How we research

Where our facts come from

We ask whoever is in charge. Show times, ticket prices and park calendars come from the theaters and attractions themselves, such as Silver Dollar City, the Branson Scenic Railway and Sight & Sound. Lake levels and Corps of Engineers parks come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state parks from Missouri State Parks, fishing from the Missouri Department of Conservation, city rules from the City of Branson, and weather from NOAA. Event dates the operators don't publish come from the Branson/Lakes Area CVB. Some pages also show prices, ratings or booking terms from Expedia or Viator. Those pages say so and give the date we looked.

Each page gives the date we checked it and lists its sources in a short note at the end.

When we can't confirm something

• If no source gives a fact, we leave it out rather than guess.
• If two sources disagree, we go with the one closest to the decision: the operator over the tourism office, the law over a summary of it, and for hotels the Expedia listing, because that's where you book. The page's source box names what we used.
• Distances and walking times are estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, without traffic.
• Review scores and other people's reviews never count as facts here. Where we show an Expedia or Viator rating, it is their number with the date we saw it, not our own verdict.

How we choose hotels

We list hotels we can book through Expedia that are rated at least 8.5 out of 10 there, from at least 20 reviews. One lower-rated resort is on the list too, because so many visitors search for it by name: Chateau on the Lake (8.4). Its rating is shown like every other. The score only decides whether a place appears; the details come from the hotel's Expedia listing, where you book. Cabins and lake houses are rented one by one, so we link to a Vrbo search for the area instead of a single unit.

How we make money

Some links go to Expedia Group sites such as Expedia and Vrbo, or to Viator, as affiliate links. Book through one and we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. In the page code, every link that can pay us is marked as sponsored.

No hotel, theater, tour operator or attraction pays to be listed, and commissions have no say in the order we show them. Places with no booking link, such as Silver Dollar City, the lakes and the state parks, are covered the same way.

Photos

Place and landscape photos come from Wikimedia Commons. Each photo is credited where it appears, and the image credits page lists every one with its author and license. Hotel and tour photos are the businesses' own images from Expedia or Viator, and we use them only next to links to that hotel or tour.

Corrections

If something is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] with the page and what has changed. We check it against the source, update the page and give it a new date.

Independence

This guide is independent. It is not run by the City of Branson, the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB, Silver Dollar City or any theater, and no hotel or tour operator has a say in it. Our only business ties are the affiliate links described above. Privacy · Contact