Where can you enjoy fireworks, Santa and even an elf turn down service during the holiday season? Starting around the first of November, Johnny Morris’ Big Cedar Lodge right outside of Branson, Missouri, becomes that holiday destination. We are going to take you on a trip that will have you making reservations and creating memories year after year.
As you drive through the Ozark Mountains the sun shows through the autumnal trees. The weather is cooling, and everything looks like Christmas is on the horizon.
Fall has not quite let loose its grip on the region yet, but when you turn into the Big Cedar Lodge, you begin to see lights, bows, and reindeer welcoming you to a place where you can slow down and embrace this time of year.
From November through February the resort turns into a winter wonderland. An ice skating rink opens up with an ice tube sledding hill. Up until right after Christmas, Santa and Mrs. Claus — the real ones — take up residence at Big Cedar.
Santa makes nightly appearances after the fireworks, Mrs. Claus makes cookies, and the elves even get involved with evening festivities. But watch out for the Grinch at breakfast, he has been known to create some havoc around the hot cocoa.
At First Blush
The area is known for Table Rock Lake, Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, fishing, hunting, world renown golf courses, ropes courses, and many more adventures that can be enjoyed throughout the year. You could be here with family, friends, or even on a romantic getaway.
The amenities include creative and upscale dining, a luxurious spa and wellness center, nature trails, fishing and boating as well as golf of course. Fun Mountain boasts bowling, putt-putt, golf simulators and lessons, arcade games, and even childcare if an adults-only night out is on the menu. Let’s not even talk about the live alligators below the ropes course!
When you arrive, the registration building is filled with a beautiful Gingerbread House creation that the staff has been working on since the January before. This year, you will see a recreation of the Worman House Bistro with Harry’s Cocktail Lounge and Bar below it overlooking the lake. It will take your breath away before you even begin to check in!
As you register you will get an invitation to an app for shuttle service around the resort. Johnny Morris made sure you had your own easy-to-use car service to be taken where you want to be at any time. Mr. Dan, one of the shuttle drivers, will give you the history of the resort and tell you all kinds of other stories.
Hotel Amenities
There are many places to stay at the resort. Lakeside cabins are beautifully updated while still creating the ambiance of the outdoors. The Lodge has rooms filled with all the amenities you could want.
There are also cabins for hosting large groups, and, in the warmer months, there are Glamping Cabins available for rent. Speaking of the summer, if you are visiting for golf there are accommodations very specific to the courses, private log cabins, and exclusive cottages.
Mr. Morris paid close attention to detail when he updated the spaces for Wi-Fi, added charging stations, up-to-date appliances, and beautiful, spacious bathrooms. Even the cell towers on the mountain look like trees to blend in with the amazing scenery.
Have Breakfast and Hit the Spa
The breakfast at Truman Cafe and Custard is second to none; you can choose from custom coffees, delicious and oversized cinnamon rolls, and acai bowls with fresh fruit, which you can enjoy inside or on the back porch looking out over the lake with the mountains surrounding you.
Finish your coffee as you walk over to the spa, for some self-care and relaxation before going on a hike, playing golf, or seeing the local sights. There are activities planned for all to participate in as you want.
You can create your own gingerbread house, have a family portrait session, set up a scavenger hunt — you can even get crafty with making a trucker hat in the recreation center.
Nature at Night
Of course, the sunsets in the evening are marked with a cannon blast from the Top of the Rock. There, you can take part in Nature at Night, a 2.5-mile route of lights you’ll take through caves and over bridges, behind waterfalls and overlooking vast rock formations in 4-seater golf carts.
Seeing holiday lights strewn across this landscape tells a story of the area. You can even pull you cart up to a bar in one of the caves!
Then, as you shuttle back down to the Swimmin’ Hole Lawn, you will see Christmas lights twinkling in the evening and life-sized polar bears covered in lights with Santa Claus, his sleigh, and his reindeer leading the way to your winter wonderland.
You’ll pass through a snow globe of ornaments as you head toward the Devil’s Pool, where you’ll find the ice-skating rink and ice-hill tubing! Soon after dusk, you will see fireworks and Santa coming to visit with hot chocolate and apple cider.
Harry’s Cocktail Lounge and Bar
The evening concludes at Harry’s Cocktail Lounge and Bar as you listen to live music and have a taste of the exclusive bourbon choices either inside or outside around one of the fire pits with one of the best views of the lake.
Enjoy an exquisite cigar if you are a smoker or take part in an edible cigar made with a chocolate hazelnut ganache and praline crunch with brownie bits dipped in chocolate and brushed with cocoa powder: true elegance.
Eric Gholston, the general manager of the Worman House and Harry’s will take excellent care of you, making sure you have the experience of a lifetime. They regularly host bourbon and whiskey tastings and I experienced an event hosting the founders of Horse Soldier Bourbon — it was founded by the special forces operators who went into Afghanistan on horseback depicted in the movie 12 Strong.
The sous chef of the Worman House paired each sip of bourbon with an elegant meal, including bourbon brown-sugar-cured salmon, smoked wagyu ribeye, and a chocolate orange tart made with chocolate ganache and orange caramel.
Of course, you can also make reservations at the Devil’s Pool Restaurant, The Bunker Bar, Osage Restaurant, Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl and Grill, and more!
The Big Cedar Lodge: Takeaway
There is a warmth at the Big Cedar Lodge that feels like you are staying at an elegant home away from home. It is of no surprise how many guests return year after year, creating a tradition of the holidays with their family and loved ones.
There is more than enough room for families to enjoy laughter and fun, while also leaving room for the quiet, romantic space for couples and adults wanting rest. In essence, this space is the perfect mountain experience, similar to that special place in Florida that many flock to. Big Cedar Lodge is truly the Disney World of the Ozarks.
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