Branson aglow with Christmas lights

We wanted to take an evening to view the numerous lighting displays in the Branson area, so we decided to drive a circuit of several displays.

The night started with driving through historic Downtown Branson, where it seemed that every light pole and tree had been wrapped in lights and decorations. After dinner at Branson Landing on Lake Taneycomo, we walked the Promenade and marveled at the Christmas trees in the Town Square.

After leaving The Landing, we put some Christmas music in the CD player and made a quick stop for hot chocolate. We then started our driving tour by going up the Red Route (State Highway 248). At the traffic roundabout in front of Skaggs Community Health Center we saw two big lighting displays, a teaser for what was to come.

Continuing on the Red Route, we then went to the Branson Area Festival of Lights Drive Through, a mile-long light display. The entrance to BAFOL is on the Red Route (Shepherd of the Hills Expressway) directly across from Sight & Sound Theater.

After a few hundred yards of lights, you come to the check-in booth, where you pay a per-vehicle admission fee ($10 for family vehicles, $25 for small buses and limos, and $50 for motorcoaches). Don't forget to print out your $2 off Internet coupon before going.

The display can only be viewed from a vehicle (no foot traffic), but cars take their time as they cruise past each display. It took about 20 minutes to go through the display.

After exiting the Festival of Lights and getting our goodie bag, we returned to the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway and turned right onto Highway 76, heading west. It was here we found the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights, a 2 1/2-mile drive-through lighting and figurine display that starts at the main parking lot and winds through the 160-acre Shepherd of the Hills Homestead. We saw lots of lights, as well as animatronic characters and displays. We cranked up the heat and rolled down the window so we could hear the music along the trail.

Admission is $10 per adult and $5 per child, which includes a ride to the top of the Inspiration Tower so you can see the display from above. The whole experience took about 45 minutes.

Leaving Shepherd of the Hills, we headed west on 76 and turned left on Indian Point Road. The Silver Dollar City signs at the turn-off were surrounded with numerous Christmas trees, and we took the new Indian Point bypass to the tip of the peninsula, where we found the Indian Point Enchanted Forest lighting display.

Our third and final drive-through of the night was very colorful and very peaceful. Drivers were asked to dim their headlights, and the roadway was lined with red Christmas lights. Trees were wrapped with white, red and green lights, and several arches spanned the road.

The Indian Point lighting display is free (donations are accepted to help offset the cost) and takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Our hot chocolate cups empty, we ended the night with a cruise down The Strip. Like most of the rest of Branson, the streetlights had Christmas decorations, and most of the theaters had impressive lighting and decorations.

It's not difficult to find impressive Christmas displays in Branson... they're practically everywhere. It's truly a wonderful place to experience the holiday season.

Sunset Park and Disc-Golf Course

If you're looking for something fun to do outside but don't have much time, there's always a park nearby in Branson. For today's outing, we thought we'd pick one of Branson's fifteen city parks and give it a visit. Perhaps one of the best kept secrets in town is Sunset Park, less than a mile from historic downtown Branson. Only about a minute walk from neighboring Alexander Park, Sunset Park is host to a 9-hole disc-golf course.

For those unfamiliar with disc-golf, also known as "frisbee" golf, it is a relatively new sport, which is rapidly becoming popular, reaching upwards of 500,000 players or more. Just imagine a regular game of golf, now keep the $75 greens fee, buy a $20 set of discs, leave the fancy clothes and shoes at home, keep the $75 greens fee, and you're ready to play. Best of all, you can even bring the kids along for a game the whole family can enjoy. Disc golf is very similar to traditional ball golf. You tee-off from a tee box, and throw from where your disc lands. Score is kept by counting your throws or "strokes", trying to beat par.

Sunset Park course is a moderately difficult course, with several hazards (trees) and a couple holes near 400 ft long. It also is an excellent course to learn the game on. There is no fee to play, and 9 holes can easily be finished in half an hour. For the adventurous, there is a geocache located very near the course, but finding it can be a challenge.

Once you are done playing, you can cross the road and fish for trout in Lake Taneycomo, or walk a few hundred feet to Alexander Park. Alexander Park is home to two connected baseball fields, hosting everything from tee-ball to little league to soccer games. There also are tennis courts, a picnic pavilion, and a playground.

Lakeside Wilderness Hiking Trail

One of the amazing things about Branson is that you can be near theaters, fine dining and attractions, and just a few yards away you'll find unspoiled wilderness and plenty of outdoors activities.

Nov. 7 was an overcast and crisp fall day, so we decided it would be a good opportunity to take a lunchtime day-hike and get some fresh air. Wanting something nearby and easy to get to, we chose the Lakeside Wilderness Hiking Trail, which begins just a short distance from The Strip. The trail offers some amazing views of Lake Taneycomo and the College of the Ozarks campus.

The Lakeside Wilderness Area is inside Branson's city limits and is maintained by the city, and there's plenty of parking at the trailhead, which is off Fall Creek Road behind Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater.

The first half-mile of the trail is wide and suitable for hikers of any age or ability. There are several benches for taking breaks, and pets on leashes are allowed on this section of the trail. After walking a few moments on this well-worn trail, all we could hear was the rustling of the wind through the trees and it was very easy to forget we were only a few hundred yards from The Strip.

After hiking about a half-mile along the top of the ridge, we came to some wooden steps and the entrance to the Cliffwalk Stairway, the most strenuous portion of the hike. The stairway consists of 315 stone steps that take you down the hillside, where the trail continues and parallels Lake Taneycomo. The steps were built in 1937 and 1938 and have survived remarkably well for seven decades.

The clearing where the stairs start their descent offered some of the best photo opportunities, with a great view of the lake below and of the College of the Ozarks Campus on the horizon. This portion of Lake Taneycomo is relatively undeveloped and is very scenic.

No pets, except for service animals, are permitted on this portion of the trail, and proper hiking shoes really are a requirement. Young children should be accompanied by an adult on this portion of the trail, since there are many places to slip and lose your footing.

The stairs stop about 50 feet above the shoreline, where the trail continues along the base of some nice bluffs. In several places, the trail was wet or muddy, or required some care to navigate. We saw some limited views of the lake through the trees, but the really interesting views on this part of the trail were the caves and wet-weather waterfalls. The trail winds along the lake for about a mile before a sign warns you of a dead-end about a mile ahead. We didn't make it that far, though ... we hiked along the bluff-line for about another half-mile before deciding to turn back.

Here's where the trail gets strenuous and isn't for the faint of heart: climbing back up those 315 stairs. It's a great workout, to be sure, and we took advantage of a rock bench about halfway up the stairway to rest. Back at the top of the ridge, we were hit with a very welcome breeze and quickly covered the half-mile stretch back to the parking lot.

Overall, our hike took about an hour and was a great way to spend a lunch break.