Anybody here ever rent a houseboat and haul along a couple of canoes for day trips? I'm talking Voyageur's Nat'l Park. We (4 people)got a tow to LLC a couple of times, and liked it. For about $200 more, we could get a houseboat out of Crane Lake for a week. We've never been to VNP. Any advice? (I already know motor boats are bad and you shouldn't go on them.) ;) Seriously, though, a fridge?

Only $200 more? I've looked into houseboat rentals in Voyageurs or on Rainy Lake. Seems like they're always in the $2500 to $3000 range for a week... plus gas. It would be fun to do but I need to find a way to justify it vs. a different vacation.

I have rented houseboats in VNP a handful of times from this outfitter and it was a blast.

I did it quite a few times in the early 90s with a group of friends and it was great to be able to share the expenses as the rental was not cheap.

Fast forward to 2007- I surprised my husband and kids with a week on a houseboat for our 10 year anniversary. We loved it and the kids still talk about it and want to do it again. It is an entirely different type of vacation but still tons of fun. We towed a fishing boat and had fun exploring the lakes in that. I did see some canoes but they were the really large voyageur types and they were struggling on the big water.

It is an expensive vacation. Rental, gas, propeller replacement costs :-) all add up. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We did a houseboat trip in May of 2012. It was a group of 6 guys, bachelor party.

We rented from Voyageur Houseboats out of Crane Lake. We did a three night trip and ventured through Crane, Sand and up to the Kettle Falls area.

We slept on the boat, and only landed on shore at night to have a bonfire and relax.

No canoe for us, but we did rent a fishing boat, which we used a few times to chase some fish. A canoe would be great though to explore the endless coves, bays and islands that abound up there. There should be plenty of room on the top deck for them.

The highlights were doing some hikes into the forest to remote lakes, Kettle Falls and the old hotel up there, and just the fun of being on the boat...We did all our cooking on-board, grilled etc....all the stuff you hear about with these vacations.

The low-lights were...cold, rainy weather for about half our trip. I know, you can't do anything about it...but when it's cold, windy and raining..there are not a lot of options but stay on the boat and hang out. Make sure you bring movies, games etc. to keep everyone occupied.

These rental boats also take a beating. Nothing too terrible, but expect dirty carpets, uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and the feel of a second-rate motel.

Lastly, the cost. By the time we rented the boat, the fishing boat, the food plan (we opted for this instead of doing all our own shopping), taxes etc., not to mention the gas when we turned the boat back in..it was an expensive three days. There are a lot of other places I'd go first to spend that kind of money.

I'm on the fence as to whether I'd do the houseboat thing again...I love the area, but we'd probably bring our own boat and rent a cabin on Crane Lake or head out to a campsite and use that as a fishing base camp...Just my $.02.

Its bucket list material imo. Make sure everybody is into that type of vacation. I got some complainers, my dad mostly lol. Thats because we only had the tow behind 16ft they included, and couldn't get on the fish because of big water. This was on Rainy lake too, but same concept. So definitely bring a decently rigged boat.


Spendy for sure so not sure Id go back. I would rather apply the funds towards my BWCA gear instead.

Great topic,
I have often considered doing this bu the price is terrible and then you have to rent a motor boat is what I was told. VNP is great, free camping at the mouth of the narrows and a few other places I supppose. Check out Makooda while you are up there. Good trip to camp & motor boat or housebout it if you have plenty of $.

The price and second rate motel feel kinda puts me off. Guess if I had the serious itch for this I would do it in Arizona on Powell Lake during spring or fall when it's still miserable and nasty up here, but warm and sunny down there.

I've done it up in low ontario. w/ a group it's about 800 each. It is a blast & the boats we used were nice. Not the Hyatt, but very suitable for my workmanlike taste.

quote Slaux: "I've done it up in low ontario. w/ a group it's about 800 each. It is a blast & the boats we used were nice. Not the Hyatt, but very suitable for my workmanlike taste. "

Yeah, I agree. As I mentioned in my previous post the accommodations are fine...just not great. These boats are rented by people who probably don't boat a lot..they're rented for parties, they're rented by groups of guys for a fishing trip etc....It's just a recipe that results in things getting broken, stained, smelly etc.......they get beat up.

There were a lot of boats in the fleet that we used at the dock, and I asked the guy if I could check them out. He said yes, and all the boats I went into were in about the same shape. The folks keep them as clean as possible, but it is what it is. I don't have champagne tastes by any means, but it should be pointed out.

I also cannot say it enough...make sure you bring movies, board games, cards...anything to pass the time if you run into in-climate weather. If you're confined to the boat during a thunderstorm or a cold spell there's not much to do except wait it out.

We spent three nights on the boat and all told it was about $800-$900 (not including gas to drive there) per guy and there were 6 of us...it's expensive.

Really don't want to discourage anyone from doing it...everyone who wants to should...it's a very unique vacation. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it. It was fun, but I don't want to sugarcoat anything.

Consider also taking boat, motor, canoes, a big tent and screen shelter for much less cost and still a good time.

Hi! My family rented a house boat yesterday. I haven't heard from them. Is the reception bad out there? Im going crazy not able to talk to them to know they are all safe!!!

quote Sloth:
I also cannot say it enough...make sure you bring movies, board games, cards...anything to pass the time if you run into in-climate weather. If you're confined to the boat during a thunderstorm or a cold spell there's not much to do except wait it out.
"

I'd recommend Deliverance and Cape Fear(1991)

Reception can be very spotty up there - or not available at all some times.

cell coverage is spotty. also the bears are starting to pack on more weight at this point. They have been known to swim out to boats and eat whole families.

quote Worried Melissa: "Hi! My family rented a house boat yesterday. I haven't heard from them. Is the reception bad out there? Im going crazy not able to talk to them to know they are all safe!!!"

You dug up a four year old thread to ask a question like that when you could far more easily simply call the houseboat rental company? And they just went out yesterday? Good grief. I'm thinking Guest Paddler Melissa is just "funnin'" us. Or maybe, as Chillpill suggests, a bear swam out and ate the whole fam damily. :)

We did on on Birch Lake in Babbitt. Got a deal during the first half of June. I think there are also good deals in September. We had nice weather and, since it was just me and my wife, we rented one of the smaller boats. Not super expensive and we had a blast. We spent the nights tied up at a campsite so we could have fires and relax. Cooked all our meals on board and had a nice slide from the top of the boat. I think the place was called Timber Bay that we rented from.