{"id":63500,"date":"2022-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travellens.co\/best-things-to-do-in-land-o-lakes-wi\/"},"modified":"2024-03-30T19:07:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T19:07:42","slug":"best-things-to-do-in-land-o-lakes-wi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travellens.co\/best-things-to-do-in-land-o-lakes-wi\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Best Things to Do in Land o\u2019 Lakes, WI"},"content":{"rendered":"
Recreational activities on land and water mainly comprise the sights and activities in Land o\u2019 Lakes, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
This town is in Vilas County, one of five counties that make up the Northwoods of Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1907, Land o\u2019 Lakes started as the Town of State Line.<\/p>\n
This original name denotes the town\u2019s north-central location in Vilas County along Wisconsin\u2019s border with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.<\/p>\n
In 1948, the town was renamed Land o\u2019 Lakes, paying tribute to its several water bodies.<\/p>\n
The lush woodlands in and around the town complement these water features to create an unforgettable itinerary.<\/p>\n
Discover the best things to do in Land o\u2019 Lakes, Wisconsin!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mike Truchon \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n
Many paddlers launch their canoeing and kayaking<\/a> trips on the 430-mile Wisconsin River at Lac Vieux Desert.<\/p>\n Boat ramps are readily available in Lac Vieux Desert Park just southeast of the Land o\u2019 Lakes town center.<\/p>\n The more daring of paddlers can go on a week-long adventure on the Wisconsin River, the state\u2019s largest, and one of the Mississippi River\u2019s major tributaries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tony Savino \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Such an extended river outing can lead you to the confluence of the two rivers just upstream of Wyalusing State Park in the Wisconsin town of Bagley.<\/p>\n Paddlers can grab gear at Land O\u2019 Lakes Boat Rentals<\/a> on County Highway B.<\/p>\n With convenient pickup and delivery of boats to several Wisconsin lakes, its rental fleet includes paddleboards, fishing boats, sport towables, and pontoon boats.<\/p>\n Start your boating adventure with Land O\u2019 Lakes Boat Rentals!<\/p>\n The mighty Wisconsin River draws its headwaters from Lac Vieux Desert, a 4,017-acre lake east of Land o\u2019 Lakes.<\/p>\n This lake is among the largest in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest that extends to Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n Visitors of the lake gravitate to the Lac Vieux Desert Recreation Area<\/a>, accessible via West Shore Landing Road.<\/p>\n This recreation area features a campground, picnic facilities, and a boat launch\/landing for anglers.<\/p>\n The potential fish catch at Lac Vieux Desert includes northern pike, walleye, musky, and bass.<\/p>\n The open season in the Lac Vieux Desert is May to October.<\/p>\n Overnight visits to the Lac Vieux Desert can get much more comfortable and enjoyable with a stay at one of the lake resorts.<\/p>\n One of the choices is Sunrise Lodge<\/a>, conveniently located on West Shore Road.<\/p>\n Besides lodging, it offers several facilities, including a tennis court, softball field, mini-golf, and basketball court.<\/p>\n Sunrise Lodge likewise boasts a beachfront and well-landscaped grounds where its guests can enjoy views of beautiful flowers and the lake scenery.<\/p>\n Its guests can rent canoes, motorboats, pontoon boats, and fishing boats.<\/p>\n Sunrise Lodge can provide a local guide to its guests fishing in the lake.<\/p>\n For accommodations, the choices in Sunrise Lodge include ten executive units and 14 cottages, all luxurious and well-furnished.<\/p>\n During winter, the lodge is an ideal base for snowmobiling on Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n You can reach this pristine lake amid woodlands via East Big Portage Lake Road off Berry Road.<\/p>\n Renting a cabin at Deerwood Resort<\/a> on the south shore of Big Portage Lake is one of the best ways to enjoy a visit to Land o\u2019 Lakes.<\/p>\n The public boat landing of the 586-acre lake is just off this resort, which also maintains a 76-foot fishing pier.<\/p>\n Panfish, walleye, and bass are the potential catch in Big Portage Lake\u2019s clear waters that have a maximum depth of 40 feet.<\/p>\n Other resort facilities include a 400-foot sandy beachfront, swimming pier, raft, and boat trailer parking.<\/p>\n Deerwood Resort provides guests with complimentary non-motorized watercraft, such as kayaks and paddle boats.<\/p>\n Guests can also use a rowboat with a trolling motor for optional use, plus an indoor facility for cleaning the fish catch.<\/p>\n The resort\u2019s cabins have large-screen TV, DVD player, high-speed internet connection, game tables, player, kitchenette, restroom, comfortable seating, and a children\u2019s play space.<\/p>\n The resort provides off-water facilities, including a playground, basketball\/pickleball court, horseshoe pits, and a community grill.<\/p>\n In addition, the resort provides a community room with a coin-operated laundry facility.<\/p>\n The family-owned Deerwood Resort has operated since 1935.<\/p>\n This trail is accessible about a quarter mile west of the junction of Highway 45 and County Highway B.<\/p>\n Restrooms for trail users are available at the nearby Land O\u2019 Lakes Town Hall and the Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n From this starting point, the Land o\u2019 Lakes Bike and Pedestrian Trail<\/a> head westerly for 12 miles along the scenic County Highway B.<\/p>\n The forested landscape that the trail traverses includes Black Oak Lake\u2019s woodlands, touted as having Wisconsin\u2019s clearest lake waters.<\/p>\n This lake is an ideal rest stop for bikers and hikers, as it provides a picnic area, restrooms, and a beach.<\/p>\n Some dining options in Land O\u2019 Lakes are accessible along the trail, like TJ Grizzlies and The Bear Trap Inn.<\/p>\n The Land O\u2019 Lakes Bike and Pedestrian trail opens in spring, summer, and fall, closing some 2.7 miles in winter.<\/p>\n The far westernmost section of the trail opens for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing during winter.<\/p>\n Located on Town Hall Road, the Snowflake Ice Rink<\/a> is a family-oriented facility that the Land o\u2019 Lakes town government runts.<\/p>\n As a traditional ice skating rink, this facility opens from late November to late March, depending on weather conditions.<\/p>\n The Snowflake Ice Rink has a warming house where you can borrow skates.<\/p>\n Likewise, the rink has lights, thus making it available for night skating.<\/p>\n Saturdays are the best time to skate there, as the rink offers hot cocoa and hot dogs.<\/p>\n Take a glimpse at the quaint history of Land O\u2019 Lakes in the displays and exhibits of the Northern Waters Museum<\/a> on Chippewa Drive.<\/p>\n The building housing the museum is itself a conversation piece.<\/p>\n Built in 1937, the building was once the ski chalet of the town\u2019s historic Gateway Inn & Hotel.<\/p>\n John King, a radio-theater mogul from Detroit, developed this lodge where many past celebrities stayed and performed.<\/p>\n These entertainment icons included Bob Hope and the comedy tandem of Bud Abbot & Lou Costello.<\/p>\n Given its background, the Northern Waters Museum shares many unique stories about the Gateway Inn during the big band era.<\/p>\n Land o\u2019 Lakes\u2019s logging history and surrounding forest areas are another part of this museum\u2019s display themes.<\/p>\n Located in the town park on Chippewa Drive near the Northern Waters Museum, Storybook Garden<\/a> is a kid-friendly Land O\u2019 Lakes destination.<\/p>\n This garden features several book stations that bring stories to life for children\u2019s entertainment.<\/p>\n The kids\u2019 station choices include Hello Little Owl, A Night in the Dinosaur Graveyard, and Where the Wild Things Are.<\/p>\n Adults must accompany kids visiting the open garden stations starting Memorial Day up to October.<\/p>\n Test your shot-making skills at Land o\u2019 Lakes by visiting the Gateway Golf Club on County Road B.<\/p>\n As a public course, the parkland-style links of Gateway Golf Club opened in 1941, featuring nine holes.<\/p>\n Regulation play on this course is par 36 over 3,178 yards from its farthest tee placements.<\/p>\n Developed with Bluegrass on its fairways and Bentgrass on its greens, this course has a 35.3 rating and a 123 slope rating.<\/p>\n Also featuring a driving range, this course straddles the Wisconsin-Michigan border.<\/p>\n The first four holes are in Michigan, while the final five are in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n The golf season in this Land o\u2019 Lakes course starts around April and ends sometime in November.<\/p>\n Expect excellent night play in this course every Saturday from July to September.<\/p>\n During this period, all nine holes open to glowing golf till late at night.<\/p>\n Established in 1938, the Gateway Gun Club<\/a> appeared after constructing the Gateway Lodge complex.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s shooting ranges, set up on the east side of the lodge\u2019s grounds, subsequently hosted major Wisconsin clay shooting tournaments.<\/p>\n The trap fields of the gun club rank among the bigggest in the Midwest.<\/p>\n These facilities have been revamped into a world-class clay course, one of just three in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s shooting ranges open from May to November.<\/p>\n Besides its golf course and trap shooting ranges, Gateway Lodge has another enticing attraction in its restaurant and lounge.<\/p>\n The Gateway Lodge Restaurant and Lounge<\/a> offers a superb menu lineup located on Highway B.<\/p>\n A starter of homemade hummus served with pita chips here can segue into a salad with tender, buttered steak slices.<\/p>\n Its main course picks include BBQ baby back ribs, meatball sandwiches, or prime rib sandwich specials.<\/p>\n Enjoy post-meal drinks at the cozy Gateway Lounge, where the nearby lobby exudes charm from its rustic fireplace and animal mounts.<\/p>\n This family-owned camp on the west shore of Mamie Lake has operated its Lodge Restaurant since 1906.<\/p>\n Located on Helen Creek Road, Bent\u2019s Camp<\/a> takes pride in serving fantastic food including veggies grown from its gardens.<\/p>\n The camp\u2019s restaurant menu offers a full range of choices, from sandwiches, pizzas, and hamburgers to its nightly specials of the finest seafood and steaks.<\/p>\n Its Friday treats that draw repeat customers comprise its famed deep-fried haddock served with coleslaw, potato salad, beans, French fries, lemon, and tartar sauce.<\/p>\n The Lodge Restaurant\u2019s grand old building provides a cozy dining ambiance.<\/p>\n Its walls and ceiling flaunt a rustic decor of birch bark lining fastened with cedar bark strips.<\/p>\n A pictorial essay on the history of Bent\u2019s Camp adornment hangs in the lodge to complement this adornment.<\/p>\n You can rent boats at Bent\u2019s Camp, which also rents out cabins between May and October.<\/p>\n This bowling alley and bar, formerly operated as T&M Lanes, is on Country Road B.<\/p>\n The place rebranded as the Alley Lanes & Tavern<\/a> in 2016, as its ownership changed hands and its facilities had significant upgrades.<\/p>\n This lone bowling center in Land O\u2019 Lakes has six lanes and newly installed bowling monitors.<\/p>\n The family-friendly Alley Lanes & Tavern regularly holds bowling tournaments and features an arcade.<\/p>\n It offers free pool games every Tuesday and a wide range of drink choices.<\/p>\n Enjoy domestic bottles and weekly drink specials, including margaritas, rail mixers, and fireball shots.<\/p>\nEnjoy the Outdoors at Lac Vieux Desert Recreation Area<\/h2>\n
Pick a Cottage at Sunrise Lodge<\/h2>\n
Rent a Cabin at Deerwood Resort<\/h2>\n
Tackle the Land O\u2019Lakes Bike and Pedestrian Trail<\/h2>\n
Enjoy Family Fun at the Snowflake Ice Rink<\/h2>\n
Visit the Northern Waters Museum<\/h2>\n
Take the Kids to Storybook Garden<\/h2>\n
Pick Woods or Irons at Gateway Golf Club<\/h2>\n
Test Your Aim at Gateway Gun Club<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
Grab Dinner at the Gateway Lodge<\/h2>\n
Enjoy Farm-to-Table Fare at Bent\u2019s Camp Resort<\/h2>\n
Bowl and Have a Drink at the Alley Lanes & Tavern<\/h2>\n
Try the Comfort Food of Asana Suka<\/h2>\n