View Full Version : vacation recommendations? parks/cabins-MN, WI, ND, SD
Hello,
I know there's a lot of people here from the Minneapolis area and many others that I don't know where you live, but may be familiar with the north central states, if that is what the area is called.
Here's deal- I need some help narrowing down my internet searching. DH and I are in crazy need of a vacation. We're off the second week of June and need somewhere to go, within a day's drive of Winnipeg. Hence, the states posted in the title. I guess we could do Western Ontario as well, but for money and climate we'd rather go south. We're looking for some place mostly with cabins and outdoor activities, but there are so many different places that would suffice I need help narrowing my search. I need the vacation because I'm stressed so I don't need more stress of trying to figure out where to go.
So if you have any recommendation of park, town, area or even specific cabins I'd love to hear it. DH is very familiar with the major cities and highways but only as a truck driver, never a tourist. The only area he has in mind is Wisconsin Dells, which I'm sure would be fine, but perhaps there's something just as good a little closer to home.
Here are the kind of things we are looking for:
- general geography: hills, forests, a lake
- amenities: some kind of grocery store, gas station etc. But we have no interest in shopping, art, culture or sports venues. We don't want extreme wilderness.
- the local attractions - lots of places to hike, admire scenery, somewhere to rent canoes, wildlife watching is great. We may have our gear for basketball, tennis and archery, so if there are any places to do those types of things that would be good but not necessary.
- accommodation - we'd prefer a private cabin - small is okay, but ideally with plumbing/electricity and a kitchenette as I have dietary restrictions. As quiet and private as possible. No kids/pets (adult's only) would be nice but not mandatory.
As you can see, my wishlist includes a lot of potential places, so any ideas at all of how to narrow down my search are greatly appreciated.
Wisconsin is gorgeous. I don't live there, but have many friends who do. I'll hop onto FB & get some recs...
First reply:
Ashland, WI may fit the bill. Right on the south shore of Lake Superior. Lots of cheap motels. Not very touristy (though there's Bayfield nearby if you want a small tourist town & you can get awesome ice cream there). There's wonderful hiking in the Penokees, and around the Bayfield peninsula. Northern WI is the best!
First reply:
Ashland, WI may fit the bill. Right on the south shore of Lake Superior. Lots of cheap motels. Not very touristy (though there's Bayfield nearby if you want a small tourist town & you can get awesome ice cream there). There's wonderful hiking in the Penokees, and around the Bayfield peninsula. Northern WI is the best!
I really appreciate you helping me to find some info that way. It's just so much more helpful finding someone who knows the general area than random internet searching. I'll put that on my list of places to check out.
Hayward, WI fits the description as well. We go there every summer to stay at a friend's cabin. There are many lakes, many rentals. The downtown is walkable and there are some restaurants, but there is a lot of outdoor stuff too, and it's easy to avoid the town when you don't want to be around it. There are many state parks and wilderness areas within a short drive. Here is one place we've seen that has rental cabins that look nice, right on a lake (which is usually quiet, though people do use motorboats on it): http://birchpoint-resort.com/contact.htm (I have absolutely no idea what the rental rates are, but there's an email to contact).
If you'd rather not be around a lot of people and kids, I'd suggest looking in places other than WI Dells. I've only driven through there, but that's where everyone here takes their kids!
I know there are some beautiful areas in northern MN but I've not been there myself, so I can only tell you places that others have recommended to me: Two Harbors, Grand Marais, and all the state parks in that area (many state parks have rental cabins, some with electricity, most without). Also, some places on the upper peninsula of MI might fit the bill too.
What about Madeleine Island? (have not been there, but it sounds nice!) http://www.madelineisland.com/
fidgiegirl
5-19-13, 6:16pm
Yes, Bayfield and the Apostle Islands (Madeleine Island is one of them) are nice and lots to do there, especially water-based activities. I am not so sure they fit the criteria of within a day's drive of Winnipeg, though. But they would be a LOT closer than the Dells. Just mapped it - would be about 10 hours.
A bit closer of a drive would be to do Itasca State Park in MN. It is the headwaters of the Mississippi and has everything you want but I am not so sure about the accommodations in the park itself - I bet they are booked, though you never know. Park Rapids is 20 miles away, Bemidji is 35 miles away. It would be a nice weekend trip, I don't know if there is SOOOOO MUCH to do that it would be a long vacation or not. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
Grand Marais is great - TONS of gorgeous hikes, awesome food, lots of accommodations selections. Climate wouldn't be much different than Ontario, however! The whole North Shore of Superior has tons of resorts where the rentals are privately owned condos - perfect for your desire to have a private residence type of accommodation. Try Explore Minnesota (http://www.exploreminnesota.com/index.aspx) or Home Away (http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rentals/minnesota/r1128) (which is not MN specific but we've had really good luck getting private rentals on there).
The southeastern part of MN is gorgeous - Lanesboro area. But again, that's getting to be quite a drive.
As a Cheesehead I have to recommend Northern WI also! My old backyard :) Hayward is a good suggestion as mentioned.
I'd also recommend the Eagle River area. My grandparents rented a cabin there every year for like 40 years. Very nice quiet, calm area as my grandmother wanted but still had decent amenities to entertain the kids. I remember doing a LOT of fishing. Decent grocery store, gas stations, etc.
If I remember correctly there are some lakes that specifically forbid jet ski/speed boat activity so if you are looking for peace and quiet that might be a good question to ask when renting a place.
Minaqua might be a good option also. It's very near Eagle River...as is Land o'Lakes also.
Totally agree that Wisc Dells may be more kid-centric than you probably want.
Second reply:
Boulder Junction, Minocqua or Manitwish Waters areas are good for all of this.
An update: We decided to go to the Black Hills in South Dakota, even though the drive was further than we first intended, as DH was concerned that northern MN or WI would be too cold for me at this time of year. It ended up being a great trip and I will write up more tips and reviews on what we did on my blog in the near future.
Thanks again for everyone's suggestions. I'll keep all those areas in mind for future travel plans.
The Black Hills is one of my favorite places. Lots of great nat and state parks - like Mt Rushmore, Wind and Jewel Caves, Badlands, etc... Plus the towns of Deadwood, Strugis, and nearby are very cool but avoid the annual motorcycle Rally in Strugis. You are also close to Devils Tower. I have only can per there so no recommendations of where to stay but remember that gets hot there in summer and there can be afternoon thunder storms if camping. Oops - just saw you already did the trip. Glad you enjoyed it. How about some photos :-)
fidgiegirl
6-15-13, 5:03pm
I subscribed to your blog and look forward to reading about it!
For those of you interested in pictures I added an album to my profile here. Let me know if you can't see them. I'll also incorporate some with more of an attached story into my blog when I get that done.
fidgiegirl
6-15-13, 7:35pm
Beautiful. Looks like another spot just got added to my "visit someday" list.
For those interested, I just posted Parts 1 and 2 of my vacation journal on my blog. It's mostly about the western part of South Dakota, but there is a little bit of Wyoming and North Dakota in there as well. I comment on everything we saw, and list things we didn't have time to see. The whole story is quite long, so I will put it up in sections. I'll try to add a new one every second day or so.
So far you made me smile about the hills and interested in hearing about Winnepeg. My mother was born there, but grew up in Halifax.
So far you made me smile about the hills and interested in hearing about Winnepeg. My mother was born there, but grew up in Halifax.
That's a new blog topic to add to my list. I never thought anyone would want to hear about Winnipeg. We do have a lot of great things going for us, especially in the summer. I'll take some more pictures while I'm around town and try to do some related posts. Thanks for the suggestion.
You can be the Rick Steves of Manitoba! Bring summer tourists to the Prairie.
fidgiegirl
6-27-13, 2:41pm
I have thought about a trip to Winnipeg several times. It's only 8 hours from us, same as Chicago, and we could hit some far-flung state parks on the way in order to add the stamps to our MN State Parks passport. It would be fun to go for the music festival but I don't do crowds, so I might die if we did that (die while having fun :laff:, that didn't quite come out right.)
Oh, I'd love to hear more about Winnipeg too. I am always trying to come up with ideas for places we can drive for vacation.
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