Answering from nearby Springfield. Well, shows are the reason folks go there, you know. Sure are lot of them and some good ones. But yes, there is a neat butterfly place, steam railroad, Branson landing for shopping and strolling, Shepherd of the Hills is enjoyable, etc. No color yet.

Ozarksbill

I think its a beautiful part of the country- Eureka Springs is an interesting fun town to visit
Beaver Lake is beautiful ( one of my favorite places)

Fishing, if you like it.

thanks for the input everyone ... the reason we are going there is that they have a pet friendly resort and we are taking our beagle pup Maggie .. we usually travel out west but were tired of the long drives from Texas .. we like to get out in the land rather than the city life which we get here in Dallas Ft Worth .. any good BBQ places ??

Yes Eureka Springs has far more character than Branson (which I find incredibly tacky).

I would rather have a root canal without anathesia than go to some of the shows and shopping they have in Branson (not all of them, mind you, but some of them). Thus, when we went there, I made it a point to find something else to do besides shows and shopping. There are hiking trails in the area

www.1branson.com/branson/hiking.html

and even better ones within a few hours drive.

Interestingly, the first reason people came to the area was to see the scenic beauty. In the last few paragraphs of _Shepherd of the Hills_, the protagonist predicts that, once the railroad arrives and brings hordes the tourists, the natural beauty they came for would be destroyed. Drive the main thoroughfare of Branson and decide if this prediction has come true. Some of it is still there if you're willing to get away from the tackiness.

We took a river boat cruise that departed from Branson Landing and went up Lake Taneycomo. It is more like a river than a lake. Anyway we saw a pair of bald eagles which was a beautiful and nice surprise. Lots of people were taking pictures of them. There are some caves in the area if you like that sort of thing.

It has been a while since I have been to Branson, but my most memorable experience was seeing the local Beatles tribute band. George Harrison's sister organized the group. It was really cool!

Jonathan
http://www.askoncall.com

We liked the Branson Landing area of restaurants and shops and the fire and water show was great. We went to the Table Rock Lake State Park-they have a wonderful walking trail around the lake-I think you can take your dog. We also aren't much on shows, but wanted to go to Branson just to see it. We had a good time, but once is enough to see what we wanted to see.

A chuckle reading PaulRabe about the Branson shows. We rarely go down but do enjoy some. Let me mention more fully the Branson Scenic Railway which is enjoyable. And there is the Branson Belle. Not sure Maggie would be welcome!

Tragically as mentioned over the years the hills have been leveled and so many theaters, restaurants, motels, roads and just plain crap have replaced the scenic beauty. Now we see what might have happened if there had not been heroic efforts to preserve nature with the National Parks featured on PBS. This is not really a place for hiking.

Ozarksbill

Just got back from Branson, stayed down at the landing and was lucky enough to be there for the free show last Fri. night featuring Country tonight and others with great fireworks (the American Pyrotechnic Assn was having their convention there).

Went to Table Rock and walked the trail by the lake, it was really pleasant, loved it so much (and it was a beautiful day), went to Dannae's for really good bar-b-que and brought it back to the picnic area to eat.

So, yes, there are other things to do in Branson besides the show.

I like Silver Dollar City far better in the summer than winter.

My family and I decided to take a trip to Branson this summer once the kids were done with school for the year. It is such a warm town and great for kids. I found a great Guide for all things to do in Branson here: http://bit.ly/BransonGuide. Hope this helps!