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A week at the lake

Other destinations beckon, but few can beat the classic Minnesota vacation.

A little boy catches a little fish at Crow Wing Crest resort

A little boy catches a littler fish at Crow Wing Crest resort near Akeley, Minn.

Up north, there's a lake cabin with my name on it.

I don't own it, and I never will. But for a week in July, it's mine.

Only a generation ago, most middle-class folks in this area could think of nothing better than renting a little housekeeping cabin on a lake.

"In the glory years, gosh, it seemed every Minnesotan vacationed at a Minnesota resort," says Dave Siegel, vice president of the Minnesota Resort and Campground Association.

Now, there's so much competition for a family's vacation time — from Cancun and Orlando, from RVs, from new cabins wealthy families build for themselves. And high-school sports leave only a few weeks between summer baseball and the football season.

"We always say, 'If only we had 20 million cabins for the last week of July and first two weeks of August,' " says Kim Bowen, proprietor of Crow Wing Crest Lodge near Akeley and a member of the Congress of Minnesota Resorts.

The demand for lakeshore property has made it more profitable for resort owners to sell to developers than run a business, and in the past 15 years, the number of resorts in Minnesota has shrunk from 1,300 to perhaps 850.

But that's still a lot of lake resorts. And little has changed about the classic formula of sun, sand and water.

Extended family

My daughter and son have been going to Crow Wing Crest since they were infants, and they'd riot if I told them they couldn't go.

My son's e-mail address is CWCtheplacetobe, and he keeps in touch with his resort friends throughout the year. Once, three generations of one family came to watch him play football when his team had a game in a suburb near their home.

Watching the transformation of strangers into steadfast friends is Kim Bowen's favorite part of running a resort. She holds bingo night and a kids' scavenger hunt early in the week, so guests can get to know each other right off the bat.

"By Tuesday, they're all running around together; by Wednesday, the kids are all mixed up, and everyone's watching everyone else's kids; by Thursday, they're best friends; and by Friday, there are tears, and people don't want to leave," she says.

I've vacationed at a lot of places, and I still think a week at a lake resort is the best vacation of all. It's the most relaxing, anyway. There's nothing like the beginning of a lake week, when time seems to slow to a crawl.

"You get there, and there's nothing to do . . . but enjoy," says my sister Lynn, who flies in from Orlando.

We wake to loon calls and take a cup of coffee down to the lake, where we sit in swinging chairs and watch fishermen putter with their gear and canoeists push off for a morning paddle.

The teen-agers sleep until noon, so I might walk down the road to gather wildflowers from the ditches. Then, I'll recruit my husband, a sister or a niece for a ride on the Heartland State Trail, perhaps to Walker for breakfast or to Dorset for a root-beer float. Or I might spend the whole afternoon on the beach; I bring a book, but I always end up chatting with other guests or watching children taking flying leaps off the raft.

In the evening, most everyone ends up at the 1898 log lodge, putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing cards or foosball, watching the sunset from the deck. Some nights, we fire up the old sauna and swelter until we have to rush into the lake. Then, we float on our backs in the cool water, trying to spot a shooting star.

The days go by and then time seems to speed up, like grains tumbling down an hourglass. It's bittersweet, but eventually, we have to leave our cabin for another family to use, until the next summer.

Family resort

Over the years, genial co-owner Terry Heller became a family friend, and we always looked forward to seeing him. Then, in 2001, he had to sell the resort — to developers, he figured.

"I didn't want to take anyone's vacation away, but we knew that's probably what was going to happen," he said.

It would have been an ignominious end to the resort, which began life as a logging camp and includes several virgin white pines, including a 300-year-old called Luna.

After the Akeley sawmill burned in 1916, the site served briefly as a chicken farm before becoming Aunt Polly's Girls' Camp, where etiquette was taught to children from around the nation in the 1920s and '30s. It sat vacant during World War II, but in 1946 became a family fishing resort.

The first day Crow Wing Crest was listed, a couple from Newton, Iowa, drove up and bought it. Heller thought he was selling to a developer, Krupp Rental Properties of Newton, Iowa, but was pleasantly surprised when the Krupps' daughter Kim and her husband, Big John, continued to run the business as a family resort.

John Bowen had spent childhood summers at resorts in northwest Wisconsin, and he and Kim had shopped for a resort for three years, limited by their desire for one that didn't rely on a bar to make a profit. When a Park Rapids real-estate agent tipped them off to the impending Crow Wing sale, they sprang into action and made an offer.

"There was a developer who was interested, and they were livid they didn't get a crack at it," says Kim Bowen, who says she receives at least one call or letter a week from developers hoping she'll sell.

For now, she won't: "It makes me sick even to think about it," she says.

Family fun

Now, my family and about 250 others still have our summer week at the lake. We're grateful. The Bowens have retained the resort's peaceful atmosphere and signature phrase — "If you are looking for a resort for heavy drinking and all-night partying, do not choose us" — and added various New Age pursuits.

It makes for an interesting mix. Last summer, I attended and enjoyed John's introduction to reflexology and Kim's aromatherapy class, but I passed on the drumming circle and sing-along.

There was too much to do outdoors. Little kids fished, rode the carousel, played in the log playhouse and used the kayaks and paddleboats. Bigger folks played volleyball, basketball, bocce ball and horseshoes; one family brought a bean-bag game, and another a homemade game it called "cowboy golf."

A family from Iowa brought two hand-made canoes and a sailboat. A four-family group brought three powerboats and spent most of their time waterskiing and tubing.

"We want to be on the water all the time," said Michelle Boelter of Winona, who switched to the smaller 11th Crow Wing Lake after nine years at resorts on big, windy Leech Lake.

Michelle Rademacher of Blaine wanted to be on the beach most of the time, with a good book.

"My husband doesn't fish, we don't own a boat, we're not big-toy people," she says. "You don't rush around, you just relax."

She found Crow Wing Crest after the Annandale resort her family went to closed. Like so many people, she gravitated back to lake resorts after spending childhood summers at them.

"When I was little, we went to a lake resort near Osakis, and I have great memories of that," Rademacher said. "My husband didn't have that, but he's a convert."

There's a resort for everyone — with as much tranquility as anyone could want, or as much action and activity.

As late as April, it's still possible to find cabins for prime weeks in July and early August, and there's a good selection available in June and in late August.

It may not be the most glamorous vacation in the world, but for many people, it's the best.

Trip Tips: Choosing a lake resort

Where to look: Get the visitors guide for your chosen region and start comparing ads and Web sites, which often list Internet specials. Consult the staff at regional tourism bureaus; they can't recommend resorts, but they can give you names if you're specific about what you want.

Minnesota Office of Tourism counselors also can help, 651-296-5029, 1-800-657-3700, along with the state tourism site, www.exploreminnesota.com.

In Wisconsin, call 800-432-8747, www.travelwisconsin.com.

The Minnesota Resort Campground Association has an online guide at www.hospitalitymn.com, or order at 651-778-2400. The Congress of Minnesota Resorts represents many good, small resorts and also has an online guide, www.minnesota-resorts.com. For a summary of what each resort area in Minnesota has to offer, see One in 1,000.

The Internet is helpful, but always reserve over the telephone. (See "What to ask," below.)

How much you'll spend: Expect to spend $1,000 per week for a basic, updated two-bedroom housekeeping cabin and $1,200-$1,400 for a three-bedroom cabin at a resort that has a lodge, a beach, a playground and use of canoes and paddleboats.

New cabins that feature dishwashers, air conditioning and other amenities cost more. For cabins at resorts that offer something extra — a nine-hole golf course, a pool, free waterskiing, supervised children's activities — add several hundred dollars.

Cottages at big resorts that include designer golf courses and meal plans cost much more. Medium-sized, family-run resorts that offer meal plans also are expensive, but there aren't many left: They include Driftwood in Pine River, Lost Lake Lodge in Nisswa, Nelson's Resort on Crane Lake and the Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail.

When to go: The weather is most reliable from late June to mid-August, which is peak season and books up fastest. But resorts lower their prices substantially for weeks in early June, when fishing is best, and late August, when weather usually is fine and many resorts offer 10 days for the price of seven over Labor Day weekend. If you'd like a discount but worry about cool weather, find a resort with a heated pool.

Making a reservation: The most desirable cabins usually are reserved a year in advance, as guests check out. If you like the resort but the cabins you like aren't available, you may have to work your way up to them. Rent another cabin and, as current guests check out, try to snap up cabins they don't reserve for the next year.

A week's rental is the standard in peak season, though more and more resorts are offering partial weeks, especially in early June and late August.

What to ask: Ask as many questions as possible. Describe what you're looking for, and ask whether the owners think you'd be comfortable at their resort. If a certain resort isn't for you, nearly every owner will tell you so.

Every week has a personality, and resort owners can tell you what it is. Some weeks are dominated by large family groups that may or may not make other guests feel excluded. Some weeks have a lot of older teenagers who may or may not be well behaved. Some weeks may feature a lot of sweet children who are close in age to yours; ask.

The personality of the owners dictates the atmosphere of the resort, so chat away. Ask if it's the kind of informal resort where children can run around, or if it caters more to couples who keep to themselves. Ask if there's much drinking, or if many guests or nearby cabin owners like to use personal watercraft. Some resorts ban them.

Ask if the beach has sand; a surprising number don't, or the beach is very small. If you have a toddler, ask if there's a steep drop-off in the water. If you have teens, make sure there's a lodge or game room where they can congregate with other teens. If you want a family atmosphere, make sure there's not a bar.

Family reunions: Resorts are a great place to hold them, but plan early. Many resorts have newer "reunion houses" for family gatherings, and these often are booked two or more years in advance. You'll also have to plan ahead if you want to line up three or more cabins for prime weeks. One strategy is to reserve one cabin the previous year and, at the end of that week, snap up other cabins that guests don't immediately reserve for the following year.

Last updated on April 16, 2008