Cove, channel or main lake: choosing your water

Lake of the Ozarks was formed by Bagnell Dam on the Osage River, and it follows the river’s old valleys. The result is not a round lake but a long, winding one with more than a thousand miles of shoreline: a main channel that snakes for miles, large arms branching off it — the Gravois, the Niangua and the Grand Glaize among them — and hundreds of coves off those.

Locations on the water are given by mile marker, counted from the dam up the main channel and along each arm. "The 19 mile marker of the main channel" tells a boater where something is more usefully than a road address does, and you will see mile markers in listings and directions alike.

Main channel property puts you on the lake’s broadest water, usually with the longest views and the most direct boating to restaurants, marinas and the rest of the lake.

The trade is traffic. The main channel carries the most boats, and with them the most wake, particularly on summer weekends. A main channel dock takes more movement, and that is worth weighing if you have small children swimming or a boat you want sitting quietly.

A cove is a smaller inlet off the main channel or an arm. Coves tend to have calmer water, more privacy and a more residential feel — many buyers want exactly that for swimming and for the dock.

Look at three things on a cove. How far back the property sits, since the head of a long cove can be a slow boat ride from open water. How wide the cove is, which affects the view and how the water moves. And depth, because the back of some coves is shallow, and water levels on the lake vary with the season and the operation of the dam.

The arms are lakes of their own, each with its own character: some busier, some noticeably quieter and more wooded. Property on an arm’s channel offers a middle ground — real open water and views, often with less traffic than the main channel.

Which arm suits you is partly a question of where you want to boat to and from. Our area guides describe each part of the lake, and we are glad to talk it through.

Most buyers settle it by being honest about how they will use the water. Days spent boating the whole lake favour the main channel or a short run to it. Swimming, paddling and quiet mornings on the dock favour a cove. Views and a sense of space favour points and wide stretches. There is no single best water — only the right water for the way you spend a day.