Minnesota's Cozy Lake City Is The Ultimate Destination For Nature Activities And Outdoor Recreation

A quaint and cozy community surrounded by lakes is an outdoor wonderland for visitors — and is also one of Minnesota's top year-round destinations, both for summertime water lovers and winter sports enthusiasts who crave the snow and the "hard water" that offers some of the best ice fishing in the state. Nisswa, situated just over two hours north of Minneapolis, is surrounded by several signature Minnesota lakes, including Gull Lake, Lake Hubert, Pelican Lake, and the community's namesake lake, Nisswa Lake.

A bedroom community of the much larger city of Brainerd, Nisswa is a four-season destination popular with local homeowners and tourists alike. Here, summertime visitors use the community as a home base for waterskiing and fishing. The Paul Bunyan Trail runs right through town and offers great hiking and cycling. In the winter, ice fishers, nordic skiers, and snowmobilers flock to the region, and, at the height of winter and during peak solar activity, visitors to Nisswa and northern Minnesota can occasionally see the Aurora Borealis. In the fall, leaf peepers will love Nisswa and the surrounding area, where the "land of 10,000 lakes" is a driver's scenic dream with America's safest roads.

Because of its location among a host of lakes, Nisswa is a popular destination for anglers who want to cast for bass, walleye, crappie, northern pike and the elusive musky. Lake Hubert, just to the south of Nisswa, is one of the few locations in the region where anglers can find both smallmouth and largemouth bass, but it's probably best known for its prized walleye population. The state's Department of Natural Resources stocks Lake Hubert with walleye every three years, which has led to very productive fishing for one of the Midwest's favorite game fish. This puts Nisswa-area lakes in company with the state's legendary Lake of the Woods in terms of world-class walleye fishing.

But it's not all about fishing during a Nisswa summer. The 115-mile Paul Bunyan Trail runs right through town. It's one of the country's longest continuously paved rails-to-trails conversions. It stretches from Crow Wing State Park just south of Brainerd to Bemidji State Park up north, a good hour and a half drive from Nisswa. The trail runs through both signature "north woods" countryside and through several communities, making it an ideal long and peaceful ride with plenty of places to stop for provisions. In Nisswa, for example, the trail runs right by a coffee shop, a family diner, an ice cream parlor, a pizza joint, and the Big Axe Brewery, a local microbrewery popular with both residents and tourists alike.

During the cold and snowy months from November through March, Nisswa is a winter wonderland. The surrounding lakes freeze over and offer anglers lots of choices. Nearby Gull Lake is a renowned ice-fishing destination. At more than 10,000 acres, there's plenty of room for ice fishers to spread out on Gull Lake, and anglers can even rent heated ice-fishing houses strategically placed on the lake by a local outfitter every winter. The area's frozen lakes are also utilized by cross-country skiers who slice through the snow along many maintained trails.

The Paul Bunyan Trail becomes a snowmobile highway in the winter, and riders often start or finish a daylong ride along the trail at Nisswa, which is near the trail's southern terminus at Crow Wing State Park. This is also the time of year when the days are at their shortest, and during prime solar activity, the trail and the many lakes around Nisswa make it among the best Midwest destinations where you're more likely spot the Northern Lights.

Regardless of the season, a visit to Nisswa offers plenty in terms of entertainment. From summertime boating and water sports to winter ice fishing and skiing, Nisswa is an excellent home base for any visit to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.