Find Amazing Family Fun at Big Cedar Lodge

Friends of ours stayed at Big Cedar Lodge and had a blast.  Their photos were gorgeous so I started doing some research.  Initially, I found their official website that allows you to stay right at their resort.  When I started checking on dates and prices, I realized they were a little higher than I expected–about $250/night.  The resort seemed to have a ton of activities included with the stay so we considered staying at Big Cedar for a few nights and then staying in Branson for a few nights.

Big Cedar Lodge: Wilderness Lodge

After further research, I found that the resort also has a Wilderness Lodge that is a timeshare property.  Timeshare owners can either stay in their timeshare or they can rent it out.  Since we’re owners of a Timeshare in Mexico, we’re very familiar with this process and know that it can save quite a bit of money.  Typically, Timeshare owners rent their weeks at the resort for a cheaper rate to help defer the cost of their annual maintenance fees and to recoup some of their money if they aren’t planning to stay at the resort for their week.

When I was searching Airbnb for places to stay near the hotel, I found a listing for the Wilderness Lodge, which was significantly cheaper than the actual Big Cedar Lodge hotel.  I ended up booking a 5-night stay for $799!  The Wilderness Lodge is nestled right inside the resort property and you have access to all the same amenities you would if you were staying at Big Cedar Lodge! 

This resort is amazing!  There are so many things to do—both for free and as a paid extra.  Our family had a blast and took advantage of several activities.  You can easily spend the entire five days right at the resort and not run out of things to do. 

Accommodations

We initially booked one room, which was a studio.  It had a bed, pullout sofa and a kitchenette along with a dining table and a balcony.  It was perfect for our family of five.  My kids are still small enough to share a queen and my husband I slept in the king-sized bed.  After I booked our room, my parents decided to tag along so I booked another room for them.

When you book multiple rooms, there is no guarantee that you’ll be near each other, but the resort does what they can to keep you as close together as possible.  We did hit some hiccups with our booking, but the resort went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of.  Since our stay was booked through Airbnb, the issue was on their side—not the Wilderness Lodge’s!

Customer Service

The customer service at the resort was the best I’ve ever experienced at any place I’ve ever stayed.  When we got to our room, we only had two towels and our shower curtain rod needed to be tightened.  I called guest services and in less than 5 minutes we had extra towels and a maintenance guy fixing our shower rod!

Later in the week, we ran out of shampoo and toilet paper and they were, again, delivered within 5 minutes.  The front desk also calls to check up and make sure your room is ok and that you received everything you asked for.  They are just so attentive.  In addition, they deliver a bag of cookies to your room each afternoon, which is a nice touch!

And although this is a timeshare property, you only get asked one time if you want to go through the presentation—there is not a constant hounding like at some resorts.  I honestly can’t say enough good things about this place!

Resort Activities: FREE

Here are some of the FREE activities that the resort offers:

Pools

Pools are EVERYWHERE!  We didn’t even go to all of them because the kids had their favorites so we stuck with those.  They loved the pool right by our lodge.  It had an upper infinity pool and a lower pool that the water poured into.  It also had a large hot tub and a zero-entry kiddie pool.  This pool was just steps away from our room so it was convenient for us.

The other pool area they loved was right at the Brushey Creek building (where you check-in for the Wilderness Lodge).  They have an indoor pool with a small slide, a lazy river that is outside along with a hot tub, outdoor slide and a kiddie pool.  This pool has a snack bar with food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), which are available as an added cost.

And because this is a full-service resort, towels are provided!  Just grab a towel and throw it in the dirty basket when you’re done.  It’s so nice to not have to worry about packing your own and hanging them out to dry!  Pools are open 10am-10pm.

There are a few other pools and hot tubs available to use, but our kids said these two were the best so we just stuck with those!

Putt-Putt

The resort has a nice 9-hole putt-putt course available for guests.  The clubs and balls are in a little shed so you can walk up at any time and start a game.  We didn’t go until the last night of our stay and it was getting dark.  There are some lights, but we ended up using the flashlights on our phones to see better.  Definitely go before sunset!

Kayaks, Canoes & Paddle Boats

You can take a kayak or paddle boat out on the water; you’ll just need to sign a waiver.  Head down to the Bent Hook Marina—you don’t need to go into the shop, just head to the left and go to the kiosk right on the dock and they’ll get you set up.

Hiking Trails

The resort is HUGE so there are plenty of trails to hike.  There is a 5k path that meanders throughout the resort so if you need a paved pathway, this one is perfect.

Playground

There is a playground along with a rock-climbing wall right near the Lazy River. 

Fun Mountain: Slides only

I will warn you that MOST things inside of Fun Mountain cost money, but it’s certainly a place to check out.  They have a little climbing area with a couple of slides for the kids, which doesn’t cost anything.

Evening Activities

You’ll need to check the calendar for what’s going on when you’re there, but they had a few different free activities such as a campfire with marshmallows and outdoor movies.  These activities were at the Swimming Hole.

Other Free Activities

You can also play pickleball, horseshoes, sand volleyball, shuffleboard, rent out board games or dvds from the front desk, or head to either the Big Cedar Beach or the Camp Long Creek Beach to swim.  There are also some daytime activities that are included such as Family Bingo.  Just check the events calendar for times and location.

Since the resort is so large, we drove to many of the activities, but the resort offers a free shuttle that runs all day to take you where you need to go.  If you don’t have a vehicle, you can still get around the resort pretty easily.

Resort Activities: Added Cost

The resort also has many activities that can be done for an additional cost:

Fun Mountain

I already mentioned this one above for the free climbing area, but this place is filled with activities that are an extra cost.  Full disclaimer—this was our kids’ FAVORITE part of the trip.  They had a blast playing while my husband, parents and I sat in the bar and had a few drinks!  We ended up eating at the restaurant twice too. The food was reasonable and actually pretty good.

Unlimited Hour of Play

The kids took advantage of the unlimited hour of play ($30/person), which included one-hour of arcade games (not claw games & no tickets are earned), laser tag, bumper cars, and sky tykes (a mini ropes course).  If your kids like arcade games, have them play their 59 minutes and then swipe their card for laser tag the last minute and it’ll give them more like 1 hour and 10 minutes of free play!

Attractions

They also have go-karts ($10/ride) and a ropes course for older kids and adults ($20).  In addition, there is a pretty big bowling alley designed with an “under the sea” theme.  We did almost every activity in Fun Mountain with at least one of our kids.  They had a blast! 

Lost Canyon Tour

This was one of the highlights of our trip—especially for the adults.  There is a canyon right on the property and you ride golf carts around the path to see it all.  You can stop and take pictures when you want—there is cart parking in several spots along the way.

In addition, there is a “bat cave bar” part way through the tour where you can drive your golf carts up to the bar and order both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.  The kids loved the bat bite and my husband and I enjoyed the cannonball (alcoholic) drink.

The views are breathtaking.  The canyon and the bridges are just beautiful and totally worth the added expense.  I highly recommend this to anyone going to the Branson area (you do NOT have to be a resort guest to see this).

Parking

One thing to mention—you will need to pay for parking at Top of the Rock, which is where the Canyon tour is located.  Cost to park is $10; however, if you go before 4pm you get a voucher for $5 off anything at Top of the Rock (activities, general store, restaurants, etc.).  We used our voucher towards our tour.  And once you pay for parking for the day, you can leave and come back again and again.  Just show the attendant your receipt and they’ll let you through

Top of the Rock

Even if you’re not staying at Big Cedar Lodge, I highly recommend heading to Ridgedale, MO to check it out—especially at sunset.  Once you pay for parking, you have access to Top of the Rock for the day—just show them your receipt and you’ll get in free.  There are several restaurants, bars, shops, museum and just sights to see.

Sunset Ceremony

The sunset ceremony is really cool!  They have a live bag-piper playing as the sun is setting.  As soon as the sun sets, the bag-piper stops playing and a cannon is fired.  It is just a really neat experience!  You can check out the church that Johnny Morris built for his daughter’s wedding, which is gorgeous and overlooks Table Rock Lake. 

You can also see the sunset and view of Table Rock Lake from several levels—either at the Osage restaurant, the Buffalo Bar Restaurant or even on the grass by the church.  Have your camera ready to go because once the sun starts setting, it sets FAST!

Just be sure to get up to the Top of the Rock before sunset so that you can get a good spot to stand because it does get busy.  You also can’t park right near the restaurants unless you’re using valet.  There is other parking available that’s not valet, but you need to take a shuttle to the restaurants.  They are consistently running, but give yourself at least an hour or two to enjoy everything that Top of the Rock has to offer.

Buffalo Bar

I highly recommend checking out the Buffalo Bar, even if you don’t drink.  It’s so cool—like going down into a dungeon with a spiral stone staircase.  The restaurants are more on the pricey side so we skipped those.

Sinkhole

Also be sure to check out the huge sink hole!  There was a driving range up there with a pond and a few years ago, the pond caved in with some heavy rain leaving a giant sink hole.  What was below was amazing!  They’ve already excavated 150,000 dump truck loads of dirt from the sink hole.

Restaurants & Bars

There are plenty of restaurants, bars and shops all around the resort.  We had good food in Fun Mountain at Uncle Buck’s restaurant.  We also stopped at the Truman for coffee and pastries.  If you like lake/cottage or woodsy décor, you’ll want to stop in their shops to browse their merchandise.

Boat Rental

You can rent fishing boats, pontoon boats or speed boats right from the Bent Hook Marina.  Many fit 8 passengers and cost around $300 for a few hours.  You can also add on an innertube or skis for more fun.

Other Activities for a Fee

They have a variety of additional activities available for a fee.  When we were there, they had a flashlight scavenger hunt, shooting academy, boat cruises and more.  In addition, they have a kids club that keeps your kids while you enjoy some adult activities.

Gift Cards

Prior to us going, we purchased each kid gift cards to Bass Pro Shops, which also work at Big Cedar Lodge.  We put them in their Easter Baskets in place of the extra candy!  The gift cards can be used anywhere on the property so they were able to use their own money for Fun Mountain activities.  Plus, I purchased these at Giant Eagle, which gave us fuel perks as an added bonus!

Ready to check out Big Cedar Lodge?

If you’re looking for something fun to do with your family, I highly recommend checking out Big Cedar Lodge!  We typically pick the beach for vacation, but that’s not really an option as you head to the Midwest. 

This was something different, but still a great time and great experience!  Have you been to Big Cedar Lodge?  What was your favorite thing to do?

Need Inspiration for other getaways?

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