The Fall Harbor Hop Hand You Can Draw Without Leaving Osage Beach

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the 41st Annual Fall Lake of the Ozarks Harbor Hop sends boaters to 40 checkpoints across the lake. Seven businesses on that list, holding eight of the numbered checkpoints, have Osage Beach addresses. That's enough for a complete seven-card hand. The city's Fall Festival is at Osage Beach City Park the same day. So the lake's biggest fall poker run and a hometown festival both land on one local Saturday, and you can play the whole Hop without leaving the Osage Beach shoreline.

The fall Hop is the older of the two

The Harbor Hop runs twice a year. The spring event is the first Saturday in May, and the fall event is the second Saturday in October. The fall run has the longer history. The Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau calls this year's event the 41st Annual Fall Harbor Hop. Lake Expo called the May 2026 event the 29th Annual Spring Harbor Hop.

That spring run drew 1,246 hands and 37 sponsors, and Lake Expo credited good weather. The CVB's results page says Ethan Ellsworth won with four 7s, followed by Tim Mueller and Chris Whiting.

The rules haven't changed. A $25 donation buys one seven-card hand, and you can buy more than one. You draw your first card where you buy the hand. Then you pick up one card at each of six more checkpoints, and you turn the hand in at the checkpoint where you draw the seventh card. A hand only counts if it's turned in by 7 p.m. that day. An optional eighth bonus card costs $5 more.

Prizes come from the entry donations. The CVB keeps 60% to run the event and promote the lake. The other 40% goes back to players as gift certificates. The sponsors are the CVB, the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association and the Lakes Waterfront Restaurants. So the gift certificates go back to the same waterfront businesses players visit that day.

Seven stops with an Osage Beach address

The CVB groups the checkpoints into three sections by mile marker. Section II covers the main channel from mile marker 10 to 26, plus one stop on the Grand Glaize Arm. Seven of its businesses list Osage Beach street addresses:

Dog Days holds two numbered checkpoints, so the list comes to eight checkpoints at seven separate businesses, one business for each card in a hand. The same section also includes Pointe Oasis Marina at 13 MM, Paradise Tropical Restaurant & Bar at 24 MM and Papa Chubby's Food & Booze in Crab Tree Cove at 26 MM. Those three list Sunrise Beach addresses, so they give you more options without leaving the section. Franky & Louie's Beachfront Bar & Grill in Lynch Cove at 10 MM starts the section.

Staying in one section also qualifies you for a bonus. On top of the regular prizes, the CVB recognizes a section winner, and to be eligible you have to draw all seven cards within one section. An all-Osage Beach hand does that automatically.

The marina hours set the order

The table shows that the stops don't all keep the same hours. Kelly's Port Marina closes its checkpoint at 5 p.m., and Bridgeview Marina & Shipstore closes at 6 p.m. The five restaurant stops stay open until 7 p.m., which is also the turn-in deadline. Since you turn a hand in wherever you draw the seventh card, the listed hours suggest an order that ends at a restaurant:

1. Start at a marina. Bridgeview opens at 8 a.m. and Kelly's Port at 9 a.m., so either one can sell you a hand before the restaurant stops open.
2. Fit in the other marina before 5 p.m. Kelly's Port has the earliest close on the Osage Beach list.
3. Spend the afternoon at the 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. stops. That's Backwater Jack's, Dog Days, Shorty Pants and Redhead.
4. Draw your seventh card at a restaurant that's open until 7 p.m. Landshark at 26 MM is the farthest stop down the list, and the hand is turned in wherever the last card is drawn.

Several stops have live music booked that day. Dog Days' calendar lists Whiskey Trio and Pocket Aces for October 10, though it doesn't give times. Shorty Pants lists Devlin Pierce from 1 to 5 p.m. Landshark says it's open year-round, daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, so your last stop can turn into dinner after the 7 p.m. deadline.

The CVB says dealer stops and times may change and suggests checking the final list close to the event. The official Harbor Hop page links to the Fall 2026 locations list and map. The map notes that locations are approximate and that not every road is shown.

Where City Park fits into the same Saturday

The Fall Festival is at Osage Beach City Park, 950 Hatchery Road. Lake Expo's calendar listing includes food trucks and concessions, a vendor market, bounce houses, a petting zoo, local animal shelters and rescues, and contests for adults and kids. Past vendors have sold holiday decor, apparel, handcrafted and homemade goods, and blacksmithing work. The CVB's event record lists a pie-eating contest for kids and adults. The CVB's August 24 roundup adds pumpkin decorating, arts-and-crafts booths, live music and police, fire and EMS displays.

The listings give different hours. Lake Expo says 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The CVB roundup says 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Osage Beach Parks and Recreation can confirm at (573) 302-2000 ext. 3000, and it posts updates on its Facebook page.

Either way, the festival hours overlap the middle of the Hop day, when all seven Osage Beach stops are open. That affects how you plan. If one person in the household spends the morning at City Park, the other can still buy a hand at Bridgeview or Kelly's Port. After the festival there's still time for the afternoon stops before the restaurant checkpoints close at 7 p.m. Either festival schedule ends at least two hours before the deadline.

The weekend before, at Grand Glaize Beach

The Saturday before the Hop brings another event to Osage Beach's own stretch of water. The Lake of the Ozarks Fall Big Bass Bash runs October 3 and 4, from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, at Public Beach 2, also called Grand Glaize Beach, at 5142 Old U.S. 54 in Osage Beach. In-person registration is Friday, October 2, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event advertises a $200,000 prize package for one big bass.

Put together, that's two Saturdays of big lake events based in Osage Beach. The tournament goes out from Grand Glaize Beach on October 3 and 4. On October 10, seven Osage Beach businesses are enough for a complete Harbor Hop hand while the Fall Festival runs at City Park.

If you're weighing which Osage Beach cove or road would suit you, whether for your own boat days like this one or for a future move around the lake, Capri Swanson is glad to talk through dock access, mile markers and daily routines with you before the season wraps up. Let's Connect.