Rhinelander is in Oneida County, Wisconsin, in an area dubbed the Northwoods. The region has many lakes and rivers that offer water-skiing, tubing, jet skiing, fishing and canoeing in spring and summer. Three popular lakes are Clear Lake, Lake George and Lake Thompson. In the winter, Hodag and Pioneer Park provide opportunities for snowmobiling, ice fishing and cross-country skiing. Rhinelander's famous Hodag, a mythical creature imagined by pioneer Gene Shepard in 1896, may have begun as a hoax but it is now celebrated by local businesses and Rhinelander's school sports teams.
The Pine Valley Lodge was built in the early 1920s just as the first logging and passengers trains rolled into the Northwoods. The lodge, set on 1,900 feet of lake frontage, offered the first Water Toboggan water slide on the beach. Pine Valley Lodge sits on the largest lake in the Moen Lake chain. The complex includes the eight-bedroom Lodge, the five-bedroom Norway House and nine cabins, each with one to three bedrooms. Cabins sit three to 15 feet from the lake and each has a rowboat. Amenities include paddleboats, canoes and rowboats, pontoon boat rentals, tennis, basketball, volleyball, tetherball, shuffleboard and horseshoes. Nearby activities include golf, horseback riding, hiking and biking. All terrain vehicle trails are nearby. The two-story lodge features a huge room with a large fieldstone fireplace.
The Cranberry Hill Bed & Breakfast in Rhinelander was built in 1892 by lumber barons. They put up a Queen Anne home that today it is a nine thousand square foot preserved mansion. Guests can choose to stay in the Honeymoon Suite with a brass bed and a fireplace, or the large family suite, filled with a dollhouse and toys. The Raspberry suite has a private bedroom, library and a living room. Each suite comes with a television, a fireplace -- sometimes two -- down comforters, flowers, candy, beverages, desert and a full hot/cold breakfast, along with a coffee/tea service. The inn has six rooms, two with shared bath and four with private bathrooms. The inn also has a piano in its main living room, a private porch, patio, picnic grounds, an evening dessert/cordials/hors d'oeuvres tray and a tea and coffee tray served in bed before breakfast. Pets are allowed. Cranberry Hill was established in 1981.
Holiday Acres, situated on Lake Thompson, offers homes, cabins and lodge rooms. Its vacation homes are big -- one has six bedrooms and four baths, the other has five bedrooms and two baths. Both have cable TV, A/C, complete kitchens, microwaves, dishwashers, fireplaces and phones with data ports and voice mail. Rooms at the lodge have refrigerators and microwaves. The lake beach is kept clean, filled with sand and shallow a good distance from the shore. The resort has 28 guest rooms in the lodge and 30 cottages. Open year-round, in the warmer months it offers swimming, fishing boating and water sports on the lake. When the weather gets colder, there are trails for snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, biking and hiking on Long Lake's nature trails. The indoor pool is useful when the temperatures dip. Holiday Acres also has a sauna. Other activities include tennis, horseback riding, basketball, volleyball, tennis, water-skiing, shuffleboard, kayaking, canoeing and pontoon boating. Breakfast and lunch are served in the Patio Room. Three Coins Restaurant offers nightly dinner specials and a Friday night and Sunday brunch buffet.
