Whenever time and circumstance allow, I enjoy going on walks and hikes at the destinations I’m visiting, even if they are not very lengthy. As my knees stiffen with age, I find I’m especially drawn to walking on trails without hills (i.e. a fairly level pathway).
The Table Rock Lakeshore Trail is an accessible, paved path which allows you to walk through nature just south of Branson. The trail follows Table Lake’s shoreline, through a forested area, allowing some nice glimpses of Table Lake. The altitude gain is only about 144 ft, making it an “easy” walk.
We begin our walk at the Dewey Short Visitor Center (where you can find parking, restrooms and drinking water), and followed the trail about a mile before returning to the trailhead, although the path goes on further than that.
The forest is a mixed forest and contained a lot of cedar and pine trees. We visited in April as the deciduous trees leaves were just starting to break out, but some plants were already in bloom, like lovely Eastern Redbud trees. Be on the lookout for wildlife, although we didn’t see any.
We spent a little time around the Branson Belle trailhead, where we got to see the sternwheeler docked. There’s some shops around the boat, and of course if time allows, you can do a cruise on Table Rock Lake.
Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
