I think I read that the Cabela's in Owatonna was Minnesota's second biggest tourist attraction, after the Mall of America.
I think it depends what part of the country you live in. In rural Minnesota, which is to say, most of the state, fishing, hunting, camping, etc. are wildly popular. If you live in or near a more urban area, the appeal may escape you, as it does me.

We have a new Cabela's right outside of Ft. Worth (north) . . . it is HUGE and a huge tourist attraction (much better than the Bass Pro Shop, near DFW, IMHO).

Not only does it have hunt'n/fish'n gear, but a lot of their clothes make great travel clothes. Inside that store, they have a full BBQ restaurant, a museum, a man-made mountain stocked with stuffed animals, a trout stream, a shoot'n gallery, lots of trophy animals, and more people to help you than you'll ever find in any other place. It's a great place to take kids, kinda like going to the zoo but it's all inside and air conditioned.

The people watching is pretty good, too.

Sandy (in Denton)

The Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada is cool as it can be. A restaurant, travel agency, bar, and everything you can imagine looking over the back country of Islamorada. One of the best places in Islamorada to watch the sun set.

They are building a Cabelas on the west side of Reno..I think it opens next year.

Cabela's opened a huge operation near Hamburg PA a couple of years ago. At the time they opened, their estimate was that they would get 6,000,000 visitors the first year. After they were open a month or two, they changed their estimate. They upped it to 7,000,000 visitors.

Some folks will spend a grand on a handbag. And some will spend it on a trip where they might also visit a/the Cabelas.

Different strokes for different folks. I get the Sunday NY Times. And though that Cabelas at Hamburg is about 3 hours or so from NYC, I don't believe I've ever seen a line in the paper about it...

A short, funny story for you...
My sister and her hubby live in the town in Wisconsin where Cabela's is headquartered (or it may just be its distribution center). She is a physical therapist, and was offered a position at Cabela's as staff PT. It seems all that lifting of merchandise is hard on the employee's backs! (She ended up not taking the job, but they remain loyal customers.)

We just got a new Cabela's here in Austin. I am told it's jam packed every weekend. I haven't been there yet, but I am tempted to check it out just to see what all the fuss is about.

Over the years, here are some of the things I've enjoyed:

Opera in New York and London.
Art museums in Paris, Amsterdam, Florence, and Madrid.
Cathedrals in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, and Mexico.
Archeologic sites 1000 years older than Stonehenge.
Historic sites in Rome, Athens, and Istanbul.
World class symphonies, ballet, and drama.
Cabelo's and Bass Pro Shops.

The latter two allow you to see a wide variety of outdoor stuff (you just imagine yourself owning all of it), as well as being free nature museums. Would I plan a trip around it? No. Do I enjoy visiting them if I'm in the area anyway? Yes. Just like I'd visit the Victor Hugo Museum if I happen to be in Paris.

It just so happens that I enjoy both. If you don't enjoy one or the other, don't worry about it. Different people enjoy different things.

We live about an hour from the company's headquarters in Nebraska--where Cabela's began--and my husband STILL can't drive by the store without 'dropping in.' Must be a guy thing. Actually, I kind of enjoy browsing too...

F.Y.I.- Cabela's supports trophy hunting in Africa. Check out their web-page for trips for game hunting. I'm personally boycotting them

If you hunt or fish...and there are a LOT of hunters & fishermen around...Cabelas & Bass Pro Shops are the best places to find anything you want for either. We've been to Branson, but I prefer Springfield and the Bass Pro shops. At BPS they have a great local aquarium, a few live ducks wandering around

For a LOT of hunters & fishermen around...Cabelas & Bass Pro Shops are the best places to find anything you want for either. We've been to Branson, but I prefer Springfield and the Bass Pro shops. At BPS they have a great local aquarium, a few live ducks wandering around, great clothes for women (oh, yeah, and for guys too)you can buy a boat & trailer and motor there and the fishing equipment to go with it. Or, if you hunt, the gun selection is great and you can buy all the stuff that goes with that. The BIG plus is the sales people are friendly and know what you are talking about! You can NOT get that kind of service or products at your local WalMart!

DH gets catalogs from each and takes hours to look through them...the drool gets pretty heavy though There is very big business in hunting and fishing and I'm sure those two companies wouldn't build their stores if they didn't pay off! I'm just glad a BPS is coming near us in SW FL soon.

My husband worked Christmas at the Bass Pro Shops in Grapevine, TX back when it first opened. He got a good employee discount, and that year, everyone in our families got gifts from there. No one complained!

We've been to the new Cabela's in Texas and it is really nice. Hubby was very impressed with the hunting/firearms section, and they have the best selection of accessories in the area. I was equally impressed with their clothing selection, and their cooking section was SO much better than Bass Pro's!

Matnik, that's your choice.

The Cabela's in MI is the #1 most visited destination in the state! Those Cabela people are pretty smart too! They took bare land (lots of it) bought all of it, and now Bob Evans, Hotels, and lots of other restaurants, gas stations, etc... have to LEASE the land from THEM. Verrrrry smart.....

We drove the entire Orgeon Trail for 2 weeks this past summer (educational touring for our elementary age kids). One of the highlights of our trip was when we stopped at Cabela's outside Kansas City (much better than the Bass Pro Shop in Atlanta). We're not even hunters or fisherman but we like hiking and the outdoors. Kids loved the fish tanks and the archery range.

Thanks for the input so far.

PaulRabe, your reply is nudging me in the direction of the nearest Cabelas/Bass Pro Shop next roadtrip. It seems it must be seen to be believed.

Next year Bass Pro is building a HUGE Great Lakes themed store in downtown Buffalo (in the old Memorial Auditorium) with a Great Lakes Museum. Everyone was excited....something's moving into downtown instead out of it. Even though Buffalo is flat broke, we're giving them huge subsidies and tax breaks. But hey, they wanted to come here and draw people from the Ohio and Pennsylvania and Canada.

After we promised them all the cash and tax breaks, they announced they are building another one near Pittsburgh.

And next year the Seneca Nation is building a casino downtown.

Look out now...all those Hawaii and Vegas questions on Fodors are going to be minimal compared to the "What's the best time of year to visit Buffalo?" threads.........

There's a new Bass Pro under construction in Kodak, Tenn., which at the I-40 exit for Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg / Great Smoky Mountains. I imagine it will be a huge tourist draw.

THIS IS WHY! A life long outdoorsman and more importantly and unbiased and honest person. People spend a lot of money in these places trying to obtain the experiences/imagery as presented in the magazines, the art work and things like the Babe Winkleman TV show. I can buy the gun shown in the magazine. I can own the dog, the clothes, the binoculars etc. I can get all the material together by buying it. All that is left is for the fish, game, wind, clouds etc. to show up and complete the package. It almost always does NOT. So to fill the void we do something we can control and go buy something else. People spend a lot of money in the giant Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops?
Beer commercials are a similar example. I go and buy the beer as presented in the fantasy imagery. All I need then is for the beautiful babes to show up, the music and endless dancing on the beach to begin. Eternal youth and smiles on everyone. Etc. Etc. Of course it does not shake out that way so I substitute with something in my control and go buy more beer. (The advertisers do not do this by accident, it provokes these human responses and they spend tons of money to do what? get me to buy beer)

I'm not so sure an early poster had it right that it does not appeal to urban folks. The BPS in Las Vegas is always busy and their HUGE parking lot has been close to full every time I've been there.

Uh the comment "sort of like going to the zoo" is way off...the animals are ALIVE at the zoo and not dead and stuffed like at these shops. I also have a big problem with their support of killing wild animals for the sake of killing. Do these "sportsmen" eat those lions and elephants they kill for the fun of it? Very disturbing to say the least.

buffalogirl - Is Bass Pro officially coming to Buffalo, meaning they have signed a contract? It seems like Bass Pro management keeps dodging the question by the news. I suppose it will be a big draw for people from Ontario, and areas of NY. But, if one opens in Pittsburgh, forget about people coming from Ohio and PA!

kcap.....I thought it was a done deal (It's a good thing I don't get paid to think , but your post made me do a quick google search. A contract has NOT been signed yet. Check this out:

http://www.wgrz.com/printfullstory.aspx?storyid=32116

Reporting from Springfield, MO. Yes, our original Bass Pro is a big tourist attraction (I've heard # 1 in the state) and really is an interesting place, especially for sporting goods enthusiasts. They have good seminars for hunting and fishing.

Next door is Wonders of Wildlife Museum
which has fish and animals indoors, a bit strange when you think of it, having the outdoors indoors, but interesting for families.

ozarksbill

Frankly, I think the original question is similar to asking why so many people attend NASCAR events where the main attraction seems to be watching a bunch of machines go around and around and around but never really going anywhere.

Perhaps it is the "ambience"...kinda like going into a hardware store..nothing quite like it and for some of us it is an adventure in and of itself...the smells, the goods, etc., etc.

This post made me laugh My home town is about ten minutes from the Cabela's in Hamburg, PA. There was never so much excitement about a new business in the area as when Cabela's came to town. And yes, sad as it may sound, when relatives visit my parents and grandparents from out of town, a trip to Cabela's is usually on the activity list.

My dad is an active hunter and gun enthusiast, and I was surprised when he bought a gun at Cabela's. He typically buys from smaller, private dealers. Cabela's carries some models that are very difficult to find, apparently. So that may be one reason why people seek it out...

I can tell you that when I was there, there were a multitude of RVs and out-of-state license plates. To answer your question, wsoxrebel, if you were to drive I-78 through Pennsylvania, you'd probably stop at Cabela's too, just to get off that awful road for a while!

The last time I was passing through Wheeling WV they were building a Cabelas. That was probably three years ago.