New Owners of Wigwam Resort Excited about Future
The Wigwam Resort is the very last resort as you drive north on Hwy 172 adjacent to Wheeler’s Point. With a beautiful view and location overlooking 4 Mile Bay, this resort has been home to many great fishing trips over the years. With some great new owners who have big plans for the resort, it sounds like it will be home base for many more. 
Mark and Tina Armstrong are the new owners of Wigwam Resort. moving to the area from Wadena, MN. Mark was in the industry of burying underground utilities for 24 years and about a year and a half ago, started a trucking company which he still owns. Tina worked in home care and hospice for the past 15 years. Their journey continues into a new chapter of life and new titles of “Resort Owner”.
“For about the past ten years, Mark and I have traveled and stayed at many resorts. Staying at a resort is fun and every family should have the opportunity to experience it,” explains Tina. “Mark has been keeping his eyes open for a resort for the past six years and finding the Wigwam is a great opportunity for us.”
The Armstrong’s have big plans for the resort. “Right off the bat, we want to add insulation to the underside of cabins which will help with our cold winters, pipes freezing, etc. We have a few cabins that are right on the water we will be remodeling and putting brand new kitchens in. We will be getting brand new beds for the resort. Just a lot of things we have identified that will be nice improvements for our guests.”
Anytime a family makes a move, it is a transition, but moving to the Lake of the Woods area the couple feels very nicely welcomed. “Everyone we have met so far from other resorters to locals to people in the town of Baudette have given Mark and I such a nice welcome. We want to be great neighbors and really be part of this great community,” explains Armstrong.
Built in 1917, the Wigwam began as a private resort getaway for local businessmen and their families. It became incorporated in 1918 and was turned into a night club in connection with the local Klimek’s Lodge. It exchanged hands again in 1947, when most of the remodeling began to include the Main Lobby as it is today and the upstairs lodge rooms. Additions over the years include the expansion of the Main Bar and kitchen area, and more than a dozen cabins on the property. Tom Briggs purchased the resort in 1998, he added the Cabana Bar and many of the independent structures throughout. Mark Ward purchased the resort in December of 2014, expanded the RV park, added a dock system, and remodeled some of the existing cabins. Mark passed away unexpectedly in 2017. In the interim, Tom and Nina Briggs were running the resort until as of recent when the Wigwam was purchased and the Armstrong’s took over.
One of the more senior resorts on the point, Wigwam Resort continues to thrive as one of Lake of the Woods’ active getaway destinations and guided fishing and tourism hot spots. We wish Mark and Tina the very best as the new owners of a long time staple on Lake of the Woods, Wigwam Resort!
