Other stories in "Group travel"

• Join the club
  When you travel with a group, you'll make friends and save money.
• Planning a family reunion
  It's tough to please everyone, but the rewards are huge.
• Playground in the woods
  At Deep Portage, adults take a tip from the kids.
• Hikes with benefits
  For exercise as well as edification, tag along with an expert.
• Schools of know-how
  In resort areas, many people go home from vacation with a new skill.
• Six ways to walk the Superior Hiking Trail
  On a guided trip, you can pay a lot or a little.
• Follow the leader?
  On a guided trip, drop a bundle or a bit —the choice is yours.

The more, the merrier

When groups travel, they divide costs and multiply benefits.

Contrary to common wisdom, the best deals in travel aren’t too good to be true.

The minute I heard about the “rustic group camp’’ at Big Bay State Park on Madeline Island, in the Apostles, I was interested. It’s not a camp but a lodge, with a choice location near the lagoon of Big Bay. There’s space for 20 people and a kitchen with a full-size refrigerator and stove, and it was available to nonprofit groups for $40 per night.

For that, I didn’t expect much. But when I went there one August with the Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club, we found a two-story, atmospheric log lodge with a fieldstone fireplace, plank floors and a long screened porch, set in its own grove of cedars.

Our group of 15 used it as a base, making pancakes in the big kitchen and bag lunches from supplies in the fridge, then spending our days kayaking, bicycling and walking on the beach. In the evenings, we went out to eat in La Pointe and returned to build fires in the outdoor ring, sitting around it on plank benches.

We had to bring our own sleeping and eating gear, pump water from a well and use the latrine out back. That’s why the cabin is called rustic. Still, we thought $9 apiece was a pretty fair price for three nights on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostles.

One of our group, Laurel March of Lake St. Croix Beach, liked the cabin so much she immediately booked it for a September weekend and brought her scholarship committee.

“Non-profits are always looking for a place to have a retreat,’’ she said. “It’s just the perfect place to be.’’

Planning getaways for a group can be tricky. People who aren’t related generally want a bed to themselves but don‘t want to pay a bundle for it, so most B&Bs don’t work. Hotel rooms have two beds, so people can split the cost of a room, but usually there isn’t a cozy commons area where people can congregate over coffee or wine.

I'm always on the lookout for good venues.  I’ve learned about some of the better places to take a group from the Rovers and the other Twin Cities outdoor club to which I belong, the North Stars Ski Touring Club.

North Star Bob O’Hara of St. Louis Park leads an annual March ski trip to the Sports Dorm at Giants Ridge near Biwabik, which has 55 kilometers of well-groomed cross-country trails as well as excellent downhill skiing. The two-story Sports Dorm was built as an Olympic training center in 1984 and now is used by high-school and college teams and any one else who wants to rent one or all of its 24 motel-style rooms.

“We were there the second year the place was open, and for years we were the only non-racing group,’’ O’Hara said. “It works perfectly for us.’’

Both the North Stars and the Rovers take groups to the Mississippi Headwaters Hostel in Itasca State Park. The 1923 former park headquarters has six carpeted bunk rooms, three bathrooms, a modern kitchen and a stone fireplace surrounded by leather chairs. Groups love it because it’s cozy and the cost is so low; the Rovers charge $95 for three nights and seven meals.

For more about travel with outdoors groups, see Join the club.

Around the region, state parks, retreat centers and hostels provide some of the best deals in travel. Below are some of the best places I’ve found to take a group:

Big Bay State Park indoor group camp, Madeline Island: Many people spend a lot of money to spend part of the summer on Madeline Island, across from Bayfield in northwest Wisconsin. This cabin allows its guests to stay for very little. It’s a mile by road from the Town Park at the mouth of the lagoon, which has a campground, canoe rentals and a gorgeous, curving sand beach.

People who rent the cabin can walk along the beach or drive to shower buildings in the main park. The cabin has four areas in which people can sleep: a screened porch, the main room, a bedroom off the kitchen and the open room upstairs. The four-stall latrine is very nice, for a latrine.

Bring bedding, cots or mattresses, towels, soap, pots, plates, eating utensils, a container in which to carry water and anything else you need, such as a coffee maker. Guests must clean the cabin when they leave. The cabin is available only to nonprofit groups, with a maximum stay of three nights, and open from May to the second weekend in October. For more, see What to bring to a rented cabin.

Cost is  $40 minimum, or $3 per person, with a $4 reservation fee. Guests also must pay for a vehicle admission sticker, $7 daily/$25 annual for residents, $10/$35 for nonresidents. Reserve up to a year in advance at 715-747-6425.

To reserve Big Bay and other Wisconsin rustic cabins, go to www.wiparks.net, choose a park or forest, go to Camping, then Indoor Group Camp. Print out and send in or fax the reservation form. Reserve as soon as possible for summer and fall weekends and holidays.

Wisconsin also rents two rustic cabins in Point Beach State Forest, north of Two Rivers on Lake Michigan; one sleeps 14 and the other 16,  $60, 920-794-7480.

It also rents modern cabins. Wyalusing State Park on the Mississippi has four buildings that each accommodate 27 people, with indoor bathrooms and a separate kitchen; $4 per person with a $200 minimum, 608-996-2261. Black River State Forest near Black River Falls rents a two-bedroom cabin that sleeps 12, $3 per person with a $40 minimum, 715-284-4103.

St. Croix State Park guesthouses, near Hinckley: I stayed here one Martin Luther King weekend with my two children, my niece, two friends and their two children. We didn’t get any snow for skiing, but we sure had a lot of space at Guesthouse No. 1 — eight bedrooms with 14 beds and a crib. Guesthouse No. 2 has six bedrooms, with 10 beds and a crib. Guests can walk or ski straight from the two modern, split-level guesthouses and onto park trails.

The living spaces are narrow and not particularly cozy, but the kitchens are amazingly well equipped, with all kinds of utensils, pots and basic supplies left by previous occupants. Bring your own bedding, soap and towels and drinking water (there's running water, but it tastes terrible). Each guesthouse is $180.

Minnesota state parks also rents a variety of other lodgings, including the Club House at Itasca, which sleeps up to 21, $470, and the three-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse at Bear Head State Park near Ely, which sleeps up to 10, $150. Along with St. Croix's Norway Point guesthouses and smaller modern cabins, they can be reserved a year in advance at 866-857-2757 or www.stayatmnparks.com; reservation fee is $8.50.

In addition, Fort Ridgely State Park rents the upper floor of its chalet, which has central heat, fireplace, stove and fridge but no bunks; restrooms are on the lower level. It accommodates up to 25 people, $50. Call the park at 507-426-7840 to reserve.

Whitewater State Park in southeast bluff country has a group center with eight heated cabins that sleep up to 132, a central bath facility and modern kitchen and dining hall, $4.50 per person or $125 minimum. Call the park at 507-932-3007 to reserve.

Vehicle admission stickers are required at all parks, $5 daily, $25 annual. For more, see Lodgings in Minnesota state parks.

Heartwood Conference Center & Resort (formerly the Schwan Center), Minong, Wis.: This attractive conference center, about 45 minutes east of Hinckley, rents rooms to individuals as well as groups in hotel rooms, cottages and duplexes. Ten Pine Village duplexes sleep up to 14 each and have kitchens and fireplaces. Guests can use two outdoor hot tubs, and meals can be arranged. Guests can ski out their door on 25 kilometers of trails. Call 800-577-4848, www.heartwoodconferencecenter.com.

Giants Ridge Sports Dorm, Biwabik, Minn.: Near the bottom of the ski hill, next to the lodge and cross-country trails, the Sports Dorm has 24 motel rooms, each with two bunk beds and a private bath; linens and towels are provided. There’s a meeting room and lobby, each with TV, and a common kitchen. Cost is $60 for up to four people; groups of 20 or more get $10 off the daily lift ticket and $2 off the trail fee. Call 800-688-7669, Ext. 3020, www.giantsridge.com. For more about skiing at Giants Ridge, see A Giant advantage.

Mississippi Headwaters Hostel, Itasca State Park: This comfortable northern Minnesota hostel occupies the former park headquarters just off Lake Itasca, across from the canoe landing and sports rental. In winter, skiers can ski from the hostel right onto a groomed trail, and ice fishermen can walk to the lake. It has six bedrooms with 31 beds, five common rooms and a large, well-designed kitchen.

Cost is $23-$27 per person, $10-$12 for children younger than 14, and $20-$24 for members of Hostelling International and nonprofit groups of 10 or more. It's open weekends only until June. Bring bedding and towels. Call 218-266-3415, www.himinnesota.org. For more, see Itasca in winter.

Camp Onomia Retreat Center, near Onamia, Minn.: Family groups on a budget hardly could do better than a weekend at Camp Onomia, a retreat center with an indoor pool and two saunas that's four miles south of Mille Lacs-Kathio State Park. It caters to groups but often has rooms available for individuals on weekends; each of 28 rooms has six beds and a private bath. The rate for two nights and four basic, home-style meals is $83 adults, $62 children 6-18. Call 320-532-3767, www.onomia.org.

Deep Portage Conservation Reserve, near Hackensack, Minn.: Deep in the heart of the forest, this environmental-learning center calls itself Minnesota’s largest outdoor classroom. The 54,000-square-foot lodge has an indoor climbing wall, a 70-ton granite fireplace and nooks for reading and playing board games. The center has 18 kilometers of ski trails on its 6,300 acres, and there are many more within half an hour’s drive.

There’s food service for groups of 20 or more; smaller groups may be able to piggyback on larger ones. Guests stay in 27 dorm-style rooms, some disabled-accessible, that sleep six to 10 and each have a full bathroom. Bedding, pillows and towels are not provided. Regular rate for a two-night, three-day weekend is $115 per person, including six buffet-style meals. Refrigerators are available for guests' use. The lodge will open for a non-scheduled weekend if it's reserved by a group of 20 or more.

For Family Winter Weekends, cost of $100, $85 for children 5-17 and $300 for four in one room, includes lodging, meals and gear for snowshoeing, skiing and ice-fishing. 218-682-2325, www.deep-portage.org. For more, see Playground in the woods.

YMCA Camp du Nord, Ely, Minn.: It's a family camp in summer, but in other seasons, the YMCA rents out its cabins. There are 27 cabins in three villages, sleeping up to 187. Many of the cabins have been built since 2000; 21 cabins, sleeping 157, are heated, and some have gas fireplaces.

The camp offers special weekends just for women, couples and families, with programs and meal service, and groups also can come then. The camp also offers meal service when groups of 20 or more reserve, $32.50 per person for three meals a day. Call 612-465-0490, www.dunord.org.

Ruttger’s Birchmont Lodge cabins, Bemidji: This isn’t a nonprofit organization, but the resort on Lake Bemidji still is a good and inexpensive place for groups in winter. Along the lake, comfortable four-bedroom cabins have seven beds and kitchens; guests can use the very nice pool, sauna and whirlpool complex. Downtown Bemidji is nearby and has nightlife and good restaurants; Lake Bemidji State Park is just around the lake and has ski trails. There’s also excellent cross-country skiing at Three Island County Park, Movil Maze and Hobson Memorial Forest, and downhill skiing at Buena Vista Ski Area.

Two-, three-and four-bedroom villas at Ruttger’s are $163-$209 on weekends, and the manager gives 10 percent discounts to previous guests and AAA members. Call 888-788-8437, www.ruttger.com.

College residence halls: In summer, many universities and colleges offer budget lodgings in apartments and townshouses. And Madison and Chicago have hostels where groups can stay and cook inexpensively. See Cheap stays.

I haven't seen the places below, but they look promising.

Camp Sturtevant, Wausau, Wis.: This Woodson YMCA camp can be rented by groups year-round. It's especially popular in winter because it's so close to alpine skiing at Granite Peak and cross-country skiing at Nine Mile Forest. Its Riverside Lodge has bunk-bed accommodations for 60 in two wings separated by a fireplace room, $280 for 20 people; a shower house is just out the door.

Groups in Riverside Lodge can use the kitchen and heated bathrooms in the Family Lodge during the day. It also can be rented for overnight use, $260, but accommodations are on the floor. Reserve a year in advance for ski season and early summer at 715-849-2267, www.ymca-camp.org.

William M. Black dredge boat in Dubuque, Iowa: At the National Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa, the 1934 steam-powered boat has 55 bunks with shared bathrooms; the four-bunk Itasca State Room has a private bath. Rates include admission to the museum and breakfast in its Depot Cafe. 800-226-3369, Ext. 213, www.rivermuseum.com.

And on the shores of Lake Michigan in Manistee, Mich., the 1930 steamship S.S. City of Milwaukee, which once transported entire freight trains across the Great Lakes, will open to groups of 10 or more in 2009. 231-723-3587, www.carferry.com.

Kawishiwi Bunkhouse, Ely: Kawishiwi Lodge and Outfitters is on Lake One, an entry point into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In addition to housekeeping cabins that are rented by the week in summer, the resort has a bunkhouse where beds go for $20 per person. Call 218-365-5487 from May through early October,  218-365-3723 in winter, www.elyresorts.com.

Many vacation houses can sleep groups of 10-12. Find them at the sites below.

House rentals: On Minnesota's North Shore, Cascade Vacation Rentals has many private homes for rent, 800-950-4361, www.cascadevacationrentals.com. There are many nationwide house rental companies, include Vacation Rentals by Owner, www.vrbo.com; CyberRentals, www.cyberrentals.com; and HomeAway, www.homeaway.com.

For more, see Renting a vacation house.

Last updated on November 6, 2008