I appreciate the information shared in this thread about the plans by the tribe. That map showing the boundary was helpful. For those of us down in the cities who don’t follow every word of what’s going on up there, this helps fill us in.
I agree that most of the resorts up there did not change to cater more towards families. But that said, many of them were small and didn’t really have the room to add a pool, huge lawn, etc. They were utilitarian places to rest your head and have a beer at night and that was it. Every resort up there is on a small piece of land with cabins on top of each other and fish houses parked everywhere else. It’s always been a fishing lake and always will be. People drive past that up to Brainerd and beyond for the more typical family resort vacation.
Drive through the state parks and they are absolutely packed because they have the room for family amenities. The kids and wives have something to do in between their fishing outings.
But Mille Lacs was on the decline long before any of all of this recent walleye decline. Many of those resorts closed in the late 90s and early 2000s. I think at that time I remember more guys starting to go up further north to Leech, Red, and LOTW. This is when roads started getting better up that way, speed limits faster. Those other lakes were more accessible now for a lot of guys so they started driving by Mille Lacs.
not apples/apples exactly but interesting to me.