Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region
Ha Ha Tonka packs springs, a castle ruin, and karst together
Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Camden County shows the area's karst up close: caves, sinkholes, a natural bridge, sheer bluffs, a large spring, and the stone ruins of an early-1900s castle-like mansion above the Lake of the Ozarks.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park sits in Camden County, overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks near Camdenton. It is a good place to see karst up close. Karst is the kind of land that forms when groundwater slowly dissolves limestone and dolomite. Over time that creates caves, springs, and sinkholes.
The park has a lot packed into one spot. You will find sinkholes, caves, sheer bluffs, and a large natural bridge. It is also home to Ha Ha Tonka Spring, which Missouri State Parks lists as the state’s 12th-largest spring. On the bluff above the spring stand the stone ruins of a castle-like mansion built in the early 1900s.
For park hours, trails, and access, check the Missouri State Parks page.
The same dissolving-limestone geology is why much of the Lake of the Ozarks area has caves and springs, and it shapes how groundwater moves here.
Where to see it
- Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Use Missouri State Parks for trail conditions, maps, hours, and karst-site guidance.
References
More from Camden County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: June 20, 2026.