Where to stay/Where to rent

[indy_500]

Me and my family want to take a trip up north. (northern wisconsin) we live in the appleton area. i put on about 3000 miles a year but i've never stayed farther north than crivitz and never snowmobiled farther north than dunbar. we're thinking eagle river area. what other towns should we consider? what hotels should we consider? we're looking to rent 2 sleds. where should we rent? (trackside?, they rent out sleds right?) just looking for suggestions.we're looking for 2 nights. and Polaris sleds.

[indy_500]

oh yeah, looking for a hotel on the trail somewhere. thanks for any and all suggestions

[harvest1121]

I would stay about 30 miles north in Land O Lakes or Presque Isle. They both have rentals. I like SkyViewLodge.com They rent sleds right at the hotel. They have a full bar and good food. You can either ride south in Wisconsin or North into Micigan.

[wags]

Depending on what you are looking for I would try:
http://www.sunriselodge.com

Very famly friendly and on both the trail and a lake if you like to ice fish.

[rakins800]

Boulder Junction. Very family friendly area. and if its cold,you can adjust your mileage accordingly,as you are never more than 5 miles from someplace warm. I suggest staying at the northern highland. reasonable rates back in the day. good luck.

[polarisrider1]

Indy 500, Vacation would not be complete without the Polaris sleds.

[rakins800]

rentals right in town,too. not sure what brands.

[indy_500]

sounds like i shouldn't stay in eagle river. is that because of all of the traffic? i heard right in eagle river it can get rough because that's where everybody is. i would consider other brands than polaris. but don't want any rental sleds that are too old.

[indy_500]

we were thinking st. germain, manitowash waters,mercer, arbor vitae, and minocqua. my parents really liked minocqua when they went there back in the day when they were younger.

[wags]

Land O Lakes if you want to have snow, Eagle River is hit or miss plus the trails get busy depending when your up there and to me the same with Minocqua and some of the others you mentioned.

Staying in Land O putts you at the doorstep of the UP. There is good lodging, food, gas and rentals right across the street from the gas station. I have been going up there for years and have never been disapointed.

[indy_500]

i don't think i can convince my dad to register our sleds in michigan. if we did get them registered, there is a plus to that. then me and my dad have an excuse to go to michigan! lol

[wags]

In your org post you mentioned renting???

[chords]

Tell your Dad you will plan everything and use your WWW knowledge. The where, when ect.. All he has to do is pay $$ for the trip of a lifetime for Father Son bonding and good Mom and family memories. Just dont make it all about you.

[indy_500]

yes. i have a family of 4. my mom, dad, and sister. (and me of course) we have 2 sleds. mine and my dads. we used to have 4 but sold 2 of them. so now if we all want to go we either have to rent or borrow. i guess i should've mentioned this earlier. sorry for any confusion

[lofsfire]

Indy 500 ~ I think I depends on how your family wants to ride. I have felt the Eagle River area is nice been there more the once and have always liked it. It gives you lots of direction to ride in, and let you adjust your ride length with different trail loops. Which depending on your mother and sister you may want. You have a lot of choice a far as lodging goes, I have stayed at the Days Inn and Best Westerner, and both have pools. One place I have wanted to stay is the Hiawatha Motor Inn (http://www.hiawathamotorinn.com/) I believe they are a supporter of JD site also and he does great trail reports with picture from his rides. Plus there is lots of other place to stay, however that does mean more people in one area. And the trail will show that on a Saturday night no matter how much grooming they do.

Depending on the location in the UP you can find that same style of riding or more of the railroad grade riding with much longer loops, but really nice trails! I would recommend Rockland or North. I have only been there once but enjoyed every minute of it. When I went I took my wife and a friend and his dad. My friend and I were the seasoned riders. His dad use to ride every now and then, but had not road in 20+ years. And you’re too young to know how a wife can complain, when she is not happy, but we had no complaints out of anyone in our group. We all enjoyed ourselves! Western UP Feb 4-8 (http://www.johndee.com/discuss/messages/91027/102279.html?1234805964)

Also you mention you were not sure if you could convince your dad to register your sleds in Michigan. You do not need to register the sleds in Michigan Just get a trail permit. I think it is $35 each this year. Also if you rent sled from somewhere that is by the state line most place will have paper work to be able to ride both states. I think Trackside did this with their rentals as well. At least you would not blow money putting trail sticker on rental sleds. But check if you plan on renting and then riding in the other state.
Good Luck with where ever you pick!

[jakester]

Lando is great. Can go U.P. or Wis. The Gateway Lodge, You can rent sleds right across the street from them also. Our club has used it a few times.

[skidoodoug]

I take my family to the Lake Nokomis area just a few mile north of Tomahawk. It is not that much furthur north but it is (IMO)the beginning of the "Northwoods". Polaris sleds can be rented at Erv's on the north side of town. We have always stayed at the Best Western Lake Aire on Lake Nokomis. There are several other options in the area to stay at. Even during Xmas-New Year not alot of traffic. Plenty of trails and stops.

Another suggestion would be the St. Germain area. Not sure about the Polaris rentals, but it is centrally located with many trail and destination options.

Let us know what you decide.

[Hoosier]

If you go to Eagle River, Hiawatha is a great location. They're north of town which means you are away from traffic. I think they have package deals with rentals also. Eagle River is great because you can ride MI or WI from there. Just need a trail permit in MI.

I wouldn't get worried about staying in town either if you would prefer to have a pool (Super 8). It gets rough in town but clears up fine a miles up.

We used to rent from Heckels before the whole group finally owned sleds. They're out of business now and I think Trackside bought them.

I agree you should look for new sleds when renting. You're asking for trouble if they're a few years old. Too many things to go wrong.

[jstreh]

If a nice family run resort with comfortable cottages, and the Bo-Boen snowmobile trail running right through the resort sounds like what you're looking for, I would recommend Bibs Resort, www.bibsresort.com (http://www.bibsresort.com) right on Little St-Germain lake. From there you can head in almost any direction. Pauls Rent-all is about 5 minutes from there and I rented a brand new Vector from him the last couple of years. Good Luck!!

[indy_500]

we checked out hiawatha motor inn already. they're probably #1 on our list so far because of the deal they had. 2 ski-doos and a 1 night stay for $250

[indy_500]

and because i've heard good review of them on this site.

[Hoosier]

We rented from Paul's rent all before as well. Had a good experience there also. Renting a 4 stroke yamaha may make the experience more fun for the family (less smoke, less gas and oil, etc.).

[snowbum]

Pauls has good rentals, also St. Germain Marina rents Yamahas and Ron Rhodes at St. Germain Bed and Breakfast rents Ski-Doo's. I would definately steer you away from Trackside. Contact the St. Germain Chamber and they will fill your mailbox with options.

[cooksend]

Trackside has the Newest and nicest rentals around and the Hiawatha is always a great place to stay.

[teamsanden]

I really like the Rustic Manor in St. Germain or Fibber's Resort. They both have websites. Also, if you want to rent a house or cabin or condo by owner check out www.vrbo.com (http://www.vrbo.com) and click on the state you want, then city....etc.

[edmarino]

My Vote would be St. Germain at either the Rustic Manor or the Heartside. Heartside rents sleds, I believe they are ski doo's but across the street you can get Yamaha's. The trail system is great and they groom every day. From here you can go any where, depends on how far you want to go in a day. Good resturants and pit stops. The Fireside for steaks, the Pub & Prime or The Golden Pines for really first rate dinners, many others to chose from.