i am looking for somewhere to go on a relaxing (non-urban) weekend trip with my gf.  we were hoping to stay within about 4 hours drive of KC. 

the current frontrunner is the eureka springs, arkansas area, but my parents went there and hated it and it seems like a love-it-or-hate-it place generally. 

we're looking to stay in some sort of cabin or house in the woods somewhere relaxing with nice scenery.  proximity to a town of decent size would be nice, but we're also open to bringing our own food and wine and just hibernating for 48 hours. 

thoughts?

I always though Hermann Mo. was a great weekend spot.  It’s a beautiful area, lots of wineries, close to the Katy trail.  Even some shops for the wife/girlfriend to visit while a guy has a relaxing beer and enjoys the scenery.  Plus it doesn’t take 4 hours to get there. http://www.hermannmo.com/

Lake of the Ozarks State Park is pretty nice, and it's super close to Ha Ha Tonka and Bennett Springs. They only have a handful of cabins, though. Bennett Springs has some cabins, too. The tent-camping at LotO is fine, if you don't mind tent camping. If you do, reserve a cabin early!

Really, it depends on what you want to do, but LotO SP would be my first suggestion. It's a good distance away from the annoyingly overdeveloped parts of the lake, but it's close enough that they aren't inaccessible. And you can do pretty much whatever within a short drive. Rent jetskis or a boat and check out the lake, tour some caves, ride around on horses, have a swim at the beach, picnic in wooded isolation, etc.

I like Queen Wilhelmina State Park a lot (http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/).  I've only been camping there, but they also have a lodge.

ETA
You might try this as well http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/camping-cabins-lodging/cabins/

Queen Wilhelmina is over four hours away.  What did your folks not like about Eureka?  Best fine dining in the Ozarks and you gotta love a place that has both a Passion Play and a Diversity(gay lib) festival.  A  more wilderness place with nice cabins is Devils Den State Park.  It has good scenerey and hiking and is close to Fayetteville if you need to go out to bars and cafes.

Ilove eureka and hermann. Srsly.

salina, ks.

I recommend The Prairie Queen Bed and Breakfast in Leavenworth.  I stayed there a few months ago and really enjoyed it.  Leavenworth has a lot of interesting things to see.

The house is beautiful and the couple who runs it are very nice.  The food is great too.

Far less than four hours away too

http://www.prairiequeen.com/

We went to Hermann a few weeks ago by train.  It was okay.  I wouldn't do it again by train because the two walkable wineries (Stone Hill and Hermannhof) don't have very good wine.  The others may very well not either, but at least you have more options.  It's a bad sign when the wine tasting room trash cans are full of empty Bud Light cans.

It's a lot of antique-y kitsch-krap if you like that kind of thing, which can be just fine if you don't go in expecting more.  The building stock is really pretty impressive, though, and the "cute old buildings" and such make up a good portion of the town, not just one main street.

Montague's BBQ brisket (Texas-style) is wonderful, even coming from BBQ mecca, KC.  (It was also the B&B we stayed at...not fancy, but cheap and pleasant if a little rough around the edges.)

Abilene KS has a quaint downtown.

Rocheport MO is a slow moving community with some great B&Bs.

Any military in your families?

LORA is a great place. Truly out in the boonies, as much or as little activity as you want. It's about 4 hours or so. It's for military and their families, etc.

Pretty private and rustic. Nice accomodations and inexpensive activities. Quiet or more active as you wish it.

The military lifeguards are pretty hot too.

It may not be your thing, but I really enjoy canoeing Missouri's streams.  While the crowds head for the Niangua and other well known streams, I usually opt for less known streams and a perfect one with no crowds and close to KC is the Little Niangua.  It may be a bit more rustic than you had in mind but the scenery is fantastic along the steam and camping on the gravel bars is very nice.....provided it doesn't flood during the night.  It's not at all dangerous although you may have to take care to avoid brush in the water.  The scenery is ideal with several small springs issuing from hillsides into the river and the current is swift enough to make it fun.

The Buffalo River area in Arkansas is very good. The town of Jasper is basically the center of that area and is about 1 hour south of Branson on highway 7.

If you like peace and quiet - there are 20 or 30 isolated cabins for rent on the internet. The cabins are generally out in the boonies but the two I have stayed in were very well furnished. They cost anywhere from $130 to $190 a night and have one bedroom plus a sleeping loft and a fold out couch in the living room. They come with dishes, a dishwasher, barbeque, fire place, towels, air conditioning, etc. You have to bring your own food, charcoal and firewood. I think one web site is ozarkcabins.com. Unfortunately, the cabins tend to book up well in advance, especially for friday through Sunday nights.

Canoe trips on the Buffalo river are nice, but the water is high this time of year. Unless you have some experience, it may not be a good idea right now. There isn't much in terms of local dining or grocery shopping. We always load up on groceries before we leave KC.

The scenary southeast of Jasper is fabulous.

Table Rock Lake (Kimberling City area).  I love it down there.

The library has a book on day trips from Kansas City. I believe most local bookstores have it as well.

Shifra Stein's day trips from Kansas City : great ideas for the local traveler

Summary

Need a day away to relax, refresh, renew? Just get in your car and go! Day Trips from Kansas City is your guide to hundreds of exciting things to do, see, and discover right in your own backyard. Explore places you never knew existed-many free of charge and most within a two-hour drive of Kansas City.

http://kcmo.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/zOe2UCISiF/KC-CENTRAL/221670246/9

The Buffalo is a great trip, great canoeing.  Make sure you bring booze if you want it, because Jasper and surrounding is dry.  We had to drive 40 minutes to Missouri to replenish when we stayed down there a few years back.

A nice getaway for a couple is Council Grove.  A historic little town in the Flint Hills that has a feeling of being much further west.  Nearby is the Tallgrass Prarie National Preserve(Z-Bar Ranch) and the Konza Prairie for some spectacular hiking.  There is a very quaint little hotel called the Cottage House.  There is a big lake above town for water activities and great sunsets. 

Check this out for various lodging options at Branson.  Just over 3 hrs away.

http://explorebranson.com/lodging/

http://www.hermannhill.com/conference-center.htm

Really nice, worth every penny