Tag Archives: Cabins

Lodging, Parks, Sights, Travel

Lake Maria State Park, Silver Creek Township, MN

Lake Maria State Park, Silver Creek Township, MN

We booked a cabin at Lake Maria State Park near Monticello, MN.  It is a short drive northwest of the cities.

We parked near the lake and started, what we thought would be, a short walk to our cabin.  Needless to say I miscalculated where we were on the map.  We walked along the lake and directly towards a marsh.  We finally stopped when it looked like the marsh might take us if we went any further.

View of the pond outside of our cabin

Eventually we wound around until we ended up at our cabin.  It was a great spot next to a little pond of it’s own.  There was a light inside that ran on a solar panel just outside of the cabin.  It would run for about half an hour before it turned off on its own.  It was really nice at night.

Outside of the cabin there was a privy off to the side, almost behind the cabin, but close.  It came with a fire pit, a couple of logs to sit on, and a picnic table.  It was perfect.

It turns out our parking space was hundreds of yards instead of over a mile.  We found it when we took a short walk around our pond.  My only other complaint was the wood heat was too much for that little cabin.  That was of course our fault.  We didn’t really need a fire inside at all.  I really liked this cabin setup.

The park was nice.  It is a great place to do some bird watching.  At least one person was there just to catch a glimpse of the larger birds in the area.  I didn’t get a clean shot, but there were some nice looking birds in the area.

This is what I would call a relaxing cabin location and park.

Lodging, Parks, Sights

Bemidji Lake State Park, Bemidji, MN

Bemidji Lake State Park, Bemidji, MN

We decided to stay a night at a cabin in Bemidji Lake State Park.  As a child my parents would occasionally take the long drive up to Lake Bemidji for our family vacation and the chance to fish.

The park is on the northeast side of the lake.  The WiFi was surprisingly strong in the park.  It is always so hard to find good WiFi inside a park.

Inside of the Bemidji State Park cabin

The cabin was very cute.  It held four beds, a table, and bench seats.  It was warm enough that we didn’t need to use the heater which looks like it was baseboard.  The bunk bed were low enough that we ended up sleeping on the top bunks in order to avoid hitting our heads.

The trail was mere steps from our cabin.  The crown jewel of this particular park is the bog walk.  It is definitely worth checking out all of the plants.  We found a carnivorous plant on our walk.

There are a lot of pretty flowers in this park.  Try to spot all of them.  If you get tired of this park you are just a short drive over to Lake Itasca State Park.  You could even go fishing.  I hear it is kind of fun.

Parks, Sights, Travel

Glacial Lakes State Park, Starbuck, MN

Glacial Lakes State Park, 25022 Co Rd 41, Starbuck, MN 56381

Glacial Lakes State Park reminds me of home.  Home  being the Loess Hills of Iowa.  Although the flowers are different.

Glaciel Lakes State Park 071

Glaciel Lakes State Park 102

We tried our third camping trip at Glacial Lakes State Park.  We took the Oakridge Campground which is near an overlook.  You can camp here, rent a cabin, or take one of the walk in camp sites.  Oakridge is a walking site about a mile past the parking spot they provide.

We grabbed our gear and headed to the campsite.  Everything was pretty great.  We had to hike in our firewood which added some extra weight.

The walk was fine until we got to the turn for the campsite.  It was like walking through a mosquito mine field.  They swarmed and we had to rush to start a fire.  The campsite had three entrances and all three were full of mosquitoes.

Glaciel Lakes State Park 053

Once we managed to get the mosquitoes somewhat under control we began to enjoy the campsite.  The tent went up and the food came out.  The next day I hiked back to the car just to bring back ham and cheese for our breakfast.

Glaciel Lakes State Park 091

We tried the trail up to the lookout and were literally chased by the mosquitoes most of the way up the trail and back to the campsite.  It was a nice view.  I think a different time or year might make this trip a whole lot better.

Glaciel Lakes State Park 073

There are campsites and cabins all around the lake.  Many of them look very nice.  Kids swim in the lake in a designated area.  I even hear there is some fishing on the lake.

Glaciel Lakes State Park 119

There are some horse trails as well and horse camping sites.  This park doesn’t have any bears the that is sweet.  I actually slept for the first time on a camping trip.

The flowers where nice.  The views were nice.  Anytime without a the mosquitoes would have been really nice.

Lodging, Restaurant, Travel

Hungry Jack Lodge, Grand Marais, MN

Hungry Jack Lodge, 372 Hungry Jack Rd, Grand Marais, MN 55604

A man who once lived in California returns home to run his father’s lodge, Hungry Jack Lodge.  The boy isn’t necessarily the most outgoing, but I do like his influence on the menu.

Let’s start with the restaurant in the lodge.  It is downstairs.  They have pizza.  They are more famous for their burger and fries, particularly their fries.  I agree that they are very good.  Our waitress was new and inexperienced, but the food was good so who cares.  You can get drinks at the bar or the tables.  You can even eat outside is you wish.

June 2016 063 Hungry Jack Lodge

The cabins are great.  They are right on the lake.  You get your own private dock.  They come with all of the items you need for cooking in the tiny kitchen area.  It has a little kitchen, a bed and fireplace, and a really nice bathroom.  You have deck to hang out on and enjoy the evening sunset or morning sunrise.  They are pretty close to the lodge so you can pop out to get a bite to eat.

June 2016 039 Hungry Jack Lodge

June 2016 027 Hungry Jack Lodge

One thing about being this far north, in the summer for sure, is the northern lights.  It never gets dark.  It hardly gets darker inside at night than it is during the day.  Oh, you can hear the loons at night.

You can fish off the dock or rent a boat.  We caught a couple of small fish, but honestly we needed to be out just a little bit further than we could manage to cast.

June 2016 071 Hungry Jack Lodge

Near the lodge there is some playground equipment if you have children.  The swimming area is straight out from the lodge.

June 2016 048 Hungry Jack Lodge

The have many campsites that you can rent.  The sites look pretty nice.  You can even get a shower if you rent a campsite.  The single shower is really nice, better than the one in my cabin.

June 2016 169 Hungry Jack Lodge

June 2016 277 Hungry Jack Lodge

The best part of this particular lodge is the distance to the nearest trail.  Just a little bit down the road you can walk up to a lookout that allows you to see Hungry Jack Lake.

June 2016 118 Caribou Rock Trail

Walk past this and you will find Caribou Rock Trail and Moss Lake Trail.  Caribou Rock Trail is where it is at between the two, but even if you only get to the lookout point you will enjoy the view.

Hungry Jack Lodge is actually a ways past Grand Marias.  If you are looking for a great place to stay I would say this is possibly the place.

 

Lodging, Restaurant

Sylvan Lake Lodge

Sylvan Lake Lodge – 13389 US Hwy 16A, Custer, SD 57730

Stay in the Lodge or in one of their cabins just around the corner and you have a great place to start your trip around Sylvan Lake Sylvan Lake and up Harney Peak Harney Peak.  You can also take your chances through driving through Needles Highway, slow down and drive a smaller vehicle.

The front of Sylvan Lake Lodge

Here is their website.

Sylvan Lake Lodge Cabin, picnic table, and fire pit.

We stayed in one of the cabins.  Some cabins are bigger than others.  Ours had 2 beds and a bathroom.  The campfire outside was nice and the fireplace inside was fun to have in the room.  We found some flying insects in the room, but this is a park and bound to happen.

Sylvan Lake Lodge bed, fireplace, and appliances.

The cabins are a very short walk to the lodge and the restaurant.  We ate breakfast and one dinner at the lodge.  The lounge area is really nice.  We took our dinner on the outdoor patio.  There is an opening along the wall of the patio that you can take right off a ledge or down to the front of the building, I love South Dakota.  It is very tread at your own risk.

seating at Sylvan Lake Lodge

Breakfast the lodge can be a little slow, but the food is amazing:  pancakes, try the pancakes.  The bacon was pretty good too.  The restaurant is very high end for South Dakota.  Check out their menu.

This cost is high for South Dakota, but not super expensive.  Really the overall cost was rather reasonable.  Plus you are right there to start your trek up to Harney Peak or around Sylvan Lake.