If you’re in the Midwest and looking for someplace “different” to have a bachelorette or bachelor party, then keep reading. This blog post is for you! Honestly though, there doesn’t even need to be a reason for you to visit here, it’s also a great place if you’re just looking for a fun spot to hang out with friends or family too!
I just went for a weekend with some of my friends for my bachelorette party and we had a BLAST. I honestly had no idea what a cool area this is! Most people go to Vegas or Nashville so it was a goal of mine to go somewhere that most people don’t.
We were a mixed group of girls from IL, IN, and KY so it was about a 4-6 hour drive for most of us.
WHERE WE STAYED
- I wanted someplace affordable yet still safe and close to activities. We stayed at the Rockwood Resort Motel and it was perfect! The rooms were clean and the location was perfect. There’s also a decent looking pool but we didn’t spend any time there.
- If you’re looking for somewhere a bit nicer, there is a Four Seasons Resort and also a Margaritaville. I chose to go the budget route since I knew we wouldn’t hang out here much.
WHAT TO DO
- Rent a pontoon or yacht! You can’t visit the Ozarks and not go out on the water at least once! We rented ours from Paradise Marina & Watersports and everything went smoothly and the boat was really nice, so I definitely suggest renting from them. Just a couple heads up though, there’s a lot of stairs to get down to their marina so it might not be the best location for handicapped people. Also, the state of Missouri requires at least one person on the boat have their boating license. You can take the test online ahead of time here. It takes several hours and I believe costs around $40, so don’t wait until last minute!
- Visit the Bagnell Dam area! There is a fun little “downtown” part of the Ozarks with lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, boutiques, and bars. We had a great time partying at Ice Hole and Marty Byrd’s!
- Go to some of the popular swim-up bars! We spent a lot of our weekend hanging out at Backwater Jack’s because we loved it so much. There are lockers for your stuff and tons of lounge chairs, and they also frequently have concerts there!
- Go to the beach! We didn’t get to do this but I know there are several decent beaches around the lake that would probably be great for families.
- Visit Bridal Cave! I really wanted to do this but unfortunately, we really didn’t have time during our short stay, so hoping to get to check it out next time!
- Do a helicopter tour! There were tons of these flying around and I bet it would be so fun! We had too big of a group for all of us to do this, so maybe next time.
- Visit Ha Ha Tonka State Park! We didn’t do this either but would probably be pretty interesting if you’re a history buff.
- I also wanted to add we played a funny game all weekend where we pretended like we knew people and called them by a random name (Example: Walking up to a random person at a bar and saying “Hi Adam! I haven’t seen you in years! What’s up?). If they “responded” or “played along” you got a point, and if they don’t, you’re supposed to take a shot. We got a lot of crazy looks from people but several also played along! We even actually surprisingly guessed a few names correctly!
WHERE TO EAT
- Our first night we went to a place called Shady Gators! This place had a super fun atmosphere and is right on the water. We got seated on one of the upper levels so we had a perfect view of the lake and sunset. Highly recommend one of their burgers! Several girls tried one with peanut butter on it and said it was great!
- Our second night we went to Backwater Jack’s for supper and I’ll admit it wasn’t great. Several of us had our hearts set on crab legs and were told by the waitress that they were “tiny and not worth ordering”, so we chose something else. Like 10 minutes later the table next to us got served a plate of big, delicious looking crab legs and we were all regretting not going with our first choice! However, as I mentioned above this place has the best pool/bar area and that alone is 100% worth hanging out here, just don’t recommend the restaurant portion of it.
- Other places I had recommended to me are JB Hooks, Tucker Shuckers, Neon Taco, and Coconuts
Overall, we had such a fun weekend and it was the perfect bachelorette party, I couldn’t have asked for a better time or a better group of girls to celebrate with! I’m so thankful for everyone making my weekend so special. I’m excited to go back to Lake of the Ozarks in the future and explore some more!
After our honeymoon I’ll be posting a blog with bachelorette/honeymoon Amazon finds, so stay tuned!
