For Immediate Release         Media Contact:  Pam Jones or Marjorie Beenders
September 22, 2009                                           Phone: 573-636-8282 « Email: pam@tbmg.net

                                                    

Apple Festivals, Colorful Foliage, Romantic Wineries…It’s Fall at Central Missouri’s
Lake of the Ozarks

 

NEWS MEDIA NOTE: Fall is a fantastic time to visit Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.  Most of the area’s lodging, restaurants, attractions and golf courses are still open…the weather is absolutely perfect…summer crowds are gone…and visitors can find value galore.  And all around, the scenic Ozarks hills provide a colorful backdrop in vivid mahogany and scarlet, russet and gold.  Read on for some timely topics and tips to get you started on autumn-style stories set at the Lake of the Ozarks.  For more info, color images or other assistance, please contact us.

♦ A PAIR OF APPLE FESTIVALS OFFER A-PEELIN’ FAMILY FUN…Coming in October, two fun family festivals are all about apples at Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.  More than 30,000 visitors are expected at the 30th Annual Old Tyme Apple Festival, Saturday, Oct. 3 in Versailles.  Voted the best festival in Central Missouri for several years by readers of Rural Missouri, the event will celebrate “The Big Apple” with a gala parade, sock hop and car cruise, beauty pageants, “Annie” at the historic Royal Theater, hundreds of food and crafts booths, apple pie bake-off and auction, kids’ activities, pancake breakfast and German dinner, continuous live music, museum tours, quilt and car shows, tractor display, runs and walks and the grand finale—a compact-car Figure 8 race and “tuff” truck challenge!  The following weekend, the 13th Annual Apple Butter Days Fall Festival will take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, at the Camden County Museum, located on V Road just off Highway 54 in Linn Creek.  Visitors can help volunteers make delectable apple butter, purchase it by the pint, and bring home a fresh-baked apple pie.  This charming festival also features food and craft booths, a quilt raffle and tours of the fascinating Camden County Museum.
 
♦ TAKE A DRIVE THROUGH THE LAKE’S FALL LANDSCAPE…The highly respected travel mavens at www.shermanstravel.com recently spotlighted the Lake of the Ozarks as one of the “10 best places to enjoy autumn’s colors.”  Sherman’s says, “If the sight of brilliantly speckled hillsides and crimson-hued leafy boughs make you oooh and ah, the same scene reflected in calm lake waters is bound to intensify your admiration,” adding that the Lake in October also offers a wide array of activities—for families, friends, romantics, kids, shoppers, birdwatchers, hikers, bikers, golfers and others!  Here’s a scenic 25-mile driving trip that routes you by breathtaking Lake panoramas with fun and fascinating stops along the way:

  • Start at Historic Willmore Lodge on Business Hwy. 54 in Lake Ozark for a spectacular six-mile view of Bagnell Dam and the Lake of the Ozarks.
  • Directly across from Willmore Lodge on Business Hwy. 54, take Upper Power Plant Road a short distance south to the AmerenUE Overlook, offering a sweeping panorama of the Lake and the Osage River, and a birds-eye view of Bagnell Dam.
  • Travel Business Highway 54 south over the dam to the Historic Bagnell Dam Strip.  It’s a tourist-friendly mile of shops, restaurants and family attractions.
  • Take Business Highway 54 to Route HH and cross the Community Bridge ($2.50 toll).  Turn on Route MM west, to Route TT south, to Route F north, to Highway 5 south.  The two-lane roads meander through woods, bluffs and open areas with tantalizing glimpses of the Lake, leading to Highway 5, the main road through the Lake’s west side.  Drive over the Hurricane Deck Bridge and the Niangua Bridge and stop at the south end of the Niangua Bridge for great photo opportunities.
  • Continue south on Highway 5 and turn right onto Lake Road 5-88 to the Camdenton Fire Tower.  Climb the tower’s first 80 feet (a total of 90 steps) for a unique Lake view.
  • Return to Highway 5 south through Camdenton and turn south onto Route D to Ha Ha Tonka State Park.  Explore the mysterious castle ruins and enjoy the breathtaking view from high atop a 250-foot bluff.  The popular state park offers 12 hiking trails that showcase Missouri’s premier examples of karst topography, a honeycomb of tunnels, caverns, springs and sinkholes.  Stop by the Visitors Center for more information and interpretive exhibits.

♦  KEEP DRIVING…TO ONE OF THE LAKE-AREA’S WONDERFUL WINERIES… Return to Highway 54 to Lake Road 54-85 and you’ll discover Casa de Loco Winery, located in the restored Urbauer Fishing Lodge Historic District, originally built as a sporting retreat in 1930.  With its breathtaking view from a bluff overlooking the Big Niangua River, it’s an ideal spot to take in the wonders of autumn at the Lake.  Seven Springs Winery, located off Y Road in Linn Creek, serves outstanding wine and creative food daily.  Nestled into a scenic valley, it’s an ideal setting for relaxing with friends on the terrace, facing an Ozarks hillside resplendent with a show of fall colors.  At Grey Bear Vineyards and Winery in Stover, owner David Fansler says on a beautiful fall day, guests will enjoy sitting on the deck overlooking the vineyard, while enjoying Buckskin, a dry white wine, or Black Dahlia, Grey Bear’s cabernet sauvignon.  Housed in a unique 20-sided round structure, the winery also houses the Black Canyon Ale House Microbrewery and Bistro, serving tasty fare and hearty brews on Fridays and Saturdays.  A former blacksmith shop in the picturesque German town of Cole Camp, is the site of the Eichenberg Winery which produces outstanding German-style wines from 10 varieties of grapes grown on its three-acre vineyard.  Owners Rodger and Theila Luetjen invite visitors to sample and savor their wines and relax in the lovely garden.

♦ COMING UP THIS AUTUMN…In addition to the Lake’s fun and family-friendly apple festivals, these Lake-area events are sure to provide interesting autumn stories. For more info, please call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau toll-free at (800) FUN-LAKE or visit www.funlake.com. 

  • Sept. 25-27 --  3rd Annual Lake of the Ozarks Offshore Super Series National Championship Race  - It’s the Lake’s largest single event, featuring sleek powerboats hurtling through the water at speeds up to 185 mph or more, and an exciting lineup of free, non-stop racing action and entertainment.
  • Sept. 26 --  24th Annual Eldon Turkey Festival  –  Miller County, MO ranks as one of the nation’s top producers of domestic turkeys and boasts an abundant wild turkey population, too.  Eldon celebrates this unique heritage with diverse activities, from a turkey-egg toss to frozen turkey bowling, turkey pot pie eating contests to a turkey trot and gobble wobble 5K run and walk, plus more than 200 food and crafts booths, children’s activities, live music, a parade, quilt show, carnival, demo derby and much more.   www.eldonchamber.com or call 573-392-3752.
  • Saturday, Oct. 10 --  3rd Annual Fall Harbor Hop – Approximately 40 Lakeside bars, marinas and restaurants, and more than 2,500 participants enjoy this fall “poker run” on the water to mark the unofficial end of the warm-weather boating season.  Players boat from point to point, picking up a card at each stop to try to build the best poker hand. 
  • Oct. 24-25 --  Alhonna Resort Fall Classic Open Buddy Bass Tournament – Enjoy gorgeous fall colors and fantastic fall fishing featuring a separate Big Bass pot. Payback of tournament fees is 100%.


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