The Beauty of Branson lies beyond, in the Ozarks. Real Food Traveler writer and photographer, Rich Grant, tells us where to go outside of Branson for nature’s bounty.
Save this Part 1 article about things to do outside of Branson, to Pinterest to keep them handy. Photos by Rich Grant. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.
The best way to enjoy a visit to Branson, Missouri, is to get out of town. Not that there’s anything wrong with Branson. The family entertainment capital of the Midwest has a staggering 120 live shows with more seats than Broadway. Nine million people a year visit the town for big name-concerts, a half scale replica of the Titanic, acrobats, showboats, religious shows, off-Broadway plays, go-carts, mini-golf, zip lines, nostalgic Five & Dime stores, ice cream, factory outlet shopping, craft chocolate, craft whiskey and entertainment by seemingly half the contestants who have ever appeared on TV in “America’s Got Talent.”
But the big surprise here is the beauty, history, art and culture of the surrounding Ozark Mountains. While the bright lights and music of Branson get a lot of attention, what’s often overlooked is the splendor of nature in the Ozarks. The pristine shoreline of Table Rock Lake (which sits high above Branson, ready to pour down and wipe it out should the dam ever break) is 745 miles long – longer than the coast of California. That’s one big lake. The water is so chemical free that when they launched the Showboat Branson Belle (allegedly the largest boat ever built on an in-land lake) they slid it into the lake using two tons of bananas as lubricant, rather than grease the skids, which would have polluted the water.
Visit Branson and enjoy the shows in the evening. But here are some suggestions on trips to enjoy in the day:
The grounds of the Dogwood Canyon Mill and Grill.
RELAX IN THE MARVELOUS, CREATIVE MIND OF JOHNNY MORRIS
Never heard of Johnny Morris? You will. He is the Walt Disney of the outdoors, a 21st century Teddy Roosevelt dedicated to getting people off their couches and into nature, where he is one of the most important modern leaders in conservation. He started with an eight-foot-square “shop” in the back of his father’s liquor store, where he sold gear for his passion, bass fishing. Today, his first store, Bass Pro Shop, has swelled into an empire with 100 retail outlets and 20,000 associates serving more than 120 million shoppers a year.
But that’s just the beginning. Nearly 30 years ago, he created Big Cedar Lodge, a Branson nature resort area with fishing, horseback riding, log cabins, grand lodges with balcony views of the Ozarks and famous golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and coming soon, the first public access championship course designed by Tiger Woods. If you don’t stay here, at the very least, it’s worth a splurge for dinner at one of four dining options with views over Table Rock Lake (resort wear only, please, collared shirts for men recommended). A shirt with a collar is as formal as “come as you are” Branson ever gets.
But it’s Johnny Morris’s new ventures that are truly remarkable. Dogwood Canyon Nature Park is a 10,000-acre outdoor paradise that is difficult to believe, even as you are experiencing it. It’s like one of Johnny Morris’s Bass Pro Shops has come to life. You enter passing the spectacular Dogwood Canyon Mill and Grill, a picturesque working grist mill that grinds corn for the restaurant or for purchase in the shop. Then there are 6.5 miles of paved trails along Indian Creek as it snakes and turns through the canyon. You can walk, bike, or horseback ride into the canyon, or take a two-hour tram ride that provides a narrated history of the area and the opportunity to get up close and personal with a buffalo herd, Texas longhorns and elk.
People enjoying the view and the food at Dogwood Canyon Restaurant.
On the big wheel tram, you cruise over Amish covered wood bridges or splash across the stream at numerous fords. It’s all so beautiful and perfect that it appears more like a scene from a science fiction film of paradise in some future world than as a real place in modern-day Arkansas. There are pools of water filled with visible yellow trout. There are waterfalls — some real, some obviously manufactured, but all lovely to look at, and you’ll never get closer to a buffalo herd. Rest assured, it’s not a wilderness experience in any way, but it is simply wonderful to see.
Beyond Branson, see yellow trout in Dogwood Canyon.
“Top of the Rock Ozark Heritage Preserve Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail” is what locals say is the “must do” experience. It’s a long name, but there’s a lot to do here. The highlight involves riding a golf cart into a cave (where there is a bar) and passing waterfalls, Amish bridges and long views of Table Rock Lake.
Another option is to head 40 minutes north to the flagship Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, which is attached to a gigantic aquarium and wildlife museum. It’s all part of the “Morris-land” empire, a delightful place to spend a day if you love the outdoors.
Hungry for more? Read Rich’s articles about following in the drinking footsteps of George Washington.
GO BACK TO THE HORRORS OF THE CIVIL WAR
There’s a great deal of irony in the fact that one of the worst places to be in America’s Civil War was southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, and yet their bloody battlefields are now one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in both states. Missouri epitomized the Civil War – both the Union and the Confederates claimed Missouri and both sides had a star for it in their flags.
A glimpse of the Pea Ridge National Military Park.
Three large battles finally preserved Missouri for the Union: Wilson Creek, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove. All three are close and military buffs could visit them in a long day, but most people will be satisfied with just a trip to Pea Ridge National Military Park, one of the best preserved of Civil War national parks, ranking up there with Gettysburg, Antietam and Shiloh.
Pea Ridge National Military Park and the Elkhorn Tavern in the distance.
The two-day battle was a complicated affair and ended with a Union charge that was larger than the famed Pickett’s Charge. It was far less bloody because by that point in the battle, the Confederates had run out of ammunition. Films and historic markers make the campaign easy to understand, but the real highlight here is to get out of the car and experience 19th century Arkansas. The landscape has not changed since the battle. There are dozens of miles of picket fences, rolling hills, restored farms and taverns, 20 cannon, orchards, and looming behind it all, the distinctive rocky mound known as Pea Ridge. The height of the battle was at pretty Elkhorn Tavern, and as you visit this picturesque spot with its beautiful orchard and fences, you are literally seeing what the 19th century would have looked like. It’s harder to imagine that the peaceful place where you are standing was once littered so thickly with dead bodies that you could, as one soldier described it, walk across the yard stepping from corpse to corpse, without ever touching the ground. The Civil War is still relevant today, and there’s no better place to learn about the causes, effects, and tragedies suffered by both sides than at Pea Ridge.
If You Go: For information about everything Branson and the Ozarks, visit their website, here.
Hungry for more? Read Part 2 of Rich’s article.
— Story and photos by Rich Grant
You are certainly right in describing Branson and the surrounding areas as so fabulous to visit and enjoy! I love it.