Every Lake of the Ozarks Boat Ramp Open to the Public: Fees, Hours and Parking
Fourteen public launches on the lake, one below the dam, and the marina ramps that let the public in, checked against the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Parks and the cities that run them. Where each one is, what it costs, and how far you idle before you can open it up.
LakeTime RV · Updated September 29, 2026
We run LakeTime RV and the public ramp at 141 Gantner Ramp Road, which is one of the launches below. Everything else is listed anyway. Every entry was checked against the agency that runs it: Missouri Department of Conservation area pages, the Missouri State Parks boating page and the state park marina, the City of Lake Ozark, and the Tri-County Lodging Association’s public launch map. Where the only information is from anglers’ forums or aggregator sites, we say so instead of presenting it as fact. Fees and hours change; the agency links in each entry are the final word.
Run a ramp we missed, or spot a change? Email [email protected] and we will fix it.
The lay of the lake
Lake of the Ozarks has about 1,150 miles of shoreline, more than the coast of California, and almost all of it is private. For a lake this size, the number of places where the public can back a trailer down is small, and they are not where most visitors are.
The tourism bureau’s public launch map lists ten. Take off Bagnell Dam Access, which is below the dam, then add the City of Lake Ozark’s ramp, the Linn Creek ramp, Wigwam School Access, Drake Harbor in Warsaw and our own ramp, and you get fourteen on the lake itself, plus that one Conservation Department access on the Osage River, which puts you below the dam and not on the lake. That is the whole public inventory. Everything else is a marina, a resort or a campground, and the ones that let the public launch charge for it.
Who runs them, and what that means. The Missouri Department of Conservation runs six accesses on the lake and one below the dam. They are free, launching is allowed 24 hours a day even though the areas themselves close from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and you cannot leave a boat or trailer overnight. Missouri State Parks runs three paved ramps in Lake of the Ozarks State Park at $5 a launch for boats up to 30 feet and $10 over 30 feet, or $75 and $85 for an annual permit, free if you are camping in the park; the state park ramps run sunrise to sunset. One more state park ramp, McCubbin’s Point, and the city ramps are free. Ameren Missouri, which holds the federal license for the lake, does not operate any ramps; its job is the dam and the shoreline permits.
Mile markers. The main channel, which is the Osage arm, is numbered from zero at Bagnell Dam up to the low 90s near Truman Dam. The Gravois, Grand Glaize, Niangua and Little Niangua arms each start their own count at their mouth, so a “3 mile marker” ramp could be three miles up the main channel or three miles up an arm. We say which.
If you only want the short version: for a fast launch onto the main channel in the middle of the action, it is our ramp at LakeTime in Osage Beach, open around the clock with a secure trailer lot, or Shawnee Bend Access across the lake at the 10.9 mile marker, free with a courtesy dock. For a cheap launch on the Osage Beach side you are in the state park at Grand Glaize Beach or Pa He Tsi for $5 to $10, then idling out of the Grand Glaize arm. For the quiet arms, the Conservation Department has you covered on the Gravois and the Niangua for free. Anywhere north of the 30 mile marker on the main channel, plan around Brown Bend and Wigwam.
Osage Beach & the Grand Glaize arm
The busiest side of the lake and, for launching, the most crowded. Five public ramps, four of them inside the state park on the Grand Glaize arm, and one on the main channel.
LakeTime RV Boat RampOur ramp
Main channel✓ Open 24 hours✓ Secure trailer lot✓ Dock✓ Open year-round$20 a day, parking included
This is our ramp, so read it with that in mind. It is the one public launch in Osage Beach that sits on the main channel rather than up the Grand Glaize arm, which means no idle through a no-wake zone before you can get on plane. The ramp is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, inside a gated park. Launch and trailer parking is $20 a day paid in advance, $100 a week or $250 a month, and the trailer stays in a key card lot instead of on a road shoulder. There is a dock at the ramp, and if you camp with us the ramp is steps from your site.
What it is not: free. If the fee is the deciding factor, Shawnee Bend across the lake is your main channel option at no charge.
Grand Glaize Beach ramp (Public Beach 2)
Grand Glaize arm$5 to $10 launchSunrise to sunset✓ Overnight trailer permit✓ Marina and fuel✓ Open year-round
The big state park ramp on the Osage Beach side: four paved lanes, a marina with fuel and pump-out next to it, a swim beach and a playground. The launch fee is $5 for boats up to 30 feet and $10 over, $75 or $85 for an annual permit, and free with a valid camping permit. Overnight trailer parking is by permit from the marina at $15 a night or $75 a week.
It is open year-round, but the ramp runs sunrise to sunset, and on a summer Saturday the line backs up. Party Cove is up this arm, so the water at the ramp gets busy. Figure about three miles up the Grand Glaize arm before you are on the main channel.
Pa He Tsi ramp
Grand Glaize arm$5 to $10 launchMarch through October✓ Overnight trailer permit✕ Open year-round
The closest state park ramp to the main channel, right where the Grand Glaize arm meets the Osage, with four paved lanes. Missouri State Parks lists the same $5 and $10 launch fee as the other park ramps; Margaritaville’s website describes it as complimentary for its guests, so budget for the fee and be pleasantly surprised. The upper lot is where the park sells overnight trailer permits.
The catch is the calendar. Pa He Tsi is open March through October only, and the park closes it whenever the lake drops below 658.5 feet, which happens in winter drawdown and in dry summers. Check the level before you count on it.
McCubbin’s Point ramp
Grand Glaize arm✓ Free launchHours not publishedSmall lot✕ Courtesy dock unconfirmed
A free ramp on the quiet upper half of the Grand Glaize arm, reached by a long road through the park. Anglers describe it as a single concrete lane with a small paved lot. Missouri State Parks does not publish a page for it, so hours, dock and low-water condition are unconfirmed; treat it as a small-boat launch and scout it before you bring anything big.
Public Beach 1 ramp
Grand Glaize arm$5 to $10 launchSunrise to sunset✓ Marina and slips✓ Open year-round
The other end of the state park: two paved lanes at the top of the Grand Glaize arm near the old swinging bridges, with a marina and slips, the same $5 to $10 fee, open year-round. The upside is that almost nobody is there. The downside is that you are a long way up an arm, so it suits fishing the upper Glaize far better than a run to the main channel.
Lake Ozark & below Bagnell Dam
The dam end of the lake: one small city ramp near the Strip, and one Conservation Department access that is not on the lake at all.
Lake Ozark Public Boat Ramp
Main channel cove✓ Free launchHours not publishedGravel lot✕ Dock
The city rebuilt this ramp in early 2026, closing it from January 12 to February 16 to pour a new 16-foot-wide, 50-foot-long concrete ramp in place of the old one, which was about 12 by 37 with a drop-off at the end. It is free, the lot is gravel, and it puts you in a cove a short idle from the main channel near the Strip. The old ramp had no dock and suited smaller boats; the new one is wider and longer, but call Public Works before you trust it with a big rig on a trailer.
Bagnell Dam Access
Not on the lake✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hours✕ Lake access
Listed here because it shows up on every “Lake of the Ozarks boat ramp” search and people arrive expecting the lake. This is the tailwater below Bagnell Dam. It is a good trout and catfish launch on the Osage River, free, 24-hour launching under the standard Conservation Department rules, and there is no way to get from here to the lake by water. The department also warns that black vultures on the area have damaged vehicles.
Sunrise Beach & the west side
Highway 5 country, across the main channel from Osage Beach. One public ramp, and it is a good one.
Shawnee Bend Access
MM 10.9✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hours✓ Four lanes✓ Courtesy dock✓ Main channel
The best free ramp on the lake for getting to open water: four concrete lanes right on the main channel at the 10.9 mile marker, a courtesy dock, an accessible fishing dock, a privy and a marked no-wake zone at the ramp. Launching is allowed around the clock; the area itself is open 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and boats and trailers cannot be left overnight. The lot fills on summer weekends, and the ride to the Osage Beach restaurants is a long one by water, but if you are staying on the west side this is the launch.
Camdenton & the Niangua arm
The quieter southwest arms. One first-rate Conservation Department access, one ramp nobody officially claims, and a state park you can only visit by boat.
Larry R. Gale Access
Niangua arm✓ Free launch✓ Lighted, open 24 hours✓ Parking for 50 rigs✓ Courtesy docks✓ Accessible fishing dock
The most complete public access on the lake. Two concrete lanes, lighted and open all hours year-round, parking for about 50 vehicles with trailers, courtesy docks, a disabled-accessible fishing dock with paved walkways, and accessible privies, on 192 acres. It is on the Niangua arm rather than the main channel, so it is the launch for the Niangua, Ha Ha Tonka and the west end, not for Osage Beach.
Linn Creek Boat Ramp
Linn Creek coveFree per anglersHours not publishedGravel lotShallow at low pool
Anglers describe a two-lane concrete ramp with a dock and gravel parking at the back of the Linn Creek cove, free to use, with a sandbar near the ramp that makes it shallow when the lake is down. We could not find an agency page that claims it, so nothing here is verified. Worth a look if you are fishing the cove; not something to plan a trip around.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Boat-in only✕ Boat ramp✓ Free docks24-foot boat limit at the docks
No ramp. Ha Ha Tonka is a destination, not a launch: docks on both the castle ruins side and the spring side of the cove, free, with a 24-foot length limit for tying up, and a stone-step kayak put-in by the spring. Launch at Larry R. Gale and run up the Niangua to get here.
Laurie, Gravois Mills & the Gravois arm
Two Conservation Department accesses, ten miles apart on the Gravois arm, both free, both open around the clock for launching.
Coffman Beach Access
Gravois 2.6✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hours✓ Four lanes✓ Courtesy dock✓ Fishing dock
Four concrete lanes near the mouth of the Gravois arm, which puts the main channel a short run away. Courtesy dock, fishing dock and a picnic area on about eight acres. Older maps and news releases call it Coffman Bend; the department’s name is Coffman Beach. The same rules as every department access: free, launching allowed 24 hours, area closed 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., nothing left overnight.
Gravois Mills Access
Gravois 10.1✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hours✓ Courtesy dock✓ Covered accessible fishing dock✓ Picnic area
The department’s first access on the lake, opened in 1985 when there were almost no public launches here at all. Two concrete lanes, a courtesy dock, a covered disabled-accessible fishing dock with a paved path, and a picnic area on 63 acres, ten miles up the Gravois arm. It is the natural launch for anyone staying around Laurie and Gravois Mills.
The upper lake: Climax Springs to Warsaw
Past the 30 mile marker the lake narrows, the traffic thins and the fishing gets serious. Three public ramps cover the last sixty miles of the main channel.
Brown Bend Access
MM 61.5✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hours✓ Dock✓ Two fishing jettiesSmall and remote
A small access on a few acres at the 61.5 mile marker with a dock and two fishing jetties. Anglers report a single concrete lane. It is a long way from anything, which is the point.
Wigwam School Access
MM 66.2✓ Free launch✓ Launch 24 hoursAbout 89 trailer spaces, reportedRestrooms, reported
The newest of the department’s lake accesses, on 78 acres across from Duncan’s Point. Reports from its opening describe a two-lane ramp, roughly 89 vehicle-and-trailer spaces plus handicapped parking, restrooms and a lakefront weigh-in station, which is why tournaments use it; the department’s own page does not list the lane and parking counts, so take them as reported. Anglers warn the last stretch of road is dirt and dusty.
Drake Harbor
Upper Osage arm✓ Trailer and vehicle parking✓ Concrete rampFee not publishedHours not published
The top of the lake, where the Osage arm ends below Truman Dam. A city-run concrete ramp with trailer and vehicle parking, walking trails and a playground. Fee and hours are not published; the city has the answer. From here it is about 90 miles of water back to Bagnell Dam.
Marina and resort ramps that let the public launch
Dozens of marinas have ramps. Most reserve them for slip tenants and rental customers. These are the ones with a published policy for walk-up launching, and what the rest of the lake charges.
Surdyke Marina
Osage Beach$20 each way under 25 ft$30 each way to 32 ftTrailer storage by the month
A full-service marina with a public ramp priced per direction: $20 each way for trailers under 25 feet and $30 each way up to 32 feet, so a launch and retrieve runs $40 to $60. Trailer storage is $200 a month for a boat trailer or $100 for a PWC trailer.
The Lodge of Four Seasons
Lake Ozark✓ Free for registered craft✕ Walk-up public launching
The Lodge lets guests and slip tenants use its launch ramp at no charge for a registered boat. It is not a public ramp; you need to be staying or renting a slip there.
Margaritaville Lake Resort
No ramp✕ Boat ramp✓ Guest trailer parking with shuttleOvernight slips $40
The biggest resort on the lake has no ramp of its own. It sends guests to the state park ramps and offers complimentary trailer parking at The Oaks golf course lot on Route KK with a shuttle, plus covered overnight slips at about $40 a night. Our ramp is next door and open to anyone, which is a fair share of how we meet Margaritaville guests.
What the rest of the lake charges. Where marinas post a walk-up launch price at all, it runs about $10 to $30 per launch or per direction, with trailer parking often extra and usually on a first-come basis. If a marina’s website does not mention public launching, assume the ramp is for customers and call before you show up with a trailer.
Quick answers
Are there free boat ramps at Lake of the Ozarks?
Yes, more than people expect. Every Missouri Department of Conservation access on the lake is free: Shawnee Bend, Coffman Beach, Gravois Mills, Larry R. Gale, Brown Bend and Wigwam School. The City of Lake Ozark’s ramp on Bluebird Road is free, and so is McCubbin’s Point in the state park. The three main state park ramps are $5 to $10, and private ramps charge $10 and up.
Which ramps are open 24 hours?
The Conservation Department allows launching and landing boats 24 hours a day at all of its accesses, even though the areas close from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for everything else; Larry R. Gale is lighted. Our ramp at LakeTime is open 24 hours a day, year-round, inside a gated park. The state park ramps run sunrise to sunset, and Pa He Tsi closes from November through February.
Can I leave my truck and trailer overnight?
Not at a Conservation Department access: boats may not be left unattended overnight and trailers cannot be stored during closed hours. In the state park, overnight trailer parking is by permit from the marina at $15 a night or $75 a week, in the upper lot at Pa He Tsi. At LakeTime the trailer stays in a secure key card lot at $20 a day, $100 a week or $250 a month, and you can come and go at any hour.
Which ramp gets me to the main channel fastest?
On the Osage Beach side, ours, because it is on the main channel. From the state park ramps you idle roughly three miles out of the Grand Glaize arm first. Across the lake, Shawnee Bend at the 10.9 mile marker and Coffman Beach near the mouth of the Gravois both put you on open water quickly and cost nothing.
What happens when the lake is low?
Full pool is 660 feet. The state park closes Pa He Tsi below 658.5 feet. In the 2022 drawdown the Conservation Department warned that prop wash had dug holes off the ends of the ramps at Shawnee Bend, Coffman Beach, Wigwam School, Brown Bend and Larry R. Gale; the ramps were open, but backing a trailer past the end of the concrete was a good way to lose a wheel. In winter, launch slowly, and if the ramp end is under murky water send someone to check it first.
How do the mile markers work?
Zero is at Bagnell Dam and the numbers climb up the main channel, which is the Osage arm, to the low 90s at Truman Dam. Each side arm starts its own count at the mouth: the Gravois, the Grand Glaize, the Niangua and the Little Niangua. Boaters and bars give locations by mile marker, and so does this page.
Where do the facts on this page come from?
The Conservation Department’s area pages and regulations (example), the Missouri State Parks boating page and the state park marina’s terms, the City of Lake Ozark, the Tri-County Lodging Association’s public launch map, LakeExpo, and Ameren Missouri’s shoreline management plan. Lane counts and parking figures we could only find on angler forums or aggregator sites are marked as reported, not confirmed.
Launch On The Main Channel. Any Hour. Trailer Parked.
LakeTime RV’s public ramp in Osage Beach is open 24/7 with a secure key card lot, and a campsite on the water is steps away.
Camping too? Reserve a campsite · 141 Gantner Ramp Road, Osage Beach, MO 65065
