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Old 28-01-2023, 18:38   #1
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Advice needed: 3-4 day Minnesota sailing trips

Hello!
I want to plan a trip this summer for my wife and myself to take our 17' boat out, but I was hoping someone might be able to make some recommendations.

I don't have a specific plan in mind as of yet... I figured our best bet was going to be finding a hotel with a dock, but we both grew up doing BWCA trips and love remote camping on the water. I'm not even opposed to just tying off somewhere [emoji28]

We're south of Brainerd a ways, but boat is trailerable and relatively easy to drop in the water, so I'm not afraid of a little travel.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you!
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Old 28-01-2023, 21:11   #2
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Re: Advice needed: 3-4 day Minnesota sailing trips

1) Lake Pepin. Large established sailing community, easy sailing, several hotels on the lake. Talk to the Lake City hotels. Some may have dockage as part of the room rate. You should be able to get transient dockage for a few days in either Lake City (MN) or Pepin (WI), several choices for hotels, AirBNB, etc., nearby. Many public ramps. Camping at Hok Si La near Lake City which has anchorage and a public access and is within bicycling distance or a long walk from the Lake City marina. Frontenac State Park is on the lake but up on a bluff with no feasible access to the water for campers which is why you want to use Hok Si La, less well known but also good facilities.



2) Lake Vermilion. Fantastic sailing but there are plenty of rocks to hit if you get sloppy. No sailing culture to speak of. I would suggest Gruben's resort and marina as the most sailing-oriented place to use as a home base however they have changed hands since I was there a few years ago and I don't know what it's like now. At 17' most of the Lake Vermilion resorts can accommodate your boat. You could also try Pehrson's lodge who are also sail oriented but more of a resort than a marina, or Ludlow's. There are also some state park campgrounds now.



3) White Bear Lake also excellent sailing, smaller lake, there are a couple of marinas and mooring fields, and a couple of sail-oriented city ramps if you're willing to haul out every night. I'm not aware of any hotels right on the lake but there may be some. Busy/crowded on weekends.


4) You can sail on Mille Lacs but you probably knew that


5) Rainy Lake/Kabetogama/Voyageur's national park is also a possibility with many boat-in campsites. You would be more on your own there although there are a number of airbnb/vrbo cabins that include dockage that you could use as a home base. In particular there is a vrbo operator on Crane Lake with three adjoining cabins that are boat-in only (no road access) that might work well for you. Crane lake is part of the chain and the channels connecting it to Sand Point lake and Namakan are narrow and might not be feasible without an outboard; it's a long way to go if you're going back to Crane Lake every night but still lots of choices in this area.


6) Superior. 17' is small and you have to watch the weather and stay in protected parts of the lake. Look at the Bayfield (WI) area or consider sailing in the Duluth harbor rather than the main part of the lake. There is always dockage available in Bayfield except during race week, and there is usually dockage at Barker's Island in Superior or Lakehead in Duluth. All of these marinas have hotels within walking distance.



I have been on all of these overnight except Mille Lacs so ask questions if any of them look like what you want.
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