Lazy Gators

Our family enjoys going here, having drinks at the swim up bar and heading over to Shady Gators for dinner and some live music.

Spectacular view of the lake, this is a swim-up bar with cabanna like feel. Fake palm trees and great lounging areas. Sounds hokey but really enjoy this place. We had superb service from Malissa (yes, with an A), she was johnny-on-the-spot with checking our drinks and gave 6 middle aged ladies fantastic service. A staff member graciously took our picture. A must do if you like chilling out poolside drinking cocktails watching the boaters and jet skiiers. There's a sandy area for beach volleyball.  A minus...and a huge minus, is that people brought their children there. This is a BAR. It's free to go, they make their $$ on drinks. Shady Gators need to put up a sign and enforce that no one under 21 allowed in the swim-up bar. The bathroom, which didn't seem to be used much (yikes) could of been nicer/cleaner...felt like a public pool bathroom. Can't wait to go back, though, and experience this place at night which I heard is really a party kind of place to be.

This was the only bar we went to the entire time while at the Ozarks; we went once.  My friend and I asked a local where a good place to go to enjoy a cocktail where we could boat or jet ski up to.  Driving up it looked like a little oasis in a sea of, ummm, residential beach front homes and well, the lake itself.  

As with almost everything we encountered in and around the Ozarks it was completely contrived and hokey but not in a ridiculous/can't take it sort of way....and hey, we're on holiday so u just roll w it.

The place was pretty dead but we weren't there to 'see and be seen'.  One 16oz Landshark at under 4$, spectacular sunset while sat under faux palm trees...yea, we're in Missouri.  Oddly enuf it worked.  Again, all about perspective.