19 Jun Adventures Around Table Rock Lake in Missouri
Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, is a region that is filled with a wide range of adventurous opportunities. We were invited by Visit Table Rock Lake to discover the fabulous nature around the area, and we couldn’t wait to jump in and explore. Table Rock Lake isn’t too far of a drive from our home base in Minnesota, so we packed up our car and decided to make a road trip out of it. Throughout our week in the area, we managed to find so many fun experiences, such as kayaking, hiking, ATVing, zip lining, moonshine tasting, and more. Even though our schedule was packed to the brim, we ended up leaving Table Rock Lake with a long list of places to see and adventures to have the next time we return—there’s just too much to see in only one visit!
Overnight at Port of Kimberling Marina and Resort
Our home for our stay in Table Rock Lake was the Port of Kimberling Marina and Resort. We stayed in a large king suite that came complete with a living room, kitchen, large bathroom, and patio that overlooked the lake. The hotel is located right on the lake, and we had easy access to the docks and marina. Even better, the location was very convenient for all of our adventures around the region. We really enjoyed staying at the resort—it felt like we had our own little apartment to call home!
Kayaking and SUPing on Table Rock Lake
We packed our Oru Kayak and Isle Paddleboard SUP in the car when we set out on our road trip to Table Rock Lake, and are we ever glad we did! Our first adventure at Table Rock Lake was going out for a paddle near our hotel. We launched our kayak and SUP from the beach near our hotel and then explored the coves and cliffs along the shore, as well as the Kimberling City Bridge nearby. The water was calm, the sun was glowing, and the air temperature was hovering in the mid 70’s—in other words, the conditions for a paddle were fantastic. What a welcome to the area!
Our other paddle session took place on our last night in town. We were searching for a location near our hotel and not too far from our dinner plans, and we ended up at Joe Bald Park. I’m so glad we picked this little park for our stop. It was another perfect evening on the water and once again the scenery was spectacular.
With roughly 745 miles of shoreline on Table Rock Lake, there’s bound to be an abundance of great spots to paddle. Hopefully we can check out more of them on our next visit to the region!
Zip Lining and Snow Tubing at Wolfe Mountain
What’s more fun than flying through the air above the trees? We sure can’t think of much, which is why our zip line adventure at Wolfe Mountain was another wonderful adventure in the Table Rock region! Our zip line experience started out with a bumpy ATV ride up into the hills. Once we made it to our starting point, we connected our harnesses to the safety cables and set out across a series of swinging suspension bridges.
Then it was time for the star of the show: zip lining! The Flying Prospector Zipline Tour set us flying down four different zip lines, as we zig zagged our way back towards the starting point. We loved the views of the rolling hills and dense forests as we flew—it was stunning. Our guides, Tori and Brad, were so much fun, and we even managed to fit in some goofy poses while zipping down the lines.
When we finished flying above the trees, we had a chance to give the Snowflex Park a try. Essentially, the Snowflex Park is a snow tubing hill that operates year-round without any snow. We had a blast tubing down a hill in the summer and the misters on the hill kept us nice and cool!
Tasting and Tour at Missouri Ridge Distillery
Missouri Ridge Distillery is one of the few distilleries in the region, and it’s a great place to stop for an afternoon of tasting moonshine and spirits. Even though the distillery has only been open a few years, they have already won an abundance of awards. When we arrived, we were given a tour of the facility and learned about how they produce their spirits. The entire distilling process, all the way through bottling, is completed on site.
Then, it was time for a taste of the hooch. We sat at the historic (and beautiful!) bar, while several masterpieces were created in front of our eyes. Our favorite drink was the Bloody Mary with the super thick cut bacon—it was to die for!
Walk Along the Lake at Table Rock Lake State Park
We can never resist visiting state parks when they are near, so we just had to stop by Table Rock State Park for an early morning walk along the lake. The park is home to trails for both hiking and biking, campsites, a large range of water activities, and day use picnic sites right along the shore. We walked along the Table Rock Lakeshore Trail and took quite a few breaks to enjoy the scenic water views. It was a nice relaxing balance to the ATV riding that we had coming up next!
ATV Backroads Tour at The Shepherd of the Hills
One of the adventures that we weren’t expecting to do during our visit to Table Rock Lake was a backroads ATV tour. We arrived at Shepherd of the Hills ready to ride, and we spent the next hour tearing up the muddy, bumpy, boulder filled, hilly, woods. Our guide, Kelby, gave us a brief introduction to driving the ATV before leading us through a maze of trails. We laughed as we bumped along the trails, cringed as we went through giant mud puddles, and wondered how our little vehicle would make it up and over the obstacles we encountered on the trail. Luckily, we had a little vehicle that could, and we powered along without any issues despite our hesitation. It was so much fun. We left Shepherd of the Hills covered in mud and full of smiles from our exhilarating adventure!
Where to Eat
We ate at some fantastic restaurants throughout our time exploring Table Rock Lake. Not only was the food delicious, but we encountered so many amazing views along the way, too! It seemed as though each view was better than the last—it just kept getting better and better.
Catfish Hole:
On our first evening in town, we popped over to the Catfish Hole, a restaurant that specializes in…you guessed it…catfish! We ate out on the back patio and enjoyed nice sunset views overlooking Table Rock Lake in the distance. For dinner, we ordered a mix of catfish and chicken wings with all the fixin’s.
Top of the Rock:
While many of the restaurants we visited had beautiful lake views, the scenes at Top of the Rock definitely took the cake! We had dinner on the patio at Buffalo Bar, and as we dined on our meals of wood-fired pizza and rotisserie chicken, we watched the sunset splash brilliant colors across the sky.
Vino Cellars:
Vino Cellars is a place where you cannot only purchase wine, but it is a place to stop, relax and enjoy the wine, as well. We stopped in for happy hour one evening and ordered a glass of wine, a beer from the newly opened Hangout on the Lake downstairs, and a mini cheese plate from Bistro 58. The combination of these three intertwined spots is definitely one that would keep us returning for more.
Reeds Spring Pizza:
I loved the concept and vibe at Reeds Spring Pizza. They serve delicious pizza, but they also focus on pasta, too. On Wednesdays, they have a “Live Noodle Bar” where you can have a choose your own pasta adventure right in front of your eyes. You can also “Noodle-It-Up” for any pizza, which means you will get your favorite pizza toppings on penne noodles instead of pizza crust. We were certainly intrigued by the noodle concept, but a good ole traditional pizza was calling our names.
Mickey’s 76 Drive In:
This was an unexpected, last-minute addition to our schedule. We were hungry for lunch, but short on time and Mickey’s 76 Drive In popped up on Yelp so we decided to give it a try. We are so glad we did because it was an adorable little old-fashioned restaurant that made us feel like we were pulled back in time, and on top of that, the food was delicious, too!
Sweets and Smiles Bakery:
We enjoyed Sweets and Smiles Bakery so much that we had to visit twice! We stopped for breakfast a couple of mornings and really enjoyed their individual crustless quiches, as well as an array of other tasty morsels such as a blueberry muffin, blueberry Danish, and more. Every item we tried left us swooning and the cute atmosphere matched the deliciousness of the baked goods.
Simply Baked By Chandler:
Located just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our hotel, Simply Baked By Chandler, is another wonderful bakery near Table Rock Lake. Here we tried a blueberry muffin and a breakfast hand pie that was stuffed with bacon, egg, chorizo, and more. The hand pie was so huge and tasty that it kept me full all the way through to dinner.
Andy’s Frozen Custards:
One of the spots that was recommended to us over and over again, was the dessert at Andy’s Frozen Custards, so we just had to stop in and see what all the fuss was about. Although it is a chain, it originated in Missouri and seems to be a pretty iconic stop in the Table Rock Lake area. Once again, the throwback 50’s vibe made us feel like we were transported back in time. Our fresh, frozen custard concretes were filled with blueberries (for me!) and butterfingers (for Micah!), and I do have to say, it was some of the best custard we have had to date.
Have you ever been to Table Rock Lake? What adventures would you like to do there?
We visited Table Rock Lake in Missouri, as part of a paid content creation project. Special thanks to Visit Table Rock Lake for hosting us on this adventure. As always, all opinions are our own.
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