Does anyone go to Minnesota Lake Resorts anymore?

[ocsid]

My wife and I have had this conversation a lot. We have a small cabin in N. Wisconsin, and a lot of the traditional resorts in the area are not doing well. Some have started to sell off their cabins as condo units to alleviate the tax burden, while keeping the main lodge/restaurant.

There are a number of reasons why I think the traditional resorts have hit hard times.
The rise of casinos for adults are one reason, as well as waterparks for families, both local and large scale like Wisconsin Dells.

People who are middle/upper middle class often purchase their own cabin, or someone in the family has one that they go to, rather than wanting to be in close quarters with strangers.

Fishing is still a big business in Minnesota, but it is declining as the population becomes more urban/suburban.

Finally, cheaper airfare I think has a lot to do with it. You can fly somewhere nicer than a run down resort cabin for what it might cost to drive. I'm convinced this is what's killed a lot of the ski resort business in the UP. The ski areas there are really run down these days, at least last time I was there a few years ago. Why would someone drive 6-7 hours in the winter from the Twin Cities, Milwaukee or Chicago to ski the UP and stay in the equivalent of a motel 6 when they could fly to Colorado in two and stay in a top notch resort?

[ocsid]

Originally Posted by asitshouldbe

There are plenty of lake homes without internet service. I have relatives with lake places and know several people with them. Most people have air and phone and tv but not internet and they only have heat in the four season homes.

We don't have AC. We do have heat, as we use ours year round. We did however just get internet there (brand new fiber optic - better than what we can get in the cities). Reason being, it allows us to work from there if we want on occasion, so we can spend more time there. We've always had a land line up there, mainly for 911 service. I don't want to rely on spotty cell phone coverage if there's an emergency.

[rzzz]

I think a lot of people just can't afford going to those resorts. They are still $100-$300 per night, which is pretty expensive for 'rustic' lodging. Most people who can afford this would rather go somewhere else. Renting a guesthouse in Venice Beach and airfare last Memorial day cost me less than the resort and driving to Waubun for 4th of July.

[The Old Scowl]

My parents got into buying a cabin that was part of a resort about 30 years ago with a few other families. 1-2 bedroom cabins with no AC, TV, and barely got radio. After 30 years the TV that was brought up is used to play DVDs, and most of the cabins are still the same (one was renovated and another torn down with a modern home built on the site).
There was a pole barn built on the site of a storage building, and a dock that replaced the one that deteriorated, but the place overall looks pretty much as it did in the early 1980's. The unfortunate thing was that the restaurants in the area that were good to go to either burned down or closed down, and another nearby resort that offered a campground,cabins and a good lake to swim in was sold off for lakefront home development in the last 15 years

[Minntoaz]

Yep there are many still. I can give you names of a bunch in the brainerd lakes area if you'd like.

[ocsid]

Originally Posted by The Old Scowl

My parents got into buying a cabin that was part of a resort about 30 years ago with a few other families. 1-2 bedroom cabins with no AC, TV, and barely got radio. After 30 years the TV that was brought up is used to play DVDs, and most of the cabins are still the same (one was renovated and another torn down with a modern home built on the site).
There was a pole barn built on the site of a storage building, and a dock that replaced the one that deteriorated, but the place overall looks pretty much as it did in the early 1980's. The unfortunate thing was that the restaurants in the area that were good to go to either burned down or closed down, and another nearby resort that offered a campground,cabins and a good lake to swim in was sold off for lakefront home development in the last 15 years

My dad has a cabin that was part of a small resort back in the day. Their place had the bar and office in the basement. One day a guy stopped by and my stepmom was there, and he was confused as to where the bar was. Freaked her out something awful.