Suggest to me a place to rent a boat in the Minneapolis area

June 20, 2011 11:04 AM

I live in Minneapolis and would like to rent a boat to take out on a lake for a day in July. Does MeFi have a preferred boat rental establishment in the Twin Cities area?

Ideally I'd rent a pontoon for ~14 people, drink beer on the boat and do some swimming someplace scenic, and the less crowded the better.

I have never rented a pontoon before, am willing to spend $450 for boat rental and slip (if that's not included), I would rather do a day trip (ie. drive less than 2 hrs each way) and basically and aiming for a 'relaxing day with good company' vibe rather than '90s rap video' vibe.

I've done a few quick Google searches and heard that White Bear Lake is good, but I thought MeFi could yield a few more options.

Wisconsin is an option too.

posted by godisdad to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total)

I've never rented a boat myself, but have been out on others. Boating on the St. Croix might also be a good spot. I've spent on boats there for the Fourth, which was admittedly crazy, but other times of year it's pretty nice. Looks like this place does rentals there and will even provide a captain, if you want.
posted by goggie at 5:49 PM on June 20, 2011

Response by poster: $399 for a 18 ft. pontoon during the week is great, thanks goggie.

I'll update the thread with any further findings I have.
posted by godisdad at 1:14 PM on June 21, 2011