My family and I have been in Minnesota for about two years but have never ventured up to the Brainerd area to see what it is all about until last weekend. The trip is about two hours from us so we were able to take a long weekend and make it into a great trip!
I have lots of great tips and ideas to share with you as you plan your next trip to Brainerd but today I want to tell you about the fabulous hotel and waterpark that we stayed at!
The Arrowwood Lodge at Brainerd Lakes ended up being one of my kids absolute favorite hotels that we have ever been to (and we have been to a lot). Let me show you why!
We stayed in the Kids Suite which is short for “Your Kids Are Gonna LOVE this place”. This is what welcomed them into their room, a hand painted door that looks like an old cabin door. How adorable is that?
Yep, that’s one of the several rooms in this suite, most importantly the kids room, below. You can see how much fun it is just from this one photo!
There is literally a rock climbing wall in the room. Seriously! My boys are 10 and 8 so I wasn’t sure how they would like this. Maybe they would think it was for younger kids and they were “too big” for it.
But, no. They were all over that wall. Sometimes just sitting on it and “hanging out”. They loved it!
My youngest would sit on the top of the wall while he was watching television at night. That’s another awesome part of the room, they have their own tv so my hubby and I don’t have to suffer through watching the kids shows! Yay!
Ok, as cool as the kids room is, the master bedroom was ever better if you ask me. I had my own whirlpool tub to relax in every evening. Yes, please!
We also had our own kitchenette and table to eat at. We ended up picking up groceries from Cub Food and making our own breakfast each morning before we would head out for the day.
You would think that we went to the Arrowwood Lodge just for our amazing room but they also have a kick butt waterpark, called Paul Bunyan’s Waterpark that we played in for three days!
The waterpark is complete with two waterslides, lazy river, kids play area, water basketball and more.
My boys had a blast on the tube and body slide. They even talked me into going several times which is a pretty big deal, because I usually like to sit, watch and take photos!
There is also an arcade on site for the kids to have fun at. My boys cannot pass up playing at an arcade when we have one in our hotels and they had a couple hours of fun in this one!
There is also an amazing restaurant, Baxter’s Bar and Grill, on site where I had one of the best bruschetta’s that I have ever ordered and my kids said that the pizza was delicious!
Even though we are headed into the off season for the Brainerd area when it comes to vacationing. I would still suggest visiting The Arrowwood Lodge on Brainerd Lakes during the winter for a little getaway. The waterpark alone is worth the trip and will keep your kids busy for days!
I can’t wait to go back this winter when we are all tired of the snow here in Minnesota and need a getaway!
Be sure to connect with Arrowwood Lodge and watch for upcoming specials!
Disclosure: I was provided a media stay in exchange for my post. All opinions are 100% my own.
This sounds like so much fun, Chrissy…and I love that you had a table and kitchenette, since so many water park hotels have a kitchenette but no place to eat except sitting on the couch. This looks like a perfect getaway, snow or not…wish we lived closer! And that door is so cute…I may have to copy it for my boys’ room at home!
Yay!! I actually think of The Lodge as a better option for winter weekends, the pool is great for kids blowing off steam when you’re sick of the snow! I’m glad you had a good time!