My family and I will be spending next week a big cedar. I have never been, anyone have recommendations on what/what not to do. Thanks!

Fish. Water ski. Golf.

It's a really cool place. Couple of really nice restaurants within the property. Of course Table Rock is a really beautiful lake. My wife and friends did the dinner and show on the Branson Belle and it was nice. Good food and good entertainment as they cruise the lake.
There are some good restaurants on the lake that you can go to by boat if you have one with you or you can rent.
Weather has been pleasant up here till this week. Has become hot and humid but mornings and evenings are nice.
If you wanna drive into Springfield the mother ship Bass Pro is there of course and the Wonders of Wildlife complex and Aquarium is a must see. Very family friendly and very well done. Worth the trip.
Nice area all around, plenty to do.
Silver Dollar City is good for the kids and pretty fun.
Couple of years back we did a half day trail ride/lunch.
Can't remember the name of the place but we had a group of 8 with parents and kids. Very good horses and a very scenic ranch to ride in. Shady, creeks and rivers.
At lunch you ride up to the top of a mountain in a very shady park like area and they have tables set with table cloths, regular nice sit down dinner. They bring the food and serve it family style. Really good food as well. It was over the top nice.
Then you relax a bit and it's a short ride down the mountain to finish.

Been several times. I'll get some suggestions for you in a bit. For now - when you rent a ski boat at the marina, be sure to take out the insurance. It's money well spent. Ask me how I know!

Don't forget "throwed rolls"!

Do the golf cart ride at Top of the Rock…pretty cool little drive through some pretty trails and cave. You can also get a adult beverage along the way at the cave.

Avoid Brandon at all cost.

Years ago we rented a boat and took kids skiing and tubing.

Big Cedar is awesome! The evenings are awesome for the whole family. They get the kids up in front of everybody, sing and do funny stuff. You and your wife can drink while the kids are entertained.

Fish the pond. But if you want to catch fish, hire a guide and fish Table Rock. Our grandchildren were 6, 8 and 9 and all caught fish.

It's just a great family experience.

The Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum at Top of the Rock is first rate and has a collection of Native American artifacts that rivals any museum in the country.

Wonders of Wildlife at Bass Pro Headquarters in Springfield has been voted best aquarium in the world numerous times, The Lewis & Clark Hall is great if you have any interest in the Corps of Discovery. The store itself has a big NRA gun museum, American Museum of Fly Fishing and lots of other things to see. Plan at least 4 hours there if you go.

Weather here in the Ozarks looks good for next week with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s.

Here's some suggestions for on site places to eat.


https://bigcedar.com/dining/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwkJm0BhBxEiwAwT1AXLq8SK1j38zY7_ekBgcP0dqIvv3B6cVvMIWq29-xB8PbjwCivuvKWxoCrs8QAvD_BwE

You'll need reservations so plan ahead. Truman's for breakfast / coffee. Top of the Rock restaurant and the associated bars are great place to watch the sunsets and take pictures.

Buzzard Bar is casual and fun with live music.

Thanks everyone for the insight, place sounds amazing!!

We don't go every year but probably two or 3 out of every 4 years. We love it there.

Dogwood Nature Canyon - go online and see what you can do there. The tram wildlife tour is great with kids. My son and I have also done some guided trout fishing here. (This mom really appreciated the guided part when he was younger.)
You can go to the shooting center and shoot some stuff.
Movies on the lawn are fun.
Free paddle boats and canoes are a lot of fun
Shuffleboard and putt putt golf
My kids like the night-time scavenger hunt
The food at the Worman house is great
We do family photos there, it's a gorgeous setting for them.
There's a couple of kids fishing tournaments every week in a pond reserved for kids. They love it.
Kids like Fun Mountain - lots of arcade games, bowling, electric go carts, etc.
Swim, swim, swim
I sign my kids up to do a tie dye shirt every year. They like to souvenir.
If you golf, play some golf.
There are lots of walking trails so if you like to walk or jog, they are great.
After dark, make sure to take the kids out to catch fireflies.
Kids can swim and you can day drink at the Devils Pool pool and the Swimmin' Hole.
There's a beach volleyball "court"
Feed the fish, geese, and turtles at the turtle pond
Go up to the falls by the falls lodge and look for the otters (I can't remember it they're otters or some other water- loving critter)
Look for chipmunks with the kids. They're just rodents but they're cute and we don't have them here.
You can bring your own fishing gear or rent it at the Bent Hook Marina. My son caught a ton of pan fish a few years ago. He threw them all back but he has a great time.
If you aren't bringing a boat, you can rent various kinds of boats and/or jet skis.
You can rent paddle boards.


Make reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner now, if you haven't already done so. You can always cancel them if you done end up needing them. Waits can be long at peak mealtimes. The last time I went it was just my daughter and me and we ordered room service for the first time ever. It took a long time but the food was fine and it was actually pretty cost effective.


If you go to Branson:

Have a meal at Branson Cafe. Farmhouse is good, too.
Go to the Five and Dime there on Main St.
You can walk along the Branson Landing Boardwalk - it's free and I love to see the geese.
There's a little Bass Pro shop there in Branson but the one in Springfield is crazy.
We have never seen any shows but a lot of people like those.

If you like this sort of thing, Wilson Creek National Battlefield in Springfield is pretty and my kids found so many 4 leaf clovers there it was crazy!

Maybe we had bad luck, but we weren't impressed either by the food or the service the one time we went to Top of the Rock for dinner. But it was right after Covid so maybe we e should give it another try. There's a bagpiper at sunset and you can go up just to watch the sunset and hear the piper if you don't want any to eat there.

88Warrior said:

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Do the golf cart ride at Top of the Rock…pretty cool little drive through some pretty trails and cave. You can also get a adult beverage along the way at the cave.

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We do this most years. This year it seems they put up Christmas lights and christmas yard decorations (think lighted animals) that never came down. They seemed a little tacky to me. And the price seems to have gone up a lot. But it is pretty and there are some great views. The Amish-built bridges are worth looking at.

We went this past spring. It's a pretty cool place. If you have junior high aged kids prepare to spend a decent amount of time and money at the arcade on site.

Go up and have dinner at the Table Rock golf course. Great views up there.