Northern Minnesota Adventures

Our journey through Minnesota found us about as far north as our travels will take us this year.

*That’s Canada behind the ice cream eater.*

Originally, we had hoped to spend late summer and most of fall in New England. We planned to be in Acadia National Park in Maine and leisurely make our way down through all of New England until the temperature forced us south.

But as I watched the Covid restrictions get tighter and tighter in states like Maine and New York, we realized we needed to come up with another plan. So we decided to spend the summer around the Great Lakes.

The only problem with this was that everyone else who decided to spend their summer around the Great Lakes planned their trips far in advance. We were a little behind on things and finding spots to camp with our massive 5th wheel was proving to be difficult.

The North Shore of Minnesota had been recommended to me by several people so I was thankful when we finally found an opening in a campground for August. But then I still had some weeks to fill in.

I thought Voyageurs National Park would be a great destination but again as we started to look for campgrounds in the area, everything was booked.

And then one morning, in the midst of our scrambling, Anthony says, “Hey, I found this spot at a place called Lakeview in a little town called Ranier. They have an opening. Should I book it?”

I have learned that when you pull a 43 foot 5th wheel, you really gotta know what you are backing into. Some places have no business reserving a spot for you. Every campground we look to stay at requires some research. It’s through reading online reviews that I learn whether or not spots are actually large enough to accommodate us or if we can even maneuver through the campground. For one campground I read in the reviews about a low clearance bridge by the entrance. Um. We’d scalp our 5th wheel if we tried to enter there but we’d have no idea based on their website.

It’s not easy. But my anxiety forces me to be thorough.

So Anthony tells me about this spot he found and I try to research it and there is no website and it’s not listed on any of the typical review sites like Trip Advisor or Campendium or Campground Reviews.

Needless to say, I was skeptical. I wanted to say no but we were out of options.

Anthony, forever the optimist, says, “Oh, I’m sure it’s fine.”

So we drove there with great trepidation (on my part) and not a care in the world (his part) and low and behold, this place is amazing! (And also, a total answer to prayer. We spend a lot of time praying that the Lord will direct us to where he wants us. He really went before us and prepared this wonderful spot for our family.)

The Lakeview on Rainy Lake

This place has 4 RV sites and several little cottages for rent, right on Rainy Lake. It’s seriously dreamy. Apparently, the same lady owned it for decades (and only recently passed away) and it was a place for regulars. They have never advertised or marketed in anyway. If you know about it, you know about it.

And I’m glad I now know about it.

(And I’m glad I can tell you about it. The Lakeview on Rainy Lake in Ranier, MN.)

We fished from the private docks, kayaked, paddle-boarded and ate hobo packets from the fire pit. Mandy, the lovely lady who runs the place, literally made us feel at home. She brought us fresh baked cookies and gave the kids peanuts to feed the chipmunks (who have their own custom made picnic table. Adorable!)

Everything was perfect… the views, the people, the grassy lake front area. We loved it. And we loved the cute town it’s in.

Ranier

Lakeview is a short bike ride (or walk) to a cute little area with a couple restaurants and an ice cream shop on the dock. Canada peaks at us from across the lake and we wished we could visit but you know, Covid closed the borders so…

On Friday night the local high school in International Falls had a free drive-in movie night. They projected “The Goonies” on the side of their building and even passed out popcorn and candy. We watched one of my favorite childhood movies with an amazing lightning storm as a backdrop.

Small towns are quite fantastic.

At the entrance from the highway is this billboard. It lists everything in the town.

Literally, everything. There isn’t even a grocery store. It’s perfectly quaint and idyllic.

We spent a couple of warm afternoons at City Beach, floating in the tube, kayaking and paddle-boarding. The weather was perfect for us.

Voyageurs National Park

Voyageurs is beautiful and like all those other parks we’ve visited up here, feels practically empty. Most of it is best explored by boat, which we didn’t have. But we still enjoyed a couple of hikes and a picnic lunch down by the water. We parked it for the afternoon with our fishing poles and saw barely another soul the entire time.

The place is magical, with little and large islands beckoning in every direction. It heralds back to a time when French-Canadian explorers (called Voyageurs) would maneuver these waters with all kinds of animal skins for trade along the waterways, often traveling up to 16 hours a day. It’s definitely a great spot to experience raw, unaltered nature. Truly freeing.