Stonewater Cove: A Family Resort

Find new adventures and culinary delights at this upscale family resort for the discerning families who want outdoor fun and dining diversity to reign on high.

Located in southern Missouri, Stonewater Cove is the perfect size destination resort for making new friends, spending quality time with your loved ones, and perhaps re-connecting during your annual family reunion.  With just 14 rooms and 6 suites, this luxury lake and forest retreat is a nearly 500 acre Ozarks playground, with one of the clearest lakes in the world at its fingertips for endless outdoor play.  Watch as your young ones learn how to water ski or master the daredevil flips on a wakeboard, then experience all the forest wonders on the resort’s ranger tour on over 20 miles of hand-crafted trails.  Activities to please every member of your family abound, afoot and motorized.

When you’re searching for where to go for that next big vacation, perhaps you’re considering the same old beach vacation.  Who’s to say it’s not amazing to sit on the beach and listen to the waves crashing against the shore.  And to make sand castles is one of life’s greatest simple treasures.  However, oftentimes, the long forgotten lounging in a luxury bowrider along smooth waters, surrounded by breathtaking national forest, can be the ultimate relaxing activity, while still soaking in the essential vitamin D to keep you happy and healthy.  Whatever your tastes in vacation, be it relaxing or adventurous, Stonewater Cove is designed for travelers to experience the best of both.   A change of scenery to a luxury family lake resort surrounded by thousands of acres of Mark Twain National Forest might be just what the doctor ordered.

The next, or perhaps first, question you might be asking yourself is, “where can I go that my partner, parents, siblings, friends, and children will also love?”  What’s there to do at a resort that isn’t going to mean my kids will have to just sit around or constantly ask us what else there is to do.  Sure, sitting on the beach or snow skiing in the mountains is wonderful.  But, if you’d like to branch out and try something new, or add a little variety to your outdoor activity options, how do zip lines, ATV tours, clay shooting, archery, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, ranger tours, and water sports sound?  The resort also has in-room spa services such as hot rock massages, custom massages, herbal steam sessions, deluxe lemongrass foot treatments, and foot soaks to pamper yourself, or heal your body from the daily exertion or routine stresses you’ve been meaning to address.  Let your kids go out tubing or wakeboarding for another few hours while you and your loved one enjoy a purely blissful spa afternoon.

Hmm…but, what if it’s raining?  Will my kids be stuck in the room wondering what kind of vacation this is supposed to be?  Absolutely not.  The Lodge at Stonewater Cove has books, board games, puzzles, chess, checkers, and a media room stocked with movies, a popcorn machine, and a Wii console - with a wide variety of games that keep you up and moving.  Plus, Midwest storms tend to only last an hour or two – they’re big ones – but then they’re gone!  Watching the lightning and listening to the thunder from a rocking chair that overlooks the lake and national forest terrain is an amazing experience that most Midwesterners know other parts of the world are rarely ever privy to.  So don’t worry about the rain – relish it.

There is a plentitude of activities and amenities provided for little ones, who, if less than 5 years of age, are free.  Young ones can explore the forest foothills on mild hiking trails and find a whole new world awaits them.  The resort has infant size life vests to join in on the leisure boat rides or watch other members of their family take a stab at water sporting, canoeing, and swimming in the lake in Stonewater Cove’s “lake pool”.  This swim dock has a large rectangle cut out from the middle for safe lake swimming and lounge chairs for sunbathing on the lake.  Parents can relax knowing their children are safe from any boats that might be passing by, and knowing young children won’t drift too far out of reach.  The outdoor pool is heated throughout most of the year, and has a walking entrance shallow end with little bubble sprouts, and a cave in the middle, with running waterfalls along the back wall rock formations - water toys included.

Special turn-down service for toddlers and infants is provided, including baby toiletries, lollipops, and a little toy for bath time fun.  Dining options include staple children’s menu items such as chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese, but also smaller or custom-tailored grown up dishes to suit younger, and perhaps simpler, palettes.  For example, the resort makes a wonderful, but somewhat spicy soup that can be toned down for the little ones (or anyone for that matter) on one of our 5 course dinner nights.

Stonewater Cove has family very near and dear to its heart.  The resort is family-owned and operated, where the vision of Stonewater Cove was to create a place that replicated all the best from the best vacations the owning family had ever taken or dreamed about.  The goal is to make it easy for every family member to feel a sense of individuality and accomplishment by being able to go out on different excursions or excel at various skills that require focus and discipline such as slalom skiing and wakeboarding, while still having those perfect family bonding moments that traditional family-friendly activities such as roasting s’mores around the bonfire and playing evening board games in The Lounge inevitably create.

Stonewater Cove is a family-friendly resort all year round.  With the exception of a few adult-only weeks, bring your children during any season!  Located in the very southern most part of Missouri, the lake stays warm through mid-October, so enjoying both the lake and forest extends through most of the fall.  In the spring and late fall, horseback riding is also available to expand the land-based activity list.  And in the winter, snow and ice are rare in this part of the US, so being outdoors to ride ATVs, shoot clay discs, perfect your archery skills, hike, mountain bike, and fly on the resort’s new 5 zip lines is a must.  Enjoy the holiday season with twinkling lights throughout the forest terrain, and unwind in the added warmth and relaxing ambiance that our large, glowing Christmas tree in The Lodge exudes.  Cozy up next to the roaring fires as you sit back and watch the train circling round another decorated tree in The Lounge while basking in the season’s joyful and childish spirit.

With nearly 500 acres of land divided amongst 20 families at the most, there is plenty of room to spread out.  Find yourself a favorite spot in the forest for a moment of serenity and contemplation, or round up your family and the one you’ve just met on the same boat and put two people on a swerving and wild as you dare tubing ride.  Retire in a spacious suite or have all night conversations in the luxe comfort of your room.  Take home pictures of Dad screaming at the top of his lungs while flying over the forest trees.  And, pack your jeans for rugged forest fun, your swimsuits for lake life pleasures, and a bib for superb dining.  Stonewater Cove, a luxury family all inclusive resort, awaits!