Resort options around Lake of the Woods?
August 19, 2010 12:37 PM Subscribe
Looking for suggestions for destinations around Lake of the Woods in Ontario for a large-scale family vacation. Also, how do you make it pleasant for all involved?
Our family gathers every summer. We usually pile 8 adults and 5 children into one house. We all agree that this isn't working for us anymore.
We would like to find a place where we can rent several cabins and have stuff for the kids to do (lake swimming?). Good golfing nearby is important too.
Other details make this rather complicated. One family is coming from Columbus, Ohio, another from Regina, Saskatchewan, and two from Vancouver, BC. We would like to meet somewhere in Canada. We are looking at the Lake of the Woods but are quite unfamiliar with the area. It seems to have a lot of fishing and hunting and not much else. None of us are interested in hunting, and fishing is appealing to some but not all. A wide variety of activities is needed to keep overall satisfaction high, but we don't need big-ticket touristy things, just a decent set of options. Kids will range from 3 to 13, four boys and one girl.
As far as costs go, we're prepared to pony up for someplace nice, but we're not looking for something diamond-studded.
Our family gathers every summer. We usually pile 8 adults and 5 children into one house. We all agree that this isn't working for us anymore.
We would like to find a place where we can rent several cabins and have stuff for the kids to do (lake swimming?). Good golfing nearby is important too.
Other details make this rather complicated. One family is coming from Columbus, Ohio, another from Regina, Saskatchewan, and two from Vancouver, BC. We would like to meet somewhere in Canada. We are looking at the Lake of the Woods but are quite unfamiliar with the area. It seems to have a lot of fishing and hunting and not much else. None of us are interested in hunting, and fishing is appealing to some but not all. A wide variety of activities is needed to keep overall satisfaction high, but we don't need big-ticket touristy things, just a decent set of options. Kids will range from 3 to 13, four boys and one girl.
As far as costs go, we're prepared to pony up for someplace nice, but we're not looking for something diamond-studded.
Having grown up in Winnipeg, my family went to Lake of the Woods & environs on a regular basis. However, we were usually camping rather than resorting, so my knowledge of accommodations with roofs is somewhat limited.
My family was never much into hunting and fishing either; our main activities on these trips were usually hiking, canoeing, and swimming. For hiking, you'll probably want to be sure that you're in or near a provincial park; these usually have a good number of marked trails of varying lengths and intensities. There are ample lakes and rivers for canoeing & boating; if the resort you're staying at doesn't rent boats, you can probably find a place nearby to rent them.
Do note that lakes in the Canadian Shield are deep and cold; what sandy beaches there are are small, and the water will not be warm. My sister and I never really minded — "It's fine once you get in, Mom!" — but it's definitely, shall we say, invigorating. If swimming is important to you, you might prefer to go in the later part of the season (i.e. August) so that the lakes will have had more time to warm up over the summer.
If you don't actually need to be on Lake of the Woods proper, you might look into staying somewhere in Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba (wiki.) It and the neighbouring Nopiming Provincial Park are large parks with several hotels & lodges inside the park and a variety of attractions. Perhaps more importantly, they're about an hour closer to the nearest major airport (Winnipeg), which I wouldn't discount; anywhere closer to Lake of the Woods and you'll be flying the last leg in a turboprop.
If I get a chance, I'll ask my parents (who still live in Winnipeg) if they have any knowledge of the lodges in Whiteshell.
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:10 PM on August 19, 2010
My family was never much into hunting and fishing either; our main activities on these trips were usually hiking, canoeing, and swimming. For hiking, you'll probably want to be sure that you're in or near a provincial park; these usually have a good number of marked trails of varying lengths and intensities. There are ample lakes and rivers for canoeing & boating; if the resort you're staying at doesn't rent boats, you can probably find a place nearby to rent them.
Do note that lakes in the Canadian Shield are deep and cold; what sandy beaches there are are small, and the water will not be warm. My sister and I never really minded — "It's fine once you get in, Mom!" — but it's definitely, shall we say, invigorating. If swimming is important to you, you might prefer to go in the later part of the season (i.e. August) so that the lakes will have had more time to warm up over the summer.
If you don't actually need to be on Lake of the Woods proper, you might look into staying somewhere in Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba (wiki.) It and the neighbouring Nopiming Provincial Park are large parks with several hotels & lodges inside the park and a variety of attractions. Perhaps more importantly, they're about an hour closer to the nearest major airport (Winnipeg), which I wouldn't discount; anywhere closer to Lake of the Woods and you'll be flying the last leg in a turboprop.
If I get a chance, I'll ask my parents (who still live in Winnipeg) if they have any knowledge of the lodges in Whiteshell.
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:10 PM on August 19, 2010
You're talkin' about my stompin' grounds. :)
What you want to do is absolutely a fabulous idea in this area. We did this last year with our scattered-to-the-winds family, and, other than the freakishly-weird weather we got last year, it was awesome.
There are any number of places where you could do this in the area around here, but I would highly, highly recommend True North Outposts on Clearwater Lake. They're located right on a gorgeous lake that has really good fishing. True North has a small beach, boat rentals, a boat launch, games and toys for kids as well as water skis and tubes for you to use, and is about 45 minutes away from two decent golf courses (and about 75 minutes away from a *great* course).
Chuck and Kathy Mosbeck own it, and they are two of the most down-to-earth, friendly people you could find. They'll cook for you if you want, or leave you to your own devices for meals, etc. Cabins are clean and neat, and the large cabin has a gorgeous view of the lake, and is a perfect gathering place for a group your size. We rented it and two other cabins, but you'd probably be fine with it and one other cabin.
There are lots of other places in the area that you could consider, but I can't tell you how nice it was for us staying there -- it offered something for everyone in our group. If we gathered more regularly, I'd go there every time.
On preview, the water is totally fine temperature-wise for swimming -- we did a lot of tubing out there.
Feel free to MeMail me if you want more!
posted by liquado at 1:16 PM on August 19, 2010
What you want to do is absolutely a fabulous idea in this area. We did this last year with our scattered-to-the-winds family, and, other than the freakishly-weird weather we got last year, it was awesome.
There are any number of places where you could do this in the area around here, but I would highly, highly recommend True North Outposts on Clearwater Lake. They're located right on a gorgeous lake that has really good fishing. True North has a small beach, boat rentals, a boat launch, games and toys for kids as well as water skis and tubes for you to use, and is about 45 minutes away from two decent golf courses (and about 75 minutes away from a *great* course).
Chuck and Kathy Mosbeck own it, and they are two of the most down-to-earth, friendly people you could find. They'll cook for you if you want, or leave you to your own devices for meals, etc. Cabins are clean and neat, and the large cabin has a gorgeous view of the lake, and is a perfect gathering place for a group your size. We rented it and two other cabins, but you'd probably be fine with it and one other cabin.
There are lots of other places in the area that you could consider, but I can't tell you how nice it was for us staying there -- it offered something for everyone in our group. If we gathered more regularly, I'd go there every time.
On preview, the water is totally fine temperature-wise for swimming -- we did a lot of tubing out there.
Feel free to MeMail me if you want more!
posted by liquado at 1:16 PM on August 19, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by norm at 12:47 PM on August 19, 2010