Lake of the Woods

Stretching across the international border between Minnesota and Canada, Lake of the Woods is one of the great wilderness resort destinations of the Upper Midwest. The lake covers more than one million acres, with thousands of islands and an extraordinary maze of bays, reefs and open water. On the Minnesota side, the resort region extends from Baudette and the Rainy River across the South Shore toward Warroad, with the remote Northwest Angle offering an entirely different island-country experience farther north.

Fishing is at the heart of the Lake of the Woods experience. Widely promoted as the “Walleye Capital of the World,” the lake attracts anglers for walleye and sauger along with northern pike, lake sturgeon, smallmouth bass, crappie, perch and trophy muskies. The sheer size of the lake allows visitors to experience everything from the broad waters of Big Traverse Bay to rocky island channels and remote northern bays. The area's resorts are an important part of its character. Visitors can choose from traditional family-run fishing camps, housekeeping cabins and campgrounds to larger full-service fishing resorts with restaurants, bars, marinas, charter boats and guides. Properties such as Ballard’s Resort, Arnesen's Rocky Point Resort and Zippel Bay Resort represent the South Shore experience, while smaller independent operations help preserve the mom-and-pop resort traditions that have long defined northern Minnesota lake vacations.

Summer revolves around fishing, boating, kayaking, wildlife watching and long days on the water, but Lake of the Woods is equally famous as a winter resort destination. Once safe ice conditions develop, resorts operate ice roads, heated day houses and sleeper fish houses, transforming the frozen lake into an entirely different vacation experience. Warroad-area lodging ranges from cabins and resorts to campgrounds and winter fish-house accommodations.