughVale is open during the winter, and I’m willing to bet it’s a beautiful place to spend a few snowy nights as well!

Lodging rates:

Summer prices are from $99/night in the main inn; up to $319/night in the lakefront cottages.

WilloughVale Inn

Food services:

Gil’s Bar and Grill at the WilloughVale is open Tuesday–Sunday during the summer (Wednesday–Sunday during the shoulder season, and weekends only after October 15th) and offers casual food such as burgers and ribs, as well as a kids’ menu. There is also a tasty roadside stand (think frosty-freeze) about 2 miles north on route 5A. (This roadside stand even serves poutine, for those of you who have spent time in northern New England/Cananda and aren’t worried about your cholesterol!)

Directions:

Directions and driving times to WilloughVale Inn from nearby cities are listed on the website.

As we disclose whenever applicable, we were hosted at WilloughVale for the purpose of review. While we appreciated the chance to experience Lake Willoughby, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review.

Oregon lake resorts off the beaten path

Last month, our teenager hiked the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail. As we followed along on his journey through Oregon, assisting with food drops and other needs, we discovered a new side of our home state we hadn’t yet explored! Throughout the rural mountain regions of the Beaver State, many Oregon lake resorts are located far off the main interstate or even paved highways. They offer tranquility, beauty, and rustic yet comfortable amenities. Here are our favorites!

oregon-lake-resorts

Shelter Cove Resort

Located on beautiful Odell Lake near Willamette Pass, Shelter Cove Resort offers a marina, cabin rentals, a friendly camp store, and a pretty campground. It gets busy during the summer months with fishing derbies and other outdoorsy events, but when we visited during a crowded weekend, it still felt relaxed and peaceful. There’s boating on this lake, but mostly of the fishing variety, so there’s not a lot of noise. To get to Shelter Cove, take Highway 58 from Eugene or Highway 97 to Highway 58 from Bend.

What to do nearby: Adjacent to Shelter Cove is the Oregon Skyline Trail, which connects the lake to Windigo Pass, above Crater Lake. A five mile hike up the OST from Shelter Cove takes hikers along lovely Whitefish Creek to Diamond View Lake, a tiny alpine lake accessible only by trail. It’s a tough hike (and a round-trip of 1o miles), but well-worth the long day. Just bring a picnic lunch!

If you are a PCT hiker or assisting one: Shelter Cove is PCT-friendly, offering a designated area for hikers with outlets, WiFi, and water. You can also get a PCT campsite in the campground for $10.

Elk Lake Resort

Like Odell Lake, Elk Lake is tucked away in the heart of Oregon, this time north of Mt. Bachelor. The resort offers one of the best day use and swimming beaches of the Oregon lake resorts we visited, and a great little restaurant that serves the best pulled pork sandwich my son says he’s ever eaten! There are camping cabins, full-sized cabins (more like condos) and a rustic campground. There is a marina, and boat rentals are available, as well as water ‘toy’ rentals like stand-up paddle boards. To get to Elk Lake, take Century Drive north of Bend.

What to do nearby: Take time to check out all the smaller Cascade lakes along Century Drive, north of towering Mt. Bachelor. Or, rent mountain bikes and hit the trails in and around Bend in the Deschutes National Forest.

If you are a PCT hiker or assisting one: Definitely have your hiker stop for a meal here, and you can send packages here if you need a food drop. Elk Lake isn’t far from Bend, so friends can meet you pretty easily.

odell-lake

Hyatt Lake Resort

Located in Southern Oregon above the Greensprings, Hyatt lake Resort is a large, boater-friendly lake with several campgrounds and a rustic resort. Easily accessible from Ashland Oregon on Highway 66, Hyatt Lake’s small restaurant and cabin rentals are located on the west side of the lake, which is quieter than the day use and camping areas on the east. This is definitely a sleepy place, which is just the way most people who visit like it. The restaurant also sells take-out pizza, so if you get a cabin, you’ll be set for the night!

What to do nearby: Check out the historic Greensprings Inn, just down the road, and learn about the early automobile road that winds through the mountains here. Drive down Highway 66 to take a short day hike on Grizzly Peak, or head all the way to Ashland to spend a day at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival or at Lithia Park. You’re only about 30 miles away.

If you are a PCT hiker or assisting one: There are walk-in tent sites at the campground across the lake from the resort, if you’re not staying there. And the Hyatt Lake Resort restaurant will give out free ice cream cones to PCT hikers!

Ollalie Lake Resort:

Located in a very remote part of Central Oregon and accessible only by forest service road, Ollalie Lake Resort is where to go for a completely tech-free stay. There’s no cell service or WiFi anywhere at the lake. To get there, it’s easiest to start at Salem, and take Highway 22 to National Forest Road 46. Once there, get a cabin or yurt and plan to simply stay and enjoy your wilderness surroundings. There is a small store, and boat rentals.

What to do nearby: You can easily access the PCT here and get to a few more remote lakes such as Jude Lake and Head Lake, but since Ollalie is already so remote, the best thing to do is take in the view!

If you are a PCT hiker or assisting one: There is no ability to mail food packages here, and no accommodations for PCT hikers (though you can check on cabin availability). This is best as a ‘hit the store and keep going’ spot!

Lost Lake Resort:

Located above Mt. Hood, Lost Lake is one of the most beautiful in an area teeming with beautiful lakes! Owned by the same folks who run Cascade Huts (which we loved during a winter visit), Lost Lake Resort offers downright upscale amenities compared to the other lakes featured here, but has prices to match. Their cabin rentals are very nice, but on the expensive side, and they have lodge rooms as well as a store filled with essentials. Like on the other lakes, you can rent boats and other water toys. From I-84 in the Columbia Gorge, head south on Highway 201/281 to the lake.

What to do nearby: Lost Lake Resort is within easy driving distance of Mt. Hood and Government Camp, which has fun summer activities offered in and near the ski resorts, such as mountain biking. Day hiking is also popular in this area.

If you are a PCT hiker or assisting one: Most PCT hikers don’t stop here, since Government Camp is so close (and has more amenities). But Lost Lake Resort is a great place for PCT trail angels (or people assisting hikers) to stay, if you book early!

Do you have a favorite Oregon lake resort?

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