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Lodgings in Lanesboro

Welcome mats multiply as visitors descend on this southeast Minnesota hamlet.

Before the Root River State Trail was built, the only places to stay in Lanesboro were some small hunters' cabins near the city park.

That was before there was anything to do in the isolated village besides hunt and fish. Now Lanesboro is the recreational and cultural capital of southeast Minnesota, with a brand-new theater, and arts center and 60 miles of paved bicycle trails.

With visitors pouring in, Lanesboro also has become the bed-and-breakfast capital of the Minnesota, with more B&Bs than any other town, plus several inns.

And they're still not enough for everyone who wants to visit on beautiful weekends in summer and fall.

When I first visited Lanesboro in 1990 and stayed at the Carrolton Country Inn, it was the only one of the three inns that allowed children. In 1994, when I stayed with my sister at Mrs. B's, it was the only place we could find that had a room with two beds.

Now there are lots of choices for everyone — families, friends, honeymooners, singles.

I've toured or stayed in nearly every inn. All over town, there are innkeepers who couldn't resist the call of this bluff-country burg.

At the Thompson House, I met Kathy Culbertson, who already was in love with Lanesboro when she met her husband Robert, who grew up there but had moved to Wisconsin.

"He thought I was so crazy,'' she said. "You know, if you grow up here, you don't see the attraction.'' But Robert always had admired the 1872 Italianate house across from his childhood home, so they bought it, restored it and opened it as a bed-and-breakfast.

I met triathlete Bonnie Handmacher, who first visited Lanesboro in 1990 as part of a bicycling tour group.

"After the bike trip, I was addicted,'' Handmacher said. "I'd hop in my car on the weekends and go — I was living in Chicago then, but five hours was nothing.'' She'd stay at O'Leary's, and when it went up for sale, she bought it and got herself transferred to the Twin Cities. Now, she's cut her drive in half and has her own B&B to stay in on weekends.

Tastes in lodgings are highly personal. The same piles of pillows one person wants to torch are someone else's decorating coup. I like the window-lined rooms of the Habberstad House, the informal atmosphere of O'Leary's and the airy, Italianate interior of the Thompson House. There's something to like in every place.

If you have to make a "Best'' list, Berwood Hill might place for Most Romantic If Money Is No Object. In the Romance for the Rest of Us category, I'd pick Mrs. B's airy Room 1, which has a nice view of the Root River.

The Cottage House Inn and Green Gables are the perennial Best Value. Since they and O'Leary's have rooms with two beds, they also win for Best Place to Go With a Friend.

Cottage House and Green Gables win again for Best Place to Go With Children, as does O'Leary's, which rents a tiny room with a sleeping loft that kids love. Green Gables has adjoining rooms connected by door.

The Best B&Bs for People Who Don't Like B&Bs would be O'Leary's, where breakfast is a continental buffet; and Mrs. B's, where each couple have their own table at breakfast.

The nod for Best B&Bs for People Who Love B&Bs goes to the Scanlan House, for its over-the-top five-course breakfast and over-the-top decor.

With so many places to choose from, staying overnight in Lanesboro is an adventure. Now, the only challenge is getting a reservation.

Trip Tips: Lodgings in Lanesboro

Most places have two-night minimums on weekends in summer, and some in winter. Prices drop steeply in winter, especially at the small inns; at the B&Bs, you may have to ask for a deal. Every inn is bicycle-friendly.

For details and an availability search, check the Lanesboro lodgings site.

Anna V's B&B is a 1908 Queen Anne with three rooms, one with two-person whirlpool, $110-$137, less on weekdays. Mike and Gail Eckerman, 507-467-2686.

The two Art Lofts above Cornucopia Art Center sleep six and have kitchens and handsome living areas, $135. They're operated by the art center, 507-467-2446.

Berwood Hill Inn, a renovated 1870s farmhouse, sits on a ridge four miles outside Lanesboro and has a lovely view of the countryside from its landscaped grounds. Five rooms go for $95-$195. The interior looks like a magazine spread. 800-803-6748.

Brewster's Red Hotel is in an 1870s building, right off the trail downtown. It has three apartments and studio with kitchen, $130-$140, or $495 per week. Six pleasant rooms, three with two beds, have cable but no common rooms, $70-$85. It also rents a cottage. Mark Brewster, 507-467-2999.

Cedar Valley Resort is just east of Lanesboro in Whalan, right on the Root River. Eight cabins, some with gas fireplaces, have three to six bedrooms, and two can be combined to sleep up to 40 people. Rates vary from $335 for six people and $970 for 16 people in peak season, June 19-Aug. 22, to $280 and $710 for weekday stays in May and September-October and from November through April. 507-467-9000.

Coffee Street Inn is a pet-friendly motel/inn downtown that has seven rooms, one with two beds, and two suites that have kitchen and double whirlpool, one with three bedrooms, $45-$195.

There's a garden patio with gas grill. Deb Danielson, 507-467-2674.

Cottage House Inn, a modern inn across from the Commonweal Theatre, always is a good bet. It has 14 simple but attractive rooms, seven with two beds. From May through October, they're $70 weekdays, $85-$90 weekends; in the off season, they're $50-$60.

A large, hot breakfast is an extra $8, $6 for children. Proprietors are Lynn and Marilyn Bunge. 800-944-0099.

Fillmore House B&B, a 1912 foursquare on the south end of town, has three rooms, $130-$150. Brian Luna, 651-269-7648.

Green Gables Inn, a newer motel with a sunken stone patio and back yard that goes to the river, is a nice place to stay with children. It has 12 attractive rooms, most with two beds, one with kitchen and one-disabled accessible, $78-$98, $65-$85 from November through March. A bridal suite has gas fireplace, whirlpool and kitchen, $120-$160. Jackie Rehm. 800-818-4225.

1898 Inn, formerly the Galligan House, is  a homey turn-of-the-century Victorian with two rooms, $129. Maggie Molyneaux. 507-696-4750.

Habberstad House B&B is an 1897 Queen Anne with six attractive, window-lined rooms, three with two-person whirlpools, $125-$200. The Amish Suite has two double beds, $165, and the Carriage House has a private entrance, galley kitchen, whirlpool and gas fireplace, $200. 507-467-3560. Nancy and Dave Huisenga.

Hillcrest Hide-Away is a 1927 Craftsman bungalow on the hill above downtown, with four comfortable rooms and suites, three with sofa beds, $95-$130. Marv and Carol Eggert. 800-697-9902.

Inn at Sacred Clay Farm is a 2001 inn on 100 acres two miles south of Lanesboro has five rooms. It has one with an extra sofa bed, and three with double whirlpools, $140-$235. The Loft, $235, also has a fireplace. Sandy and Fred Kiel. 866-326-8618.

James A. Thompson House is an 1872 Italianate house next to the river, with airy common rooms decorated with antiques and folk art. Four old-fashioned but attractive rooms. The Maid's Room, with its view of the dam waterfall, is especially nice. Kathy and Robert Culbertson. 507-467-2253.

Mrs. B's B&B, an 1870 stone commercial building right on the river downtown, has nine small but attractive rooms, $124-$165. (It no longer has a room with two beds.)

Breakfast is served at small tables for those who like early-morning privacy. Terry and Ginger Neuman. 800-657-4710.

O'Leary's B&B is a 1910 Victorian with Arts and Crafts interior accents. Five simple but attractive rooms, one with twin beds and one with a king, are $75-$95, and there's a loft room children love (children over 10 are welcome). Breakfast is a continental buffet. Open weekends only. Proprietor Bonnie Handmacher is a triathlete and dispenses advice on running and bicycling routes, 507-467-3737.

Scanlan House B&B is a classic 1889 Victorian with decor that B&B aficionados enjoy. Four rooms, two with gas fireplace stoves and three with double whirlpools, go for $100-$135, and three suites, all with gas fireplaces and double whirlpools, go for $145-$225. Kirsten Mensing is the enthusiastic proprietor, 800-944-2158.

Scandinavian Inn is an 1892 Queen Anne with five small but attractive rooms, $95-$125, including a very fine breakfast, and common rooms that include a rooftop gazebo. One room has a private balcony and a dumbwaiter, through which the innkeepers send breakfast. Peter Torkelson and Vicki Chambard Torkelson. 507-467-4500.

Stone Mill Suites is a 1885 former poultry-processing plant downtown, at the end of Parkway Avenue. It has seven suites with double whirlpool and/or fireplace stove. One has four beds, one has two, one has a mini-kitchen and one is disabled-accessible, $135-$150, $165-$180 on weekends from Memorial Day through October. Three rooms go for $100-$130. All have mini-fridges. A continental breakfast is included on weekends. 866-897-8663.

Victorian House is an 1892 home on Parkway Avenue with two rooms, $99-$115 including a continental breakfast buffet. 507-467-3457.

Camping

Sites at Lanesboro's Sylvan Park, on the river, are first-come, first-served. Sixty tent sites are $10 and 43 camper sites $25. Campers can use the flush toilets and showers in the adjacent community center.

Old Barn Resort is right off the trail, at Isinours Junction, and has a three-season heated pool, restaurant and 18-hole golf course. The campground is open from April through October. Tent sites are $24-$28 for two people and camper sites $32-$40, $3-$5 each additional person.

Old Barn also has a hostel with three rooms with up to 16 bunks, $23-$25 per person, and one with two beds, $44-$50 for one or two. Bicycles, canoes, kayaks and inner tubes are rented on-site through Little River General Store. 800-552-2512.

Last updated on February 8, 2010