have a couple grandsons living in Minnesota. Both like to fish and I'd like to organize a cabin/lodge kind of fishing 'Gramp Camp' for them in Minnesota/Wisconsin/South Dadota.. We're talking a bobber fishing for panfish situatio with a flush toile/shower cabin with American Plan. Perhaps a small swimming beach for them too. Can anybody recommend such a place.? Does not need to be fly in....something that we can bring our car to and get things organized?.

Matt, I really like the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais MN. Lots of options but I am partial to the Loon Lake Lodge. I'm 60 but first started going there with my Dad, Grand dad and my brother in 1967. My Dad and his buddies started going to the Gunflint Trail in the 1950's at Forest Lodge on Clearwater Lake. That lodge is no longer in operation.

It's a beautiful area with a number of fishing opportunities nearby. I think it would be perfect for your needs. Good luck!

You might consider Canada if you haven't already done this or you will do it again. You can catch a bus from Minneapolis/Hinckley/Cloquet to Temple Bay Loge on Eagle Lake. Get a guide for the first day and have him run you down to Eldorado bay to catch perch. There are bazillions of them and they are jumbos. You can have 50 of them and they can run 3/4 pound to a little better than a pound. They eat better than walleyes and the lodge will clean them for you. While you are catching perch, you will catch walleyes as well. You will also lose fish to the muskies. They like to come in and grab a perch while you're hauling it in. Run 1/2 a minnow on a little jig under a bobber set to keep the bait 6 inches off the bottom. You can catch a bunch of northerns fishing up against or in the reeds but the are mostly small, maybe 2-4 pounds. There's enough walleyes in Eagle that the game wardens can give you a ticket for impersonating a fisherman if you can find 20 feet of water and not catch a limit.

Sounds like you want some fishing with other amenities. There are a number of resorts all over the place, but the bigger ones (like Madden's on Gull lake or the ones on Mille Lacs tend to concentrate their fishing more on Walleye and other "prestige" species.

If you want to fish by far more than anything else, some of the resorts on lake of the woods are nice, but only a kid would be into swimming there, and then not for long...

You would probably be better off finding a small lake down in the southern half of the state with a more mom and pop operation.

The north will be a lot cooler (so swimming, etc. will be less of an draw) and generally more wild.

Wisconsin tends to be a lot like MN. SoDak will be a lot less options (a lot less water), and if they and their folks are in MN, it would make licenses a heck of a lot cheaper to stay in state.

My folks always took us up to the BWCA for camping and fishing, and that was lots of fun for me and my brother... my sister, as she wasn't into fishing was much less impressed.

Its been so long since I went fishing, I really can't give you specifics now, but for crappies, sunnies, and perch, the southern lakes are better fits than the classic fishing spots that are really more aimed at walleye, northern, muskie, and trout.

I'd take a look at the Alexandria, MN area for ease of access and stuff to do with the kids besides fishing, its a very popular spot.

For mid-summer there's a few options in the Ely, MN area that could be good too, though less developed/more wilderness than the Alex area and a further drive up North.

I gotta say it was the BWCA trips when I was young that helped turn me into a lifelong outdoorsman.