There's not enough stars here, between the excellent people here,the friendly staff and the…read moregorgeous river,this should be a packed campground. Full hook ups on upper area, and water electric at rivers edge. Clean public bathrooms with lots and lots hike around areas. The tube rentals and ride to rivers edge, the tubing is beyond what we expected

After a few days in a tiny, rural North Dakota town, just about anything other than staring at the…read moreclouds and putting on more mosquito repellant sounds like a great time. My dad-in-law suggested that we might check out a spot about 60 miles away in Minnesota on the Red Lake River that offered tubing. I've done the lazy river a few times at the Great Wolf Lodge, but I gotta tell ya... this sounded a helluva lot more exciting than what we had planned for the day-- so we loaded up the truck, gassed-up in Grand Forks, and headed across the Red River. After a little negotiation with Waze, we finally found our way to the Voyageurs View Campground and Outfitters... it sort of looked like an Outback Steakhouse, except there were more cars in the "lot" (OK, a large field of grass where the cars were parked), and there was a Canadian flag flying along side the Stars and Stripes. We walked over to a small window on the side of warehouse, paid some money, got our wristbands, and then walked over to an open bay where we were "outfitted" with big black innertubes. "They's the best for a'floatin' boy!" The company retrofitted an old school bus (by painting it blue, chopping off the top, and installing bench seats instead of kid's seats), and we climbed aboard to take the couple mile drive upstream to the put-in. The river flow had been really high a few days previous from intense thunderstorm activity, but the flows had backed off enough for us to go. I've done my fair share of stream fishing, wading in chest high in places like the Truckee River, the Yellowstone River, the Snake River... well, the Red Lake River wasn't quite as tough as a couple of those spots at different seasons... but it was kicking pretty good when we went. I had a tough time keeping my 6 year old son and my 79 year old father in law upright in the river, holding on to their tubes, and trying to wade out towards the middle of the waist-deep river to hide behind a little island before putting out butts in and floating the rest of the way. With a little perseverance and a pretty good scrape on my ankle from a submerged rock, we all made it. The first little "rapids" was the most exciting... just don't hit the bridge embunkment... and then it's a fairly smooth float all the way down. Along the way, there are some very pretty views that I got on my GoPro (I'll put them on here eventually)-- old riverside buildings here and there, but mostly nature. The sheer bluffs along the river are home to swallows who make their nests out of mud, and we saw a few turtles, catfish, wading birds and waterfowl. Somewhere towards the middle of the float trip, there is a shallow spot and a little sand bank that has formed an island... there, we were able to see dozens of Minnesota twenty-somethings wearing tiny little bathing suits, drinking plenty of beers, and participating in some sort of ancient pre-mating rituals. Breathtaking, I tells ya. Somewhere towards the end of the trip, I thought I'd get a little adventurous (if there is such a thing on a flat floating river) and try to go over a couple of little ripple/rapids. All I really did was hit my butt bone pretty hard on a submerged rock, but wasn't the end of the world. The river slows down a lot right at the end where you get out, and when we saw the bridge to signal the end of our float, we all paddled over to the left without incident. Overall, we had a great time as a family, the kids enjoyed the adventure, and we would totally do it again. Next time, I'm bringing a few more cold ones (you can rent a second tube for a nominal fee to hold your cooler!) And I might bring my aquashoes just for the entry, as it was a little rocky. But we'll totally be back to do this again some time.

These guys are great! I have rented from them multiple times. They have a good inventory with…read moredifferent sized boards. Delivery is available and they give you tips if it's your first time on a paddle board. They also have events throughout the summer which are really fun!

From the owner: We have pontoon, standup paddle boards and kayaks available for rental for when your friends or…read morefamily will be joining you at the lake. We deliver or you can take them and go to your favorite destination.

I looked long and hard to find outfitter in Longville area. I finally located HO which was around…read morean hour away but we'll worth it. Dorothy was awesome. We took 3 kayaks (Crow Wing sit on tops) and a canoe in a 3 hour float down the Crow Wing River. Current was just about perfect. Drop off from base was only about 10 minutes away and take out was about 400 yards from base. Afterwards we stopped at the bar and grille next door. Try the special BLT with the grilled wild rice bread...or a grilled cheese on that bread would be great! Don't forget to have a 1919 Root Beer. Outstanding day on and off the water.

My friends have been talking about this place for a long time so I thought it was time to finally…read morecheck it out. I have also been really interested in the shipping-container-as-home/cabin thing and really wanted to try that out too. Booking was a breeze, and my 14-year-old son and I headed up for a long weekend. It is a long but manageable drive from the Twin Cities, with some fun stops along the way (I'm not a dad that insists on powering through a long drive, I like to stop and see the sights). The largest tiger muskie in the world in Nevis (namaste, tiger muskie) being one of the highlights. Resort is well laid out and easy to navigate. The area where we were staying was separate from the rest of the cabins, but was well signed, and easy to find. The shipping container cabins are nice, but if you bring a bag you would have to check on a plane you have brought a bag that is WAY TOO BIG for a shipping container cabin. They are small, but also has everything you need, so you figure it out. Also, of that size is not for you they have many other sizes of more traditional cabins. The resort itself is amazing. The vibe here is one that is unique: the owners start the whole relationship on a basis of trust, and you can see the trust they are sharing everywhere. And the vibe I got from other folks was that they were picking up on that trust, and paying it forward. It was an unexpected, but totally welcome vibe, and it was special. There are rafts, and paddle boards, and kayaks, and loads of trails, and a disc golf course, and an amazing lake to swim in, and decent wi-fi, and firepits, and a super cute motel/gas station/cafe just down the road. You're less than 20 minutes from Itasca State Park. And I hear the fishing is great, though that's not my thing at all. We both had a great time. Yes, he had to crawl over me to get into the bed as the bed filled the entire bedroom space, but we also spent over an hour outside looking at and talking about the stars and space and life, in a way that likely would never have happened at home. The time together was something I wanted, and Wambolts understands that who you are with is the most important thing. I would totally go back, I want to go back, and I hope I can.

After losing our family cabin a few years ago, our family looked for an alternative for our summer…read moregetaways. One sibling found this cabin resort and last year was the first year the family went up. I didn't go last year, but I was able to make it this year! I don't think I'll be returning with the family, however. First, the cost of the cabins was out of my price range. I don't know what is a typical cost, but for us to rent out 7 cabins, plus a pontoon for one week was nearly $10,000. I personally think that money could have been better spent. Cabin prices for the week ranged from $665-2,000 depending on size. The cabins themselves were fairly nice. I fortunately stayed in the most updated cabin which included air conditioning, a dishwasher, and a bathroom with a shower - not every cabin does. There is a large communal bathroom house with showers if you don't have one. These were actually nicer than I expected (I didn't check out the showers). I know the family that owns the resort are constantly renovating and updating cabins, so I'm sure others will be updated in the next year. Check-in time is at 3pm the day of your first rental. Checkout time is 9am the day of your last rental. Trying to get up early, packed, and out of there by 9am was too difficult for my family so almost everyone opted to leave the day before - meaning we paid for a day we didn't use. A more reasonable checkout time might be 10am or 11am. A frustrating thing throughout our stay was the wild inconsistency with kitchen utensils, pots/pans, and towels provided. We were constantly texting other cabins to see if they had XYZ pot/pan or hand towel. Cabins should all come with a basic set of kitchen items. Also, the cabin I was staying in did not have walls up to the ceiling. Which meant there was no barrier between my bedroom and the others - a large gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling. Unfortunately one of my cabin mates was a snorer. Every car that arrived was loaded with "household essentials" because very little is provided. I understand bring your own bath towel and shower supplies, but things like hand soap and hand/kitchen towels would have been nice to not have to lug around. I do think some cabins had hand/kitchen towels, but we, again, were texting other cabins to get some. There are laundry machines located in the women's' half of the communal shower/bathroom house so hopefully you have a female with you to access those. I believe it was about $4 per load. Additional amenities included a fish house where you can gut and clean any fish you catch, a game house with some board games and a table, and a small gift shop with some branded sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, candles, fishing bait, etc., grills, and fire pits. Many people indulged in the gift shop because they were not prepared for the cold nights! Payment for items is made easy by Venmo. Several canoes and kayaks were available for use for free. Finding a life jacket that fit and a paddle for whatever you were taking out was a bit difficult, however. Most kayaks were pretty small for adults. On the "beach" (used very loosely) there are lounge chairs and anchored floating platforms. The water is so shallow even at the end of the dock (and beyond) that it was more like a giant wading pool for any adult. Not necessarily a bad thing! The anchored platforms were constantly covered in goose poop, so we didn't touch them. The bottom of the lake is covered in leeches, mud, rocks, and seaweed. I had a rash almost immediately when I got in the water - same with everyone else. If you're going in, make sure you bolt for the shower right after. The "beach" was pretty gross and not picturesque at all. I do know the owners are working on fixing the land part of this for next year. There are several walking trails nearby which were beautiful to stroll through - just watch out for the plentiful poison ivy and ticks! If you're lucky you'll spot some deer drinking at the side of the lake. The loons on this lake are LOUD, which I thought was pretty neat. I'd never heard so many loons calling. There was also a bald eagle that lived nearby and would frequently swoop over the cabins looking for a fish. The lake is very small so you won't see any boating activities like skiing or tubing - and is actually not allowed if you're using a rental boat. It's full of people fishing! One very big pro was the wifi. Every cabin had excellent wifi! Not that any of us wanted to be working while enjoying a vacation, but at least the option was there. The cabins also had screened-in front porches which made for lovely mornings overlooking the lake and sipping some coffee. Overall, I'd say the resort is good but hopefully will become better in the years to come. If enough things improve, I'd be happy to return. I'm being mindful that these owners only took over a couple years ago and I know they have a lot of ideas for the future!

It's the only Kayak/Canoe rental place isn't he Fargo-Moorhead area, and That alone earned it 3…read morestars. The rental periods begins at 5pm on tuesdays, and 1pm on Saturdays...but these hours may be different, with the pandemic ongoing.

From the owner: Rent a canoe or kayak for $10/hour/vessel. Season begins the Tuesday after Memorial Day and ends…read morethe Tuesday before Labor Day.