As someone who revels in finding small towns and off-the-beaten path locations I’m supposed to hate a place like Branson. I prefer local coffee roasters and microbreweries over tourist traps and kitsch. From the outside no place looks more tourist trap and kitsch than Branson. But wow! Branson does a great job of tourist trap and kitsch. The city does what it does so well that I wound up loving the place. Branson is a vacation-land. It’s a getaway for millions in the Midwest and it fulfills that need as well as any place I’ve ever been. We drove through here as part of a cross-country trip—I never had any desire to visit Branson but I figured if there’s ever a time to swing by, spending one night on a cross-country trip is the best time. We liked Branson so much that I think we will return.
So why the enthusiastic support for Branson? First, it starts with the scenery. The Missouri side of the Ozarks is simply spectacular mountain/lake country. Any town located here will be blessed beautiful panoramic views and winding drives.
So why the enthusiastic support for Branson? First, it starts with the scenery. The Missouri side of the Ozarks is simply spectacular mountain/lake country. Any town located here will be blessed beautiful panoramic views and winding drives.
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Second, the drive along SR 76, which is Branson’s main street, which is where the theaters, wax museums, Titanic Museum (because obviously there’s a Titanic Museum here), and every other tourist trap attraction you can imagine are located, is endearing. It’s done so well that even if the stops along the road aren’t your thing, you still need to marvel at how well each attraction is executed and how each attraction fits together in the aggregate. The town seems to be perfectly put together.
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I’m not sure if I’d make Branson a destination in and of itself, but that’s primarily because at 17 hours away, it’s simply too far to be my vacationland. But if I lived in St. Louis…I’d own a second property here. As it is, a return trip would be tied in with another cross-country trip. Although this time we’ll spend more than a night.