My family and I will be traveling to Minneapolis this summer. I was wondering if there were any fun family resorts in Minnesota as a side trip for our family. My children will be 6 and 2? my son loves fishing and swimming.

Allison dear,

What do you mean when you say resort? In Minnesota? Nothing there like WDW, but there are plenty of places to take the family for swimming, fishing, and the like. I'd head north a ways and rent a cabin on one of the lakes (Battle Lake, for instance).

My inlaws all live there, & THE thing to do in the summer is go "up to the lake." Which one is the question, since they only have 12,000. My family goes to just north of Brainerd, to a "resort" called Madden's. I went once & think it's great fun for the kids. Fishing, swimming, & condo-style accomodations.

The Brainerd area is your best bet, around 2 1/2 hours from Minneapolis. Three resorts I'd recommend are Craguns, Maddens, and Ruttgers. Here is a link:

www.brainerd.com

Another resort that had activities for children and a wonderful dining room for adults is Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail above Grand Marais.