NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN - Wisconsin - page 440

Entertainment
Brand-new is the Campanile Center (141 Milwaukee St., Minocqua, 715/356-9700,
www.campanilecenter.org ) inanoldCatholicchurchbuilding;itofferstonsofstuff,includ-
ing Broadway shows, ragtime music, and big brass bands.
Recreation
A true gem of Minocqua is the Minocqua Winter Park and Nordic Center (12375
Scotchman Lake Rd., 715/356-3309), rated in the top 10 in the Midwest and offering
70-kilometer tracks for striding and skating, as well as three short loops for children. Some
weeknights a 1.5-mile loop is lighted. It also operates an open telemarking slope.
Guided fishing is a serious industry in Minocqua. In Vilas County alone, which encom-
passes much of the forest land and tons of the lakes, anglers registered 1,672 muskies total-
ing 22,000 pounds during one Muskie Marathon.
Accommodations
More than 32 lakes lie within the parameters of Minocqua; it's a mind-boggling array of
accommodations out there. But do your homework and reserve early for summer.
Small and dated but clean rooms overlooking Lake Minocqua are at the Aqua Aire
Motel (806U.S.51N,715/356-3433, www.aquaaire.com , from$90).Someroomshavere-
frigerators and microwaves, and it's got some extra offerings.
Within the Minocqua city limits is The Pointe Resort Hotel and Conference Center
(8269 U.S. 51 S, 715/356-4431, www.thepointeresort.com , from $129), a first-class condo
resort on a minor hillock overlooking Minocqua Lake Bay. Spacious studio and one- or
two-bedroom condo suites are excellently appointed and have private lakeside balconies or
patios. A full list of recreational extras is available.
Along similar lines is the more venerable Beacons (8250 Northern Rd., 715/356-5515,
www.thebeacons.com ) , with its landmark boathouse on Minocqua Lake. Around in some
fashion since the early 1900s, today it's a lakeside condo resort with one- to three-bedroom
units, town houses, condos, and great cottages available. Nightly rates (don't count on it)
start at $135, weekly rates around $700.
One resort that is daily-stay (though that may change during peak seasons) is Island
Cove Resort (8616 Lakeview Dr., 715/356-5026, www.islandcoveresort.com ) with some
motel-type rooms from $85, along with more expensive lakeside units and cabins. Some of
the units on the lake have fireplace suites. The sunset views are worthwhile. Weekly rates
start at around $500.