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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

A successful summer

Despite late ice-out, plentiful rain, the summer tourist season was up

Tom Klein and Jodi Summit
Posted 10/2/14

REGIONAL – Despite a late ice-out and a rain-soaked June, area resorts and campgrounds reported a successful summer tourism season.

“We think we’re a little up from the previous year,” …

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A successful summer

Despite late ice-out, plentiful rain, the summer tourist season was up

Posted

REGIONAL – Despite a late ice-out and a rain-soaked June, area resorts and campgrounds reported a successful summer tourism season.

“We think we’re a little up from the previous year,” said Linda Fryer, tourism coordinator for Ely. She bases her assessment on reports from area resorts and lodging tax receipts. Although all the receipts aren’t accounted for yet, Fryer said $146,544 has been collected so far. She expects once all the receipts are in, Ely could see between a six- to seven-percent increase in tax receipts.

That report mirrors assessments by the Lake Vermilion Resort Association and Pelican Lake Resort Association.

Jay Schelde, president of the Lake Vermilion Resort Association, said business was up slightly at area resorts, while resorts on Pelican Lake also saw a slight uptick in traffic.

Schelde attributed part of the increase to an improving economy and said fishing remains the top draw for the resorts, but said people also enjoy the scenery and peace and quiet in northern Minnesota.

“This was a better year than last year and a lot better than three years ago,” said Randy Fry of Northland Lodge. He credited return business from a lot of loyal customers for the increase. “Some of our old customers, for whatever reason, couldn’t make it up here for the past couple of years. But they were back this year.”

Lori Coyer said business was up at Cabin O’ Pines this summer, as well. She attributed some of the increase to the Pelican Lake resort’s revamped website, but said a slightly better economy also played a role.

Orr reported that lodging tax receipts for the summer were up with the biggest increase in June with tax receipts up by $1,300. May and August saw smaller increases and July’s receipts matched last year’s tally for the month.

“Significantly better than last season,” was the quick uptake from Susie Chiabotti, who along with her husband Jerry, manages the McKinley Park Campground, which is owned by Breitung Township.

This is the couple’s 11th summer at McKinley Park, which sits on the shore of Lake Vermilion, near the Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

One trend they have been noticing, Susie said, was a measurable increase in the number of long-term campers, those reserving sites for one month or longer. The campground has 60 sites, of which 25 are rented for the entire season.

Susie wondered if this was due to the high price of gasoline, which was causing campers to choose to stay put in one place longer. The cold spring didn’t hurt their overall numbers, and the fact that Vermilion fishing was good all summer didn’t hurt either.

Susie said the township, which owns the campground, has been doing a good job of investing campground revenue back into McKinley. Last summer they added a blacktopped basketball court, which has proved very popular. This year, plans are underway to do some dock improvements, as well as electrical upgrades.

A little over a mile down the road at Tower’s Hoodo Point Campground, Julie Kranz and Randy Pratt were also getting ready to close the campground up for the season.

The two spent their first season as managers at the city-owned campground.

“We had a very good season,” said Kranz, “and we still have our sense of humor.”

Hoodoo also had a busy year, filling almost all their 97 sites every weekend between Fourth of July and Labor Day. The campground reported a significant increase in revenue over previous years.

The couple made quite a few upgrades to the campground store prior to opening, and many proved very popular.

Besides selling the usual campground store fare, the store offered a wall display with old-fashioned “penny” candy, hand-scooped ice cream, and gourmet coffee.

They also offered delivery to campsites and the beach area.

“Just like room service,” said Kranz, who said many of their campers adored getting freshly-brewed coffee delivered to their campsites in the morning. They also delivered pizzas, cooked up hot in the store.

Next year, she said, they hope to install a cookie-oven in the store, and then be able to sell warm-from-the-oven treats. The City of Tower was a great help throughout the season, they both said, noting they had exceptional service, when needed, from the city’s maintenance crew.

Pratt said the beach at Hoodoo was not as busy as they had hoped. He said they are looking at options for upgrading the beach and playground area for next summer, and looking into options for installing some in-water slides. He noted there is a lot of potential for family fun, including pizza on the beach.

Kranz has plans to build an outdoor patio next to the store, and hopes to build two small free outdoor lending libraries, for both child and adult books.

The story was similar at Crane Lake with Voyagaire Lodge and Houseboats reporting business comparable to last summer while Nelson’s Resort saw an increase in business.

Norway Lodge’s Sarah Tufte said the season start slower than usual but picked up as the summer continued. “We had a fairly decent summer overall,” she concluded.

Trends developing

Although fishing remains the top draw for most resorts, several have been branching out to offer more amenities that appeal to families.

Another change is in the length of visits, according to Fryer. “More people are staying for long weekends instead of for weeklong packages,” said Fryer. “And we’re seeing smaller groups. We used to have Boy Scout troops with 30 people. Now those groups are much smaller.”

Resorts also say that visitors are waiting longer to make travel plans, waiting to see weather forecasts before planning their vacations.

Another trend noted by Fryer has been the growth of women’s groups booking canoe excursions and sled-dog trips in the summer.

Fryer said the business at resorts also helps fuel increased business in area shops and restaurants as well as boost traffic at area museums and attractions such as the Wolf Center and North American Bear Center.

She also sees potential in reaching out to more markets through the Internet and said most resorts maintain websites now.

At the Orr Tourist Information Center, Cheri Carter said they are hearing from more visitors that they used to go to Canada on fishing trips and vacations, but are now staying in Minnesota because of the added hassle in crossing the border into another country.