Summer Rental Needed

I know of one.

It is on Gull Lake in Nisswa, MN. My father actually lives right next door, and I am up there with my 3 boys very often in the summer. The lake right out front is shallow to allow for awesome swimming. There is a little lake in back that is fabulous for Sunnie Fishing.

I have put an e-mail in to the owners to ask where you can go to rent it. I know they rent it out, and it is inexpensive compared to other spots.

Just an FYI, the best time to go is in August. The lake is as warm as it is going to get, and the traffic out on the lake is not as bad. Everybody always pushes to go in July, but we have found it is more fun in August.

If you have any more questions let me know, and I will forward on the rental info when I have it.

Take care,
Angela

Check out this sight for places near Hayward, Wisconsin: http://www.haywardrentals.com/.

You could also try vrbo.com, which is "vacation rentals by owner". They have places all over the world, but you can focus in on an area and see what's available. Alexandria and Brainerd are big "lake" areas in MN.

Check out VRBO.com. There are tons of places to rent and they're by owner so you aren't paying extra for resort features. Although, with the ages of your children, there may be more to do at a resort.

Dear M.,

Check out www.islandviewresort.com. Island View Resort is a great family place up in Orr MN on Pelican Lake. We had a gas there. The beach/swimming area is safe, clean and sandy. The cabins are wonderful. Our kids loved the big playground. The owners and their 3 girls are the best. If you want to all be in the same cabin, Hillcrest is a great one. Good luck, have fun, make wonderful memories.

Have you looked at either Adventure North or Brindley's Harbor Resort on Leech Lake? It is a bit farther than Brainerd, but not nearly as expensive. Both have large private lodges for large groups. Adventure North also takes dogs, if that is a concern. I have been to both, and both are not overly frilly or fancy, but not too rustic either. I believe they both have websites as well.

My brother in law is one of the managers of Eagle's Nest in Nisswa - so OF COURSE I recommend them. They have a morning children's program, they are on the lake, and I know they still have a few openings for this summer though with that many people you might need 2 cabins.
http://www.eaglesnestnisswa.com/

Hi M.,
I suggest this lake home in Siren, WI - it is just on the border of MN/WI. We live in Burnsville and it takes up 1.5 hours to get there, not bad. It is a gerat home, on the lake, and reasonable price! Pets are even allowed!
If you have further questions, feel free to email me.

http://www.lakeplace.com/rental/wi/8511

J.

I grew up on Madeline Island, and there are TONS of places to rent! some are located right on the lake, some have lake access, and some are inland. There's a state park and a town park with 1 1/2 mile beach in between; bikes and mopeds to rent, a pizza place with ice cream, state historical museum......The Chamber of Commerce has lodgings listed, and in most cases you can see on-line what's available and when it's available (4th of July weekend there's probably NOTHING available). Good Luck!

Check out Shady Rest Resort. It is located in Villard, MN (about 20 minutes from Alexandria). We've been there a number of times and really enjoy it. It's sort of become our annual vacation. :) Their website is www.shadyrestresort.com. The only reason we're not going up there again this year, is that DH and his dad are going to Canada for a fly-in fishing week instead. Good luck finding a place.

M. Y

How far north do you want to go? My sister in law and mom in law rented a great place that is about an hour out of Detroit Lakes. The lake is crystal clear, a great beach for the kids with lots of shallow water to play in and it is pretty isolated. BUT the cabins are clean, cute and have indoor plumbing! There are all different sizes of cabins too from 6 bedroom down to 1 room. I think there is a total of 8 cabins in the whole resort, and the lodge has a cute bar and serves the usual bar food. I believe the price is pretty reasonable.
Anywhere by Brainerd is a good choice too.
If you are interested I can get the name of the place for you. But I don't know it right off hand. My email is ____@____.com if you are interested.
Another GREAT place is Cove Point Lodge. It is in Beaver Bay on Lake Superior. Absolutly georgous. www.covepointlodge.com if you want to check it out.

Hi M.. I know this is kind of old, but finally got around the checking my email.

I have a 7 and a 6 year old and we always go to the lake for a week in the summer. Last year we went to Lake Miltona in Alexandria. We rented a house on this lake for $1200 for the week. It was gorgeous! 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full laundry, dishwasher, and they supply just about everything! The best part: sandy beach! And the kids could walk almost 1/3 mile out before the water got deep. This left us plenty of room for frizbe and other water games without feeling like the kids were in danger since they do not know how to swim. If you're into fishing, we caught our limit nearly every night! The bass in that lake are very active! I rented it through a guy named David. They own the house next to this one, too. Their website is mustangadventures.com. Only down fall: it's right next to a public landing, so it's not as private as I wanted it to be, but during the week, it wasn't too busy. lots of boat traffic in and out.

I would suggest VRBO.com--Vacation Rentals by Owner. We use this site every year to book vacation getaways!