Thinking about making a trip to Lake of the Woods this year? I would strongly suggest that you make your plans for this beautiful destination. Let’s consider some great ideas when making your plans.

Consideration #1: What area of Lake of the Woods should I visit?  Lake of the Woods is a large body of water being the largest lake in the contiguous United States next to the Great Lakes. It has 65,000 miles of shoreline and 14,000 islands. It is an international lake encompassing the United States and Canada. The area of Lake of the Woods in the states is divided into 3 areas. They are: the Rainy River, the South Shore and the Northwest Angle.

Rainy River is the river which flows from the east at Rainy Lake near International Falls. It makes up the boundary between Canada and Minnesota. Along this river are various resorts ready to serve your vacation pleasure. These resorts give easy access to the big lake and guides are experienced traveling these waters.

The South Shore area features resorts that are right on the big lake where sunsets dazzle the eyes and fish are ready to be caught. The Northwest Angle is located on the tip or the “chimney” of Minnesota. Visitors must travel through Canada to access these resorts and we are sorry to report that the Canadian border is closed during this Covid time. However, LOW Island Passenger Service and Beaver Air Tours can transport you, your guest and your gear across the lake.

Consideration #2: What services are you looking for in a resort? Each resort is unique and offers many great amenities. Are you interested in a cabin or possibly a log villa? Maybe you’d like a room in a lodge.  Would you like to have a restaurant available for meals or cook your own meals. Many families take advantage of package deals where their lodging and meals are offered as an American Plan. This is a great feature when bringing the wife along and treating her to no cooking. Would you like to have the availability of a bar/lounge? Some resorts even offer nightly music to further enhance your vacation pleasure.

Consideration #3: Do you want to bring your pet? As you check our amenities area on our lodging page of our website at www.lakefthewoodsmn.com/lodging, you can quickly find out which resorts are pet-friendly so the family that includes pets doesn’t have to be separated during vacation.

Consideration #4: Do you want to go charter fishing with an experienced guide or bring your own boat? Here again, check out our amenities chart for Guided Charter Fishing and also for renting a boat slip at the resort. Bait, Licenses and Gas are usually available at each resort and employees are happy to assist you with your needs. Guides will also clean your fish and either deliver them to you or take them to any resort to have them cooked up for a wonderful meal after a day on the lake.

Consideration #5: Will the whole family be coming? If so, do you want to find swimming for the kids. What a great amenity this is. This area has a few resorts with outdoor pools and others have indoor pools and hot tubs. What a great way to relax after a day on the lake. Don’t forget Lake of the Woods has a great sandy beach at Zippel Bay State Park. This area is huge and has availability of rest rooms and picnics areas and plenty of area for the kids to play and sunbath. The water there is very shallow and you can walk a great distance into the lake and still be very safe.

Consideration #6: How easy is it to get a reservation at Lake of the Woods resorts? That’s a great question. Another great feature of our website is the answer to this question. Go to www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com, click on the Lodging tab, Scroll down to Lodging Availability Request. Click on that and find a form to fill out to inquire about a reservation. This form automatically goes out to each resort. They, in turn, check their calendars and respond directly to you to try and accommodate any dates you might be interested in.

Another possibility for checking out Lake of the Woods is to go to www.exploreminnesota.com. Click on the Northwest Area of the map of Minnesota and begin your search.

Here’s hoping you will certainly consider Lake of the Woods as you vacation destination.

Click here to see our webpage: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com

Click here to see lodging opportunities: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/lodging