Home for the Holidays at Big Cedar Lodge, the Midwest’s Luxurious Winter Wonderland Escape

As the festive season is around the corner, winter vacationers should know that the award-winning wilderness resort, Big Cedar Lodge, is preparing for its “Home for the Holidays” season.

This year, Big Cedar Lodge will transform into a winter wonderland that is perfect for a cozy family holiday with luxury amenities, cabin accommodations, and 4+ million twinkling holiday lights.

From November 6 to  December 31, Ozark Mountain Region’s hidden-gem retreat goes all-out with its “Home for the Holidays” festivities, offering an unmatched experience in the Midwest, with activities and programming including:

• Skating into the Season: Big Cedar Lodge offers ice skating on the property’s seasonal outdoor ice rink featuring a towering, light-adorned tree with a musical feature in the center, and after-dark skating is magically lit with holiday lights.
• Giving Thanks at Big Cedar: In November, Big Cedar Lodge will host a Gobble Wobble 5k, special Thanksgiving menus at each of its restaurants.
• Special Visits from Holiday Friends: This winter, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their elves will make appearances, including breakfast with Santa, baking workshops with Mrs. Claus, to letter deliveries and bedtime storytelling with Santa’s elves, weekly tree lighting ceremonies, and more. The Grinch is even slated to make an appearance at Fun Mountain with Cindy Lou Who each week, and he’ll host an Ugly Sweater Party with green pancakes, green hot chocolate, grouchy crafts, and more.
• Crafts & Cookies: Guests of all ages can tap into their creative and crafty side with a gingerbread build-off holiday wreath making workshop, stocking decorating, ornament making, and more. Grown-ups can also cozy up with a craft cocktail class featuring seasonal spices, coffee, and tea.
• NEW Nature at Night Holiday Light Tours: Nature at Night on the Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail is a magically lit journey along a 2.5-mile trail that meanders through Ozarks cave systems, under thundering waterfalls, and across hand-lain Amish bridges. While on the journey and enjoying hot beverages to keep warm, guests will pass through awe-inspiring light formations and displays that resemble historic Native American scenes alongside traditional holiday vignettes. The journey is narrated through the lens of a young girl celebrating the holidays in the Ozarks with her family, telling stories of the Osage Native Americans who call Southwest Missouri home, as well as her own distinctly Midwestern holiday traditions. With more than four million twinkling lights set to be hung across the resort this year, Big Cedar Lodge offers an over-the-top holiday light display that is drawing crowds from across the country.