Twin Port Resort

Twin Port resort was located on the southeast side of Leech Lake near Brevik.  I don't remember much about it, as it closed when I was young.   There are private cabins on it now and it is run as an association.

There were three different things that I remember about Twin Port that made it distinctive.  Of course, it had two harbors.  Thus the name Twin Port.  Also, it had a little store that if I remember right, was on the point near the harbor.  I can't remember for sure as it has been closed for a long time.  The last thing that I remember was it had a silver quonset hut that was rented out as a cabin.  It is still there.

I haven't been down there for quite some time now, but last time I was there, the old Twin Port mailbox was still there.  That is quite a thing as it has been closed since the 70's or 80's least I believe.  I could be wrong about that.

I would love to hear more about Twin Port.  Anyone out there that stayed there or knows more about it?

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

Twin Port Resort - Partridge Point.  Five houskeeping cabins.  Modern.  John K. Parker, Longville, Minn  Tel. Walker VE 6-2236

Silver Springs Resort

Silver Springs Resort was a resort on Kabekona Bay of Leech Lake on the west side of the lake.  Although I never stayed or even went to Silver Springs, I came across a site put up by Mr. Bill Van Dyck about his family's history at Silver Springs.  I did get a chance to talk to Bill in person.  He loved his time at Silver Springs.  There is one cabin he thought that is left.  Although it has been remodeled several times and isn't recognizable as a resort cabin.

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

Silver Springs - Kabekona Bay on Leech Lake.  Housekeeping cabins.  Modern plus refrigerators and gas ranges.  Good 18 ft. wood boats.  Children's playground.  Wayne and Edith Legg, Walker, Minn.  Tel KI 7-1646

Carlson Resort

I want to add a statement about Carlson Resort to start out.  Carlson Resort is NOT one of the resorts that have come and gone.  IT IS STILL UP AND RUNNING and you can still rent cabins at this picture perfect spot Up North.  The link to their website is:  http://carlsonresort.com/Home.html

Without a doubt one of my favorite resorts on Leech Lake.  August and Mettie Carlson started this resort in the 30's.  One cabin was actually on the beach and the lodge was built back off the lake a bit.  My dad told me that they took horses and moved the cabin on the beach up on top of the "hill" a four foot climb.  I can't imagine that sight, but I'll bet it was interesting.

Through the years they added Cabin #2 in the back and the beach cabin was originally used as a storage space for the boats during the wintertime.  It used to have a big door on the side and the boats would go in and they rented the cabin out during the summer.  It was always my favorite of the Carlson cabins.  It was built in the days when you could build a cabin eight feet from the water.  There was always a breeze from the lake, well most of the time anyway, and sometimes a gale force wind!

My grandfather owned the cabin just to the south of the Carlson Resort and shared a harbor with the resort.  We shared the beach at the resort as well.  I remember many years when we used to take a 2 week(yes 2 weeks in the old days) vacation at the lake.  Of course when you have a cabin to stay in for free, it is a little cheaper.  We would run around from dawn to dusk and I remember the Van Wereden and Otto kids running around with us.

We loved August and Mettie, both very, very, nice folks.  August started out as a fishing guide at the lake and then owned Carlson Resort from the 30's to the 70's.  The Van Werden and Otto families bought the resort in the 70's and August and Mettie ran the resort until their death.  The Van Werden and Otto families still run this beautiful resort to this day.

I have an especially strong bond with this resort as they bought my grandfather's cabin in the late 70's and it became a part of Carlson Resort.  As we grew up, got married, had kids, and started our own lives, we continued to visit the resort and rent Grandpa's cabin after he sold it, and for a period of time we would go up for a week and rent the whole resort of 4 cabins.  My children got to experience some of my childhood memories in person!  While times change and Carlson Resort has changed with the times, it is still the same.

I honestly can't imagine a more picturesque setting period.  The resort faces west so you can watch the sun set every night.  As a kid, we rarely took the time to watch the sun set, but as I grew older, we watched the sun set from the beach fire every night we were there.  We often would sit late into the night at the beach fire and discuss anything that might come up in our family group.

I could go on for ever about this resort.  My fondest childhood memories are of my grandpa's cabin and Carlson's Resort.  And some of my fondest memories as an adult and father are of this little slice of heaven up north near Brevik, Minnesota.  My Grandpa's cabin is the tan one on the right behind the harbor in the picture below.  It is so packed with memories!

If I can talk my brother Pete into being a guest blogger for me, he can tell you a lot more about the history of Brevik and the area than I can.  He worked at the resort for two summers in the 70's and learned a lot of history from Mettie while he worked there.

Forest View Resort

UPDATE:  Here is an article from when Forestview resort closed.  It was written by Gail DeBoer a fantastic writer for the Pilot-Independent.  It tells a lot of the history of Forestview Resort. If you don't subscribe to the PI you should!  

https://www.walkermn.com/news/forestview-lodges-77-year-history-comes-to-a-close/article_e94c0852-33b7-5be1-a7af-18324eeeed01.html 

Forestview Resort was one of the jewels of Leech Lake for a long time.  It was a true fishing resort that grew into a family fishing resort but went by the wayside eventually.  It was a huge resort that covered a lot of land and had a lot of cabins.  They often called it Forestview the Beautiful.  At one time they painted that on the side of their boats.  And it was beautiful.

Forestview opened in 1924.  It really was one of the move beautiful resorts on the lake.  From Ren Holland's book The Early Resorts of Minnesota, they had room for 75 guests, $3.50 per day, and $21 per week.  I highly recommend Ren's book.  He has done a lot of research.  See my post on his book.

As the case with many of the old jewels, it fell into disrepair late in it's life and the owners figured out that they could make more money selling out the developers than running a resort.  I can remember when Vera Kinder and her sons ran the place.

It really was quite a place.  My family stayed at Forest View when it was at the tail end of its life.  It was like an old beauty queen.  You could tell that it was once upon a time a beautiful and great place, but it wasn't what it was.  I found it very sad that it ended up being sold off for a luxury development.

I'd love to hear your stories about Forestview Resort.  One of the great resorts on Leech Lake that have gone by the wayside.

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

Forestview Lodge - American-modified plans.  Large boat, golf, water-skiing included.  Heated swimming pool.  Fireplace, gas heat.  Pleasant family resort with facilities for conventions.  Launch, boat, harbor.  Walker, Minn.  Tel VE 6-6-2441

Journey's End Lodge

I found this picture of the restaurant at Journey's End Lodge.  It was located south end of Walker Bay.   The lodge and some of the cabins are still there.  They have been sold off as private cabins.

The lodge is so beautiful. I do know that many of the resorts had what they called the American Plan where they rented you a cabin and also prepared meals for you as a part of your stay there.  I always found this picture so interesting.  I don't know if this dining room was just for the people that stayed at the resort or if anyone could eat there.

It is obviously from another time and another era.  It reminds me of the restaurant that they have at the old Merit Lodge on the south side of Leech Lake.

Anybody out there have any stories about Journey's End Lodge?

I'm thrilled about the response that I've gotten from this post!  As we are now leasing a cabin at Ivanhoe Resort next door to where Journey's End Lodge used to be, I have more interest at this point besides some cool pictures.

I have added one more picture that James Nelson sent me.  Enjoy!  Emily and James, more stories are always welcome!  I do really enjoy reading them.

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

Journey's End Lodge - Strictly modern cottages.  Dining room.  Excellent beach, lawn games.  Housekeeping cottages, modified or American plan.  Good fishing ins afe boats, water sports.  James and Marilou Fladebou, Walker, Minn.  Tel. KI 7-1502

Sunset View Resort

This picture is from the 30's or 40's I'm pretty sure.  It is from Sunset View Resort, it sat on the hill overlooking the lake.  I think it was cabin #2.  My grandparents and my dad stayed in this cabin when they went to the lake before Grandpa built his own cabin down the shoreline about a half a mile.

A gentleman named Hal Berger owned the resort, and owned a lot of the land near Brevik.  My grandpa bought his lot from Hal.

This resort has absolutely one of the best beaches on the lake.  Wide and deep.  And the views of the sunset are breathtaking.  A very good choice of names.

As kids we used to go to the store up the hill at the top of Sunset View.  We would buy candy but I really remember the individual pies that you could buy in a tin.  It was always a great treat to get one of those.  They eventually moved the store to the bottom of the hill on the beach.  My brother Pete could tell a lot of good stories about the store when it was on the hill.

I always loved this resort, although we only stayed here a couple of times after my grandpa sold his cabin.  However it was a huge part of my childhood memories of my time up north at the lake, as we spent a lot of time going to the store.

From that 50's 60's map:  

On East shore of Leech Lake.  Modern and rustic cottages, beach, groceries, playground, private harbor, new boats, motors, bait, gas, tackle. P.O. Longville, Minnesota.  Tel. Walker VE 6-2436.  

I added another picture.

Old Resorts on Leech Lake, Minnesota.

You can search individual resorts and other topics in the search box in the upper left corner.

Hello,

My family has been going to Leech Lake, Minnesota since the 30's.  We have spent most of our time on the lake on the east side of the lake near Brevik.  We have been fortunate so far we have had 4 generations of my family go up to Leech Lake.  

I have been collecting old maps, postcards, and check out many old resort postcards online.

It made me start wondering,  who out there has stories, knows where the old resorts were located, what happened to them, anything that someone might want to share with me.

When I was a young kid in the 60's(a long time ago) there were many resorts on the east side near Brevik, Jensen's Cabins, Pikedale, Twin Port Resort, Bear Island View, Lein's, Sunset View Resort(maybe the best beach on the lake!) Carlson's Resort(this one was near my grandfather's cabin) Safe Harbor, Chippewa Lodge.  I think that there are only 3 of these, Carlson's Resort, Chippewa and Pikedale, that are still operating as a resort.

I may have missed one or two, but those were the ones that were in my little corner of the lake.

I'm interested in hearing about other resorts that are gone, changed names, or are still operating with their old name, what happened to them, where they were located, anything that you want to share.  I see such names as OB's camp, Point View Resort, Battle Point Lodge, Nelson's Long Bow Resort, and they are all gone.  I remember when some of them closed down, but some were before my time.

I'm not just looking for stories from resorts in "My" corner of the lake, but anyplace on the lake.  The south shore, Diamond Point, Walker area, Battle Point, Sugar point, up Onigum road, Federal Dam, anyplace on the lake!  I love hearing people's stories.  Even if they aren't about old resorts, just your time at Leech Lake.

Stories anyone?