Best area to buy a cabin that's close to the Twin Cities

[Queenswake]

I have the typical problem of wishing I could buy a place up by Leech, Cass, Grand Rapids, etc, but knowing I need to keep the drive around 2 hours to make the weekend trips worthwhile. But I know this also means cheap price, close distance, good fishing -- pick one. So my basic areas are Brainerd, Aitkin, Alexandria/Detroit Lakes, McGregor, or Wisconsin. Are there any parts of Brainerd that are cheaper than others? I know nothing about Wisconsin lakes but I thought I'd entertain the idea because the cabin traffic should be less than going up north.

McGregor appeals to me because of some of the cheaper prices I am seeing but have never fished the area. How is the fishing on Big Sandy and surrounding lakes? I'd have to believe that traffic up 65 wouldn't be half as bad as 94 and 169, which would be awesome. But there aren't as many lakes in the area either on the days the lake I am on are not producing. A year or two I saw A TON of for sale signs all over the place so I don't know if that said something about the quality of the fishing or was another indicator of the continued state of the economy.

I'd love the Cross/Whitefish chain but don't think my pocketbook is large enough. So many places I see in the Brainerd area in my price range are on small, isolated lakes and I worry if the fishing goes south on it, I'm going to be trailering the boat everywhere, which is not what you want to do when you own a cabin.

I haven't spent much time in the Alexandria area but I seem to remember it was kind of overdeveloped and didn't have as much of the northwoods feel I was after. But I may be wrong on that. It has been many years.

Any advice on which areas to target would be great.

[BoxMN]

There have been many threads sort of on this topic, so I won't rehash. Do a search and you will find some info, lots of it. I will give you a few pieces though om general thinking when looking at cabins...

Before looking at specific cabins, Decide why you want to be on a lake...

Kids swimming fishing? - the go for nice bottom and clear water.

Just fishing? - then go to fishing lake, I know duh, but there are plenty who skip that part when spouse sees the cabin they "Want"

Single family home (i.e. your own land) or association? - assoc can be cheaper and I bet you can find place on WFC that would meet your price - have 4 relatives there, and each is on association. Not my cup-o-tea though.

Summer "cabin" that you winterize, or place that can handle year round use? We had "cabin" for about 8 years and built "home/cabin" about 6 years ago - same lot and the "Old Cabin" is still there now a bar and fancy kennel, haha! Now we go up every weekend year round, like every weekend, no kidding. Love it.

Big lake, or small lake? - we are on small, spend time on big WFC. I like small, but if you are the bar/restaurant kind of person, find one with ajoint or two on it for some fun.

Look at the shoreline in August if you can. You would be amazed at how it can look different at that time of year from spring. I lucked out, nice sand beech with good fishy weedline right at about 7-8', the end of our dock.

You want lots to do off the lake? - golf, water park, shopping?

Do you want fancy log home or maintenance free? - I went vinyl and alum for easy-ness. Also, if you can, find one with a big garage. When we had just the "shed" cabin (my avatar) we had no garage... a garage is nice!

Last - but important, try to get an idea of what neighbors are like before you sign the dotted line. That can make or break a fun cabin life

And I'll say this, said it before, the drive (2.5 hours for us) isn't such a bad thing. Lots of pure conversation between spouses, and we talk a lot to the grandkids on the ride up, so it isn't wasted time. If you don't like your spouse... heh, then it would be heck but wife and I like our drives, up there better than coming home

If you can get onto 169 before 4 pm you are golden. From 4 until about 6:30 forget it and go later. Aitkin is nice, we go through it sometimes, but I don't know the lakes.

Regardless of what type you get, cabin, trailer, association, land you park an old RV on, or just a wooded lot that you trailer a boat to, you will love it, and the work is "cabin work" - meaning stuff not too important to be left for next weekend, with beer in hand Sorry for the book - I love cabin talk. Good luck.

(ps if you want any info on specific small lakes in the Crosslake, Emily, Outing, Fifty Lakes, etc. area send me a PM, I know some of them.)

[luckydog25]

Box is spot on once again. He gave us this advice 2 springs ago when we were looking and it helped a ton. A year and a half later and we are very happy cabin owners with good neighbors

[bassfshin24]

For me I would love to get a cabin on a lake around Garreson by Mille Lacs. You have the best of both worlds over there. A lot of good little lakes with the big pond right by.

[Getanet]

If I were in the market to buy a cabin today I'd head north, east, west...SOUTH. As long as you're away from the metro and surrounded by lakes and trees I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference.

My family has a cabin about 10 miles north of Garrison and every year I spend more and more time in traffic and less and less time at the cabin. It used to be traffic just got backed up to Rogers, but these days, with all the stop lights on 169 you're often sitting in traffic until you clear Zimmerman.

But, if Brainerd/Crosslake area is what you're after, you might want to consider the Townhomes or Condos they sell on Serpent Lake just outside of Crosby. Serpent is an interesting lake to fish and there are more lakes in the area to try out than days in the year.

[BoxMN]

A year and a half later and we are very happy cabin owners with good neighbors

Glad it's working out great for you guys luckydog! You are indeed a lucky dog

[Mid-Lake Rock]

One thing to consider is how much development there is on the lake and how much it may grow in the future. My grandfather and my dad purchased a cabin in the early 70s. 15 years later the development on the lake made it loud and busy. It was almost like being in the city. Our family wanted the quiet cabin experience and the place was sold. Dad got another cabin on a quiet lake with less development.

The plus side to future development is that my grandfather and dad made a nice profit when selling the place on the busy lake.

[pisces]

Also consider where in the Twin Cities you live. I live in Maplewood, so buying in Wisconsin was great. I can leave home on Friday at 5:30pm and be in Wisc and cruising 70 MPH within 15 minutes of leaving home. Drive time is 1hr 50 min. For me to try going all the way through town to go Brainard way, forget it. I also found that I could get more cabin per dollar in Wisc., at least that was my experience.

[Queenswake]

Thanks everyone for the input. All good points. I actually prefer the small lakes, rustic cabins, quiet, etc. But I worry that if the lake goes south in terms of fishing for a few years, I am stuck trailering everywhere. I also definitely do not want into an association. While having them take care of the grunt work would be nice, I want my own land, a decent sized lot, and room to breathe. I spent enough time in the city being on top of people as it is. So yeah, ideally I find a place with a small cabin but with room to build another one down the road as I save up the cash.

[frazwood]

Another thing to watch are the property taxes. These can vary substantially from county-to-county (a little) but much more as far as Minnesota vs Wisconsin. Wisconsin property taxes seemed to be MUCH higher than Minnesota taxes when we were looking 3-4 years ago. In our case, even a lower-priced cabin in Wisconsin was not really affordable because property taxes were more than $300 per month. Where we bought, they are about $150 per month... although when we bought, we thought they'd be about $100 per month (the increase is due to the fact that we cannot homestead a second property... so watch out for that too).

One thing that has become apparent to us, more recently, is easy access to trails and other parks. There are a large number of hiking/ATV/snowmobile trails around our place, which we now enjoy a lot but we had no idea they were there when we bought the place.

[corncob]

Kentucky!...Cheap cabins.

[Raider4ever]

Personally, if I lived in the metro I would look west and south. The Sauk Centre/Melrose/Alex area is loaded with lakes. Also, take a peek at the Fairbault area. I see there are a lot of lakes clustered around there. I have no idea as to the Fairbault water quality/clarity, ect. but LakeFinder usually gives secchi readings. I've been on Big Birch by Grey Eagle a bazillion times growing up. Haven't been on it for a while though. Like everything down there you're going to be more "civilized" compared to further north but I'm thinking your Friday/Sunday drives will be better.

[BoxMN]

My next two, more specific, cents...

I spend quite a bit of time West Central duck hunting and fishing, and me cabin is NC. WC is nice, but doesn't give me that "up north" feeling like the NC does. Lakes are greener/browner, and no pine trees. My little lake has 20+ ft clarity and made me spoiled, with pines and spruces everywhere, and it is one of hundreds similar lakes relatively close by.

WC better duck hunting by far (and more public ducking places), and deer hunting, but you need private land for deer IMO. NC has more public land which is great, especially if you chase grouse.

Fishing is good everywhere. Key thing for me, NC has more opportunity for SMB, though I fish lakes in WC that have them too - just more in NC. I like sight fishing, so clear water is fun for me. But I catch bigger and more walleye on the prairie lakes of the WC.

I am on north side of metro, so makes sense to go north. I honestly know nothing about the southern part of the state, and likely never will, though when I have been down there it was nice. I head to NC Crosslake area or WC Fergus Falls area myself, but prefer the NC for my every-weekend/cabin needs/desires.

And not everything is expensive in any of the areas, you just need to learn what trade-offs are important to you, and which aren't. I have 40 steps to the lake, but otherwise a flat lot. That is trade-off for the great fishing and clear water, and walking distance bow-only hunting on state land, and mile of shoreline that will never be developed next to me.

[SkunkedAgain]

I'm on Vermilion, 4+hour drive but live in Richfield. Driving across town isn't really an issue IMO. If you're leaving town during the summer between 3-6pm, you're going to hit in-town and out-of-town traffic no matter what. Maplewood to Ottertail isn't much different than Hopkins to Ottertail unless you plan on leaving during peak times. At peak leave times your going to hit traffic along 94 or 169 or 35 outside of the loop no matter what.

[dfv87]

We are in the Annandale area... LOTS of lakes (Nice ones) and maybe 30-45 mins from Plymouth... depending on traffic

[NEANGLER]

Annandale, Maple lake, dassel, Litchfield out west are all a hour or less and lots of lakes to chose from.

[Ufatz]

Avoid Ottertail County. The taxes on lake front property will eat you alive. The County commissioners aren't even bashful about slamming the lakeshore owners with as big a tax load as they think they can get away with.

They'll welcome you with open arms. But they'll fleece you while they do it. Don't say you haven't been warned.

[cw642]

Same goes for Western Wright county. In the last few years as values continued to drop our taxes have doubled and neither of our houses have lake shore. I'd hate to own a cabin in this area and not be able to vote here.

[showpropserv]

and this folks is why I work sunday night around midnight through early friday morning about 5-6 am and then get 3 days off no traffic. Personally Id love to have a cabin on any big lake up north or up by alex but prices are outragous.Id also look in the hayward area in wi. The wifes family has a cabin up by fergus and thats good for myself. Also id look for land near lakes you just save so much money if you dont mind trailering

[Raider4ever]

Don't do Hayward, WI if you're looking for inexpensive. They're nuts up there with their prices. Plus it's WAY out of your distance parameter.

[walleye29us]

Take a look around the hinkley and sandstone area lakes.Its a nice area and a nice strait shot up 35e north.

[anamod]

I asked this same question not too long ago and Box was a huge help so listen to that guy. We ended up buying a cabin on Horseshoe Lake in Merrifield. We found you are going to have to compromise in some way shape or fashion. I wanted a place on a small lake in the middle of no where but my wife wanted something with a sugar sand beach for the kids close to restaurants , no such place existed at the time we looked. I would recommend looking at the lakes in the Merrifield area (Horseshoe, Missions, Edward. Close to everything without the real high price tag. We are 8 minutes from Crosslake 10 from Breezy Point and ~25 minutes to Brainerd/Baxter. We looked at about 25 homes and used a very knowledgeable realtor which helped. If you have any questions about the process or the lake we are on feel free to shoot me a PM.

[knoppers]

aitkin county is a good area, with loads of great fishing lakes. I bought a cabin here 16 years ago, and love the area. price wise, it will be cheaper here, and taxes are not bad. steer clear of carlton co. there taxes seem outrageous.

[Raider4ever]

+1 on Carlton County avoidance.

[deerminator]

I agree with Box. We live on a lake in WC and love it. I don't think I'd ever want to move. But if we did, the place the wife and I talk about is the WFC. When the kids leave the house maybe. We've rented a cabin on the WFC for a week the past 5 years and really like it up there. Sure we live on a lake but its not the same. Can't beat that up north feel. Plus my family went there every year when I was a kid growing up in Illinois. My favorite thing about it this past year is that I believe the nasty swimmers itch has finally left the building! But even it if hadn't, everything else about the area would bring us back. I would concur that you could probably find something for almost every price range and in the past 5 years, prices have come back to reality some up there. Not saying they've dropped substantially or that property values are dropping, just that people selling realize they have to be realistic these days.