I have just returned from my happiest place on earth (sorry Disneyland), Veronen's Resort on Bad Medicine Lake. I spent a lot of summers at Veronen's when I was growing up and look forward to going back as often as I can. It says everything about the resort that the same families have been coming back for their "week" at the lake for two generations now. No need to advertise as they rarely have a campground vacancy and it is odd to the extreme for a cabin to come up vacant.
Bad Medicine Lake is a spring-fed
lake located in
Forest Township in
Becker County, Minnesota. It got its name from the fact that early
Native Americans in the area thought that a lake with neither inlet nor outlet was a place of bad omen ("bad medicine") and would not hunt or fish near the lake. The lake is approximately five miles long, a half mile wide, and reaches depths of up to 90 feet (27 m). It is known for its clear, cold waters and
rainbow trout fishing. It has experienced dramatic changes in its fish habitat and fish community in the last 35 years. Regarded as a
bass/panfish lake in the 1950s and 1960s, the lake is now managed primarily for rainbow trout and
walleye. The DNR turned Bad Medicine Lake into a trout lake in 1977, following an explosion of native
crayfish that eliminated the vegetation used by
bass and
panfish. Roughly 16,000 rainbow trout are stocked annually, including
Kamloops and
Madison strains. There are two active resorts located on the lake. Veronen's Resort is a family owned and operated cabin and campground established in 1946 by Bill and Gertie Veronen. Today it is run by Bill and Gertie's kids and their spouses and Bill and Gertie's grandkids. The motto, "Great fishing, great hunting, great family" describes to perfection.

Just a mile or so down the driveway and you are there!

As seen from the air. Look at that blue water!

One of the docks and one of the dogs. The dogs are as much a part of the experience as the people!

The brag board on the far wall in the "gathering room" in the lodge. Also home to the weekly potlucks.