Project Description

Area Name:

Larry R. Gale Access Parking Addition

Location:

The area is located in Camden County, Missouri (T38N, R17W, Section 19).  Going to the area from Camdenton, you travel west on U.S. Hwy 54 about 4 miles, turn right on Hwy AA, continue 2.5 miles to Lake Road AA-101, turn right on Lake Road AA-101 (Koehler Road), go about 0.3 miles, turn right on Lake Road AA-101D (Larry R. Gale Drive), and continue about 1.2 miles to the access (see attached map).  The access is on the southwest portion of Lake of the Ozarks at lake mile 7.7 of the Niangua River arm.

Area Size:

Larry R. Gale Access is 193 acres in size.  The ÒfootprintÓ of the parking area addition will be approximately 0.75 acres.

Control/Ownership:

The area was purchased by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1988.  The areaÕs original name was Niangua Arm Access.  The access was developed using Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration funds (FW-9-D-4) and opened to public use in October 1991.  The original development included a paved entrance road, paved parking for 50 vehicles with trailers, two-lane concrete boat ramp, courtesy docks, disabled-accessible privies, a disabled-accessible fishing dock, and disabled-accessible walkways, that connect parking areas, privies, and other facilities.  The area was renamed and rededicated as Larry R. Gale Access on July 9, 1997.

Facilities Development:

The Department will construct an additional concrete parking area of sufficient size to accommodate 30 vehicles with trailers (approximately 100Õ x 250Õ) on the north side of the existing parking area (see below site plan).

Availability to Users:

Lake of the Ozarks (55,500 acres) is the second largest reservoir in Missouri and is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the Midwest.  Most of the lakeÕs 1,300 miles of shoreline is privately owned; and much of the shoreline, particularly on the lower end of the lake, is developed with resorts, condominiums, homes, marinas, and other businesses.

The lake has relatively few public fishing and boating accesses, and all are very heavily used.  The Department of Conservation has five developed access areas and one access area under development.  The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has four developed public access areas.

At Larry R. Gale Access, the current parking area is inadequate for the amount of public use during weekends and holidays from early April through October.  A comprehensive, 190-day study was performed by The Louis Berger Group, Inc., a consulting company that was retained by Ameren UE during the FERC re-licensing of Bagnell Dam.  This study indicated that available parking was exceeded during March, April, and July.  Between 88% and 96% of the available parking was occupied during June, August, September, and October.  When available spaces are occupied, area users park along the entrance road.  This creates severe traffic congestion and impedes the ability of emergency vehicles to access the area.  The planned parking area addition should alleviate most of these problems, and will be greatly appreciated by area users.

For additional information or to provide comments, please contact:

Marlyn L. Miller
Missouri Department of Conservation
PO Box 180
Jefferson City, MO 65102
millem@.mdc.mo.gov
573-522-4115, #3164