Most of our travels have been inspired by either history or leisure, but our 2024 trip to Big Cedar Lodge by Bass Pro Shops was influenced by an Instagram Reel my husband stumbled upon over the holidays. He quickly forwarded me the video showcasing the resort’s golf cart cave ride and said “We have to go here.” He was hooked, lined, and sinkered, but in the best possible way. After doing a little more research on this family resort that boasts outdoor activities and closeness to nature, we quickly discovered how many accommodation options, amazing restaurants, and on-site activities there were in addition to that golf cart ride that first sold us. The resort was made for nature-loving families and was laid out with beautiful elements of the outdoors throughout. We look forward to taking a roadtrip back to Missouri to visit Big Cedar Lodge in the future with our family!
The resort itself has a variety of accommodation selections from new glamping sites, family cabins with multiple bedrooms, hotel-style rooms, and more! We decided to stay at their Camp Long Creek location, which was the most adorable studio style cabin facing a lake in the Ozarks. It’s open-floor plan situated a queen size bed that flowed into the cozy living room with a gorgeous fireplace. We were pleased by the size of the cabin, the upgrades and cleanliness, and features such a huge bathroom, double vanity, and kitchenette. Our kids adored relaxing in the rocking chairs on the screened in porch and watching the boaters on the lake.
We spent a lot of time in the various pools on the Big Cedar Property and treasured the picturesque views of the Ozarks they offered. Our children especially loved the saltwater infinity pool that overlooked a lake and mountains. As a parent, I appreciated the option to purchase floaties and sunscreen at most of the pool locations, as well as the generously sized changing areas, bathrooms, and lockers. We were also impressed by the safety gates, convenient parking, and all of the hot tubs.
In addition to the pools, we spent a lot of our time at the Fun Mountain indoor arcade, a complimentary mini golf site, and the fishing lake located at the center of the property. There were also paddle boats and lots of walking trails at Big Cedar that we hiked together. When we come back, we hope to take advantage of more of the family group activities, such as the paddle boats mentioned and archery tag. They offer a calendar of events and suggested daily itineraries to assist with planning all kinds of fun.
Fun Mountain was definitely one of the highlights for my children. Big Cedar graciously offered us activity passes for the arcade and a family painting class that my kids really enjoyed. There are many pass options for families to choose from, as well as reloadable cards for the kids to fund their arcade games. The indoor arcade had games and amusements for a variety of ages and all were working during our visit. Our littles had a blast on the indoor treehouse slides, and my older two adventured on the indoor ropes course. We loved bowling as a family, the climbing wall, and indoor nature discovery center, too. There was so much to do at Fun Mountain that we came back each afternoon, which definitely offered reprieve from the heat outdoors.
Several restaurants spanned a short distance of each other within the center of the resort. Our two favorites for any time of day were Devil’s Pool and Buzzard Bar. We loved how they were decorated with taxidermy for the children to enjoy. The menus were very similar to one another, offering general options for the kids’ meals, and we were able to check out their menu offerings ahead of time online. The prices were a little high compared to every day dining (particularly for breakfast), but we felt overall the dinner pricing was fairly comparable for our family of six. There are of course options to dine locally outside of the resort, too. We did venture out to nearby Branson, Missouri for a few meals, but preferred the stay within the resort property overall.
One adventure my family will never forget was our day at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, which is a co-company to Big Cedar and Bass Pro Shops. We purchased our timed tickets online, which was an expense to plan for, but so well worth the short drive there and cost. Once we parked and checked-in, we enjoyed views of a stunning waterfall, an outdoor treehouse of our children’s dreams, and a walking bridge to the most beautiful indoor nature center we have ever seen. Truly, it was stunning. The kids once again enjoyed the taxidermy of bears, finding books in the reading nook area that they had to crawl to from a little cave opening in one of the rooms, as well as the reptile tanks. As homeschoolers, it was an educational nature day we all looked forward to. After we explored the front property a bit, we took a tram ride throughout the many acres of land, stopping to spot more waterfalls, caves, fishing spots and wildlife, even crossing state borders into Arkansas for a bit. My children were so stoked to cross their 30th state off their bucket list! That was a surprise! All in all, it was a beautiful time that we are so glad we penciled in and budgeted for.
We can’t wait to visit Big Cedar Lodge and the surrounding area of the Ozarks again in the future! Their website helped us prepare our activity and meal budgets, the memories we made were ones we will remember forever, the views were unimaginable, and the accommodations and staff were all a delight.
