Big Cedar Lodge


Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge Ridgedale, Missouri December 28, 2007 - January 4, 2008 Back to our Homepage
I’m starting my trip report a little earlier than I would normally start, but when we get home I start in a new position at work, and all my attention needs to be focused on that, so here is a our overall impressions of everything we have done this week.


Big Cedar Lodge is a totally AMAZING place. After having been here for a week I will say that attention to the little details is what sets this resort apart from others we have visited in the past. Things like fresh baked cookies being delivered to your cabin every evening, your log rack being replenished several times per day, and professional level cookware in your cabin, are items that you just don’t expect from many resorts. I cooked three times this week (Shrimp and Tasso Alfredo over Bow Tie past, beef tenderloin, and a chicken stuffed with Shrimp Creole) so having good cookware was very nice!!!

The quality of the furnishings in each cabin is as nice, or in some cases nicer than you would expect in your own home. I think the thing that shocked us the most was the fact that every cabin had a fully decorated Christmas tree, complete with lights!. They put the trees up Thanksgiving week, and they stay up through January 5. The stone fireplace is beautiful, as are the handmade tables and dining chairs. All of this is set upon beautiful oak plank floors, and below all wood Cathedral ceilings with exposed log beams.

The cabin is over 1250 square feet, and we actually have the smaller of the two types of two-bedroom cabins. We have what are basically two master suites, one on each side of the living room. The room Joni and I occupied has a king sized bed, and our bath has a huge whirlpool tub that is long enough for me to totally stretch out. There is a double counter and the toilet is back in what I call a true water closet for privacy.

Heather and Emma are in another room with a king sized bed. Their bath has a HUGE shower with a bench. The shower itself has FOUR shower heads that all work at the same time. You have the option of changing the direction, or turning any of them off. The top head comes from the ceiling like rain, and the others are just above your head, just below your shoulders, and knee height. It makes taking a shower a WONDERFUL experience. I’m trying to figure out how I can reconfigure mine at the house just like this one!

There is a 12-foot deck out the back of the cabin complete with two rockers, a very nice BBQ pit, and a table for four people. We have not been able to use it because of the cold weather, but in the summer time this would extend the area of usable space in this cabin by a very large amount. There are pine trees that would provide shade making this the perfect place for a summer cookout.

The 9000 square foot Brushy Creek Club House is about 50-yards from our cabin. At first I was not crazy about this because I thought there would be a large amount of traffic, but almost everyone uses the shuttle around the property, so there has been almost no traffic at all. Brushy Creek has an indoor pool, with an outdoor pool for use in the summer time. There is also an 875 foot long "lazy river" for use in the summer time. You can take a raft and float all day long! There is a very nice game room, a library, and the main part of the clubhouse. The only true negative with our entire resort experience has been the lack of knowledge of some of the people at the Bushy Creek Club House. We’re not sure if they really don’t know certain things, or if they have “selective ignorance”. An example of this is that they charge $9.00 for 24-hours of internet at the Bushy Creek Club House, but you can go to several places on the Big Cedar property where they have free wi-fi hot-spots. They claimed they didn’t know about these hot spots!!! I doubt that is true, but I found out about them before I spent a penny on Internet services. I found it amazing that the guests often knew more about things on property than the staff.

The Big Cedar Lodge main registration clubhouse is nothing short of fabulous. The lobby is a piece of art in the design. It is one of the most beautiful spaces I have ever seen at any resort! In the same building is the “Collections Boutique”. They are "very proud" of their merchandise, but I must say that they sell totally beautiful things. They don’t just sell normal items, but sell resort collections from names like Tommy Bahama and Nat Nast. Heather and Emma bought beautiful sweatshirts with the Big Cedar logo. They are as nice as any sweatshirt I have ever seen anywhere. They have a wildlife observation tower located in the boutique, and it is a total pleasure to visit such a nice shop on property.

There are several places to eat on property. The Devil’s Pool restaurant is pricy, but is the quality you would expect from a place like a Ruth Chris Steak House. The dining room is just what you would expect -- classic mountain charm with a touch of elegance! We have not visited the Truman Smoke House, but it is where you would go for a sandwich during the day. The Buzzard Bar is located under the Devil’s Pool restaurant, and the food and drink there is fabulous! There is also a Worman Steakhouse even more pricey, but we never went in to see it.
Truman Smoke House Restaurant		Buzzard Bar & Grill
Buzzard Bar & Grill		Buzzard Bar & Grill

The marina here is very nice, and the price of $20/night for security and cleaning up of your boat after a day on the lake is quite a deal. They will even refuel your boat prior to placing it back in your reserved space. I think that I’d like to come back up here in the summer time to take advantage of Table Rock Lake. With the temps in the 20's and 30's during the day, and winds 18-30 mph, using the lake was not an option for us this week.

The road from the resort to Branson is two-lanes on each side of a divided highway. We are about 7.9 miles (12-15 minutes) from the center of town. Springfield is 44.1 miles according to my GPS. By the way, home is 580.8 miles. It took us about 10 hours and 30 minutes including stops for breakfast and lunch (and two stops for gas).

Branson is a great town at this time of the year. Our resort is 97% full, but Branson is a ghost town compared to what we experienced a few years ago when we came here in July. Many of the shows are dark for the winter season, and they won't be reopening until March. We went to Silver Dollar City on the last day of the 2007 season. It is a very nice park. I would say it is a smaller version of a 6-flags type of park. We also went to the last show at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede’s Christmas show. It was beautiful, and the living nativity, complete with live animals includes camels, was awe-inspiring.

We visited the Branson “Hollywood Wax Museum”. Joni and the girls really enjoyed it. I’ve just never understood wax museums (same with Ripley's), but if you like them I guess this one was good. I have nothing to compare it to from my past. There was also a Ripley's believe it or not down the street.


We spent our last full day of this vacation in Springfield, about 50 miles north of Branson. We visited the Bass Pro Shop’s original and largest store. It was basically a 330,000 square foot toyshop for men, but Joni and the girls liked it as well. As a male, there are so many things at Bass Pro that I would love to take home, the most interesting of which was a $30,000 party barge complete with leather seats and a very nice stereo! We’ll have to think long and hard about that one!
On the way up to Springfield, we stopped at the world famous Lambert’s restaurant, home of the “throwed rolls.” The food was good, not great, but the atmosphere was lots of fun. It’s the kind of place that you’re glad you went to, but probably wouldn’t return. Joni says she’d go back just for the rolls!


We returned to the cabin and packed, ready for an early departure Friday morning. We ate at Joe’s Crab Shack, played one last game of dominoes, and watched the Orange Bowl. Friday morning we were up early and on the road, relaxed from a fun vacation, but ready to return to Gracie and Melody and our everyday lives.