Big Leech Resort

It has been a while since I posted.  I wish I had an excuse, but I just haven't done it.  I'll try to blog more.

I spent a lot of time fishing off of Pine Point on Leech this summer and as always I spent a lot of time looking at the maps and pictures of Leech and the resorts that I have aquired over the years.  I began to wonder about Big Leech Resort.  I know that it was on the south side of Pine Point on Trader's Bay.  I know it was around in 1982 as it was on the Chamber of  Commerce map.  It was owned by Dave and Jan Filkens at that point.  It appears on maps from the 40's as well.

It is now called Adventure North Resort and is still operating as a resort.  It has a beautiful harbor.  I'm going to do a little more exploring next summer!

It had a dining room, a store, and no harbor as you can see the boats on the shore.  I loved the pictures and the cabins in the pictures.  From the pictures, it appears that there were around 10 cabins in the resort, possibly more.

Anyone that has any stories and/or pictures, I would love to hear from you!

I added 3 more pictures from postcards sent in the middle 70's.  The lodge looks so cool.  I wonder if it is still there?  

The lodge is still there.  It is now rented out.  I also found out that picture of the snowmobiles is probably a stock photo.

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Big Leech Resort - Central location on Leech Lake.  12 modern cabins.  Lodge with dining room.  Launch service.  Ed and Marie Biska.  Walker, Minn.  Tel. KI 7-1532.

Bayview Resort

Finally another post.

Sorry I have been so off and on posting for this.

Bayview Resort was located at the mouth of Kabekona Bay.  It was the first one from the road on the south side of the bay.  I locate a lot of the resorts that I didn't have any personal experience with on a map that my dad had as a kid.  It is one of those that has the cartoons on it.  They call it a cartograph map.  I'm pretty sure that this is a very, very early map.

I'm fairly certain that it is no longer a resort, I believe there are private cabins there now.

If anyone out there has any memories or stories of Bayview Resort, I would love to hear them.  It looks really pretty.  The very unique A-frame cabin that has  BAYVIEW on the roof as well as the lodge picture.  It looks like a nice one!

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Bayview Resort - Kabekona Bay.  15 ultra-modern cabins, excellent beach, playground, no hills.  Launching ramp, harbor, dock, fish cleaning.  Insect Controlled.  American Plan.  For the best, phone KI 7-1595, Don Cook, Walker, Minn.

Huddle's Resort

I haven't posted for quite some time.  I'm glad to be back posting.

Located on the south shore of Leech Lake, Huddle's resort has been in business and in the same family since 1928!

I found this quote on the Huddle's web page giving some of the history of Huddle's Resort.

"In 2008, Huddle’s Resort celebrated its 80^th year in business. Roy Huddle’s parents, Les and Bernie, and grandfather Roy, started the resort on the south shore of Leech Lake in 1928. In those days, the main highway (now Hwy 200) ran in front of the lodge at Huddle’s and through the small community of Whipholt bringing with it a steady stream of travelers and early vacationers to Leech Lake’s most famous shore"

After my grandpa sold his cabin, we stayed in a lot of different resorts on Leech for a number of years.  I did have the opportunity to stay at Huddle's once.  It was a great week and we enjoyed our time there.  Also, we have taken the opportunity to eat at their restaurant in their lodge many times.  The lodge is truly a a throw back to the early days of "Old Leech Lake Resorts"!   My brother Pete, Dad, Cousin Jeff, and myself used to go to eat breakfast at Huddle's when we were at the lake.  Everyone was always so friendly to us and the food is always good.

Whipholt had a large number of resorts in the early days including Merritt Lodge, Huddle's next door neighbor.  Huddle's owned Merritt lodge for a period of time before it was sold again and now has time share condos on that property.  Always sad to see and old resort go.

However Huddle's is still going strong!  I know that there has to be a lot of you that have stories about Huddle's!  Let's hear some of those!

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Les was still listed as the owner of the resort.  Anyone know when Roy took over?

Huddle's Resort - 15 housekeeping cottages.  100% modern.  Lodge.  Cement launching ramp in harbor.  Modern winterized motel open 12 months.  Les and Bee Huddle, Whiphold, Mnn.  Tel. Walker VE 6-2420

Chippewa Lodge

Chippewa Lodge is located on the southeast corner of Leech Lake.  It is a very old resort that was owned by the Campbell family for many years.  Ray and Mildred Campbell ran the resort starting sometime in the 30's or 40's.  I'm not sure if they built it or bought it and added to it.  At any rate, the Campbell family made Chippewa Lodge one of the best resorts on Leech Lake.  Their son Bud Campbell and his wife Beverly ran the resort up through the late 80's when it was sold.  It is now run by the Anderson Resorts.

My earliest memories of Chippewa Lodge were of Bud and his mother running the show.  They have a huge harbor there and a very beautiful lodge.  Bud was a great mechanic and I remember him working on my Grandpa's boat there as well as storing it for Grandpa during the winter.  Bud and Beverly were always friendly people and always had time for us, even as children.  We stayed there a couple of times after Grandpa sold his cabin.  My Dad was good friends with Bud as was my Grandpa.

I sometime around WW II Ray sold the cabins on the north side of the harbor and it became Safe Harbor Resort.  It operated as a separate resort until sometime in the 80's when Bud bought the property back and it became a part of Chippewa Lodge again.  The picture I posted here is of the Safe Harbor resort, now a part of Chippewa Lodge.  Those cabins that were Safe Harbor Resort are still there.  They were for sale in the late 2010's but I'm not sure if they sold or not.

Bud and Beverly's obituaries are listed here.

http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/022403/obi_0224030009.html  Bud

http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/031401/obi_0314010029.shtml  Beverly

Chippewa Lodge was a great resort and I will always have good memories of it.

I would love to hear anybody's stories or see their pictures about their time at Chippewa.

I'm not sure when Bud took over for his dad.  I'm still trying to narrow down the years of the map that I'm getting this information from.  

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Chippewa Lodge - Modern and semi-modern houskeeping cabins.  Protected harbor, launching facilities, good boats, store.  Fun for everyone.  Write for information.  Mildred and Bud Campbell, Longville, Minn.  Tel. VE 6-2437, Walker

Lien's Resort

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE UPDATE!!!!!

I was over by Lien's Resort this summer and it is now up for rent as a resort.  It is listed on it's own site.  It is such a beautiful spot on the lake.  Beautiful sunsets and a wide open view of the big lake.  They have been beautifully remodeled and would be a great place for a family vacation as there are 6 cabins there for rent by the week during peak season.  

For those of you that have followed my blog, you know what a fan of resorts I am.  I'm just so happy about Lien's being up for rent again as a resort.

Here is the listing for the resort.   If your looking, this is a great place remodeled, and a lot of history.

https://liensresort.com/

My brother Pete is going to be my guest blogger for Lien's.  Pete spent 2 summers working at Carlson's resort in the 70's.  He knows a lot more about the history of the Brevik area than I do.  I'm really glad that he is going to do some writing for me.

My memory of Liens was the small cabins, and their sign on County Highway 39 that said Modern Cabins.  They had indoor plumbing!  I think that they were one of the first ones on the east side of the lake that had that!  It is still there, but I'm not sure if they are renting any longer.  Leins sat between Sunset View and Bear Island View.

This resort was family run for many, many years.

This picture is from the 60's. 

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Lien's Resort - Popular fishing and vacation resort.  Modern summer home style cottages.  Large boats, harbor, docking ramp.  Close to best walleye, muskie, northern fishing.  Write for folder.  Phone VE 6-2230, Walker.   P. O Longville, Minn

The Early Resorts of Minnesota

I'm going to veer off the original path of my blog today, again.  In an earlier post, I talked about Up North at the Cabin, another favorite book of mine.  Actually it isn't so much veering off the path as having the path explained and made wider.

Last year I came across this book by Ren Holland.  I read some of the previews, looked at the website (especially the many pictures on the site) and thought that I needed to have this book!

I bought one for myself and one for my brother.   The pictures were so good. It was like a trip down memory lane for me to read about the resorts on Leech Lake. I found the other lakes and pictures just as interesting. I would love to time travel back to those days in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's to see what those resorts and lakes looked like back then. This book is the next best thing!  My 18 year old daughter and I sat together for quite a long time looking at it.  

I would highly recommend this for anybody that has great memories about the lakes and the resorts of Minnesota.  It talks about many different areas and I found that the section about Leech Lake was great.  Very informative.  I really enjoyed the other parts of the book that talked about all areas of Minnesota. Each part of Minnesota has its own unique history and quirks.

Ren's blog is http://blog.renholland.com/  Look through the site. It is great!

Maplewood Resort

Maplewood Resort was located on the southeast side of Leech Lake.  It had one of the most beautiful beaches and locations on the lake.  Looking out on the big lake, it has a great view.  It was a really beautiful resort.  It was located next to the former Forestivew the Beautiful resort that has since gone the way of many resorts on the lake.

We stayed at Forestview the Beautiful a few times after my grandpa sold his cabin.  I always thought that Maplewood was a nice looking place.

One of the followers of this blog sent me a nice email about Maplewood, so I'm putting up this post so you can hear her memories.   She had some good stories about what going to the lake is all about!

The property is for sale as of 2021.

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Maplewood Resort - South shore of beautiful Leech Lake on Highway 34.  Strictly modern family resort.  Eight cottages and lodge.  Safe sandy beach and boat harbor.  Tel. VE 6-6-2443  Mabel Williams.