Top of the Rock

What better way to cap off a day at Silver Dollar City than a visit to Big Cedar’s Top of the Rock.  Big Cedar is owned by the same talented visionary who owns Bass Pro and the aquarium we shared with you earlier this week.  His love of the outdoors and passion for mother nature are as evident here as in the wildlife museum and aquarium.  Big Cedar covers more than 4600 acres and includes cabins, lodges, walking trails, riding trails, caves, restaurants, a museum, an amusement center (bumper cars inside giant bubbles that rotate 360 degrees anyone?), mini golf, and one of only two par-3 golf courses to be used in official PGA-sanctioned competition.  From the moment you enter the property through the massive limestone gate you see homage being paid to the history of the region.  Bronze Native American and wildlife statues permeate the landscape.  Immaculately manicured lawns and landscaping compliment naturally occurring and strategically placed limestone boulders.  The building materials and placement are designed to compliment and blend into their natural surroundings.  It is a stunning property.

Top of the Rock is the highest ground on the property, and is home to two of the restaurants, the golf course, and a beautiful chapel.  There was actually a wedding going on while we were there – pretty cool!  In the basement of the restaurant is a super cool wine cellar, a virtual catacomb of limestone walls and hidden passages…Each evening the restaurant hosts a sunset ceremony.  As the sun begins to set, a bagpipe player stations him or herself on the patio of the restaurant and plays a series of traditional bagpipe songs, including our national anthem and Amazing Grace.  When the bagpipe player finishes, a civil war canon located on the grounds between the restaurant and the church fires off a shot, leaving a smoke ring in the sky.  Magical.

The top two pictures to the right of us on this page are of a giant sinkhole that opened up on the property in 2015.  The grass you see in the photo is just outside the restaurant.  When the sinkhole first occurred it was 80 feet wide and 35 deep in some places.  As they began excavating the site they discovered the columns you see in the lower picture.  Johnny Morris thinks the sinkhole may lead to an underground cave.  The project has now morphed from one of excavation and restoration to one of exploration and development.  As of April of this year they had dug down 200 feet, and now Morris is planning to build a new Top of the Rock Lodge that will be positioned directly on the rim of the sinkhole.  Crazy!