Land for Sale in Stone County, MO

Stone County, Missouri has 31,076 residents (2020 census) on 511 square miles of the Ozarks southwest of Springfield, with Galena as the county seat. It sits beside Branson and around Table Rock Lake, so land here mixes wooded hollows, lake-area lots and small acreage close to the Branson visitor economy. If you are buying near the lake, the Army Corps of Engineers owns the shoreline strip, and that changes what your deed gives you.

Stone County at a glance

County seat: Galena. Cities: Branson West, Crane, Kimberling City, Reeds Spring and Hurley; Blue Eye is a village.
2020 population 31,076; 511 square miles, of which 47 square miles is water.
Part of the Mark Twain National Forest lies in the county; Branson is mostly in neighboring Taney County.
State routes 13, 76, 86, 173, 176, 248, 265 and 413 serve the county.
Table Rock Lake shoreline is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers under a Shoreline Management Plan.

The Stone County land market

Land here falls into lake-area lots around Kimberling City and Branson West, small acreage with Ozark views, and wooded hollows and ridges in the rural parts of the county near Crane, Galena and Blue Eye. Buyers include people building a second home or short-term rental near Branson, retirees, and people who want a few wooded acres to hold. Slope, rock and road quality vary a lot, so a cheap parcel may cost real money to make usable.

Table Rock Lake and the Corps of Engineers

Your deed on a lake-area parcel usually does not reach the water. The government owns a strip around the lake, often called the take line, and the Army Corps of Engineers restricts clearing, mowing, building, driving, parking and dock placement on it. The Corps manages where docks can go and issues the shoreline use permits. The Corps released a new Shoreline Management Plan for Table Rock Lake in 2020, replacing the version dated March 1996, and it changed the boat slip range for docks. Past plan revisions have come with pauses in permit processing, so ask whether any pause is in effect.

Practical checks: confirm on the survey where the take line sits relative to the lot, ask the Corps' Table Rock Resident Office whether the lot has a dock permit or is in an area where docks are allowed, and note that a county zoning rule can also block a dock. Do not pay lake-lot prices for a lot that cannot get a dock unless you are fine with that.

Septic, karst and access

Ozarks geology is limestone with sinkholes, caves and fractured rock, which affects septic fields, wells and water quality. Ask the county health department what systems are approved for the parcel, get a well driller's opinion on depth, and have the road checked: many hollow roads are gravel or shared easements. Confirm recorded legal access and who maintains the road.

Before you buy land in Stone County

For lake lots: the Corps take line on the survey and the dock permit status.
Recorded legal access and road maintenance.
Septic approval, well depth and sinkhole or karst features.
Whether the parcel is inside a city such as Branson West or Kimberling City or in unincorporated county land.
Short-term rental rules if you plan to rent the property.

How to verify legal access to land Land due diligence checklist

Frequently asked questions

Does my deed reach the water on Table Rock Lake?

Usually not. The government owns a strip around the lake, the Corps restricts what you can do there, and docks need a Corps permit. Check the survey.