Voyagaire Lodge & Houseboats — Local services in Minnesota

THEY ARE CARELESS WITH IMPORTANT THINGS! We do not recommend! 3 reasons we will not return! 1- We were charged for a propeller we did not damage! Before going out on our houseboat, the deck-hand showed us the propeller blades that were a little rough around the edges but in good working condition. The deck-hand made written notes about the blades. We had a good 3-night trip, never hit rock, wood or debris and returned the boat in the same working condition. On returning, another deck-hand claimed we hit something and roughed up the propeller blades. So he charged us for 3 new blades. We had no pictures of the blades before the trip and we needed to get to church so we paid for the propeller and left. I wrote the owners the next day. They looked into the matter but will not show us the notes written on check-in and do not believe what we said about the blades. The owners concluded that “the props were in worse shape than when we left”; no proof/no pics, just their word against our word. I don’t understand how the boat operated so well on our return trip if the propeller blades were in such “worse shape”. Also Voyagaire does not print or send you a receipt after your trip.

2- The deck crew knowingly sent us out with a broken fuel gauge. When leaving a deck-hand told us the gas gauge was broken but we had nothing to worry about because we had 60 gallons in 2 separate fuel tanks. However, our motor died when the 20-gallon tank ran out of gas because we had no way of knowing that it was time to switch to the 40-gallon tank. We were left adrift in strong winds while trying to restart a finicky motor. The crew or owners were not much concerned about a broken fuel gauge but they were concerned about a propeller we didn’t damage- they got $ from us for that.

3- The lake map on the boat is glued to a large board that can’t be taken out on your smaller pull behind boat. We tried to buy another map at the office before we left but they were out. Plus most of the ‘mooring’ sites are unofficial (not built buy the park), difficult to find and in poorer condition.

Voyagaire Houseboats can keep 2 stars because because they helped us print our houseboat park permit and the inside of the houseboat was decent enough.

Years ago we used Rainy Lake Houseboats in International Falls and we had no problems that come close to the ones we described.

3 pieces of advice for future houseboat renters: 1st- go to Rainy Lake Houseboats also part of Voyageur National Park. 2nd- when you get to your houseboat take pictures of the motor, prop and anything off-kilter on your houseboat. 3rd- make sure you are provided with good maps that can be taken on your...

We visited Voyagaire Lodge & Houseboats for four nights during the last week of September, 2024 in order to 1) see northern lights during the solar maximus and equinox, 2) check out Voyageurs National Park on a pontoon boat, and 3) hike to waterfalls. We were able to do all that from this one location, and get meals from the restaurant while our dog was able to share the experience with us.

The first day, we drove 18 minutes to the Vermillion Falls Overlook in the morning and grilled lunch at the picnic area. That afternoon, we hiked the Vermillion Gorge Trail that starts just a few steps from the lodge. Because we take a lot of pictures, and enjoy being outside, we spent three hours on the trail. The air smelled so nice and the mosquitos did not bother us this late in the season. The afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees and sparkling on the water made the last half of the trail especially beautiful.

The second day, we explored the southeast portion of the national park with a pontoon boat that we rented from Voyagaire Lodge & Houseboats. We were a little nervous about using a boat we were not familiar with, but they gave us good instructions, we asked questions, and were cautious so that after a few hours, we felt comfortable avoiding rocks by using the depth finder on the boat, and using the 15-day free trial of the Navionics Boating app. We enjoyed exploring campsites, cooking lunch in a fire pit at one of the places we docked, watching eagles, seeing the pretty views, hearing nothing but the slight breeze, and just relaxing with family.

During our third day, we attempted to hike some other walking trails a few miles away, but read a sign, and heard a sound, that made us think there might be hunters in the area. We did not have high visibility clothing, so we went back to lodge to rest a bit, then returned to Vermillion Falls to see it in afternoon light. We ordered a pizza from the lodge’s restaurant and enjoyed it while watching the sunset from the deck. That evening, a beautiful display of northern lights completed the experience and we left feeling relaxed and happy the next morning.

Reasons to visit Voyagaire Lodge & Houseboats: relaxation, the lack of noise, the smell of the trees and fresh air, the views of nature on land, from the lake and in the sky, the good food, meeting interesting and helpful people, and being allowed to bring a dog along for company. I highly...

I'm happy to have had the experience of a house boat rental. It has been something that our family has wanted to do for some time. The check-in for the houseboat made us fear that we would be charged for ANYTHING that seemed out of the ordinary when we got back. The gentlemen that gave the check-in said that "Half the hot tub cover is broken, so be careful because if the other side breaks you will be charged to replace the cover." The slide off the back was pretty janky, I had to tighten a bunch of screws on it as we were leaving and while we were on the water...I was afraid I'd be charged for a replacement. Our water pump stopped working a few times (I was able to troubleshoot and get it back online). The hot tub was more like a "warm tub" we had to use it very sparingly or else we wouldn't be ablet o use it for the rest of the day Mosquitos kept getting inside the screen for one of the rooms. And we weren't able to comfortably use the upper deck steering because there was some sort of an oil spill on the floor. We used it once and our kids stepped in it causing slipping hazards on the upper deck. These are all manageable issues...btw

The service was good, trivia was super fun, BUT THE COST IS OUTRAGEOUS. We rented the Sport Cruiser 440 for 3 nights and after the cost of the tow behind boat, and the gas the trip costed over $3,700. That's $1,000 more than what the houseboat is listed for. We could have bought our own boat for the cost of the rental, then sold it after the trip. I wish that there was a breakdown of what the total cost would be. Call ahead and ask these questions: How much do you charge per gallon of gas? Man, I'd rather bring my own gas @ $2.89/gal if they're charging a service fee. How much gas does the houseboat use? (chart your trip ahead of time to get approximate millage to plan your budget). How much does the tow behind boat cost for my trip? -Are there any other expenses that I can expect?

I could have paid $4,000 for a full week to an all inclusive trip to Mexico and could count on that price.

If you are planning to rent one of these houseboats, I recommend asking as many questions as possible so that you don't blow your budget.

It was fun... no doubt, great experience, beautiful scenery, but it is not worth the money. $3,700 for 3 nights is incredibly hard to justify for a blue...