City: Walnut Shade, MO

Category: Parks & Recreation

Telephone: (417) 337-7708

Address: 3400 US 65

Description: Bryan and Sherri Caperton have this family-owned and family-operated business in connection with their ranch on Bear Creek, 7 miles north of Branson on US 65. In fact, as you cross Bear Creek going south, just before going up to the deepest road cut in Missouri on Bear Mountain, you’ll see the horses and stables to your right. They offer family fun at reasonable prices and have a wide variety of horses that are gentle and easy to handle. The trails are shaded, beautiful, and exciting. Rides are on their 500-acre private ranch along Bear Creek. A one-hour trail ride is $19, a two-hour trail ride, $37.

City: Walnut Shade, MO

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (417) 561-1509, (800) 539-7437

Address: 485 Rose O’Neill Rd.

Description: One of Missouri’s most famous residents, Rose O’Neill, was also one of the early 20th century’s most remarkable women. By 1914 her illustrations and cartoons in such magazines as Harper’s Monthly, Harper’s Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, and Twentieth Century Home, along with her novels and poems, had earned her $1.4 million. She is perhaps best known for her Kewpie drawings and sculptures, which have been collectors’ items since the early 1900s. The annual Kewpiesta festival sponsored by the International Rose O’Neill Club is held in Branson each April to commemorate O’Neill’s works (see the Annual Events chapter), and the 2009 Kewpiesta was bigger than usual, being the 100th anniversary of the Kewpie doll. O’Neill’s reconstructed home, Bonniebrook, just north of Branson, is one of the area’s most visited places. The impeccably maintained grounds, gift shop, and nature trails provide a glimpse into the life of this enormously talented and unique individual.The original home burned to the ground three years after O’Neill died in Springfield in 1944, but thanks to the Bonniebrook Historical Society, Inc., and other collectors around the world, the home has been restored and filled with O’Neill memorabilia, including illustrations, sculptures, and numerous Kewpie pieces. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The top floor of the home was O’Neill’s studio, where she spent hours contemplating new creations and even designing her own clothing. She was often seen wearing her own designs when she visited the local movie theater, as she did often. A short distance from O’Neill’s home and just across the “bonnie brook” for which the house is named lies the family cemetery where Rose, her siblings Callista and James, and their mother, Meemie, are buried.Admission to the home tour and museum is $7 per person. Children younger than 12 get in free. The 20-minute home tours are given seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. except from noon to 1 p.m. The museum and grounds are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday and holidays. A 30-minute home tour is also given. The gift shop has copies of O’Neill’s illustrations, art, books, poems, and dolls.Bonniebrook is approximately 9 miles north of Branson just off US 65. Rose O’Neill Road is on the right, just past the bridge at Bear Creek. Once you turn onto Rose O’Neill Road, look for a sign leading you left to the park entrance.

City: Walnut Shade, MO

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (417) 443-3093

Address: 759 US 65 North

Description: This 45-acre gun-sport attraction 11 miles north of Branson offers everything from basic target ranges to competitive tournaments for the advanced shooter. The complex has sporting clay ranges with everything from bouncing bunnies to snipe to gobbling turkeys to charging crows—10 forms in all. You can bring your own gun or rent a shotgun for around $10 a day. The south ridge sporting-clay course has 10 fields and 21 stations. For around $50 an hour you can enlist the services of an instructor who will teach you how to fire a shotgun. If you’re looking to buy a weapon, you can pick one out at the clubhouse, where owner and gun dealer Peggy Siler will set you up.The complex hosts a number of special events each month year-round, including the Valentine Sweetheart Shoot in February, the Women’s Recreational Shooting Association in May, the Quail Unlimited Bass Pro Shoot in October, and many other cash-prize tournaments. The entry fee for most of the competitions ranges from $4 to $50 per person. The cost for trap skeet, ball trap, and wobble trap is $5.50 for 25. Sporting clays are $18.50 for 50 or $30 for 100. Ozark Shooters Sports Complex opens at 9 a.m. seven days a week year-round. In the summertime the complex stays open until 6 p.m., but during the winter it closes at 5.