About Us
Family Friendly | Family Owned
Founded in 1948 and in the same family ever since, our resort is located on Blanche Lake across from Glendalough State Park. We offer a relaxing week at the lake, with swimming, fishing, sailing and other watercraft, in a quiet wooded setting. We have eight lakeside cottages, comfortably and conveniently furnished, many with lofts and vaulted ceilings. Built, enlarged, and remodeled over 76 years, each cabin has its own character. We use paneling from our own woods extensively in the cottages. Each cottage has a large deck on lakeside for dining and lounging. Cabins are spread along seven hundred feet of north shore and backed by a secluded thirteen acre tract of park-like woodland.
Time for a getaway. At the end of your journey, this lovely woodland trail will lead to family fun and relaxation.
Get to know us.
Click here to see an afternoon at Woodlawn.
Woodlawn in transition
After three quarters of a century, the Narveson family is passing Woodlawn on to new owners, Tyler and Catherine Nelson. Though it’s hard to say goodbye to this beautiful spot, and to all the guests who have become part of our lives, we are delighted to announce that it will continue as a resort. Watch a brief video on the transition, created by WDAY TV in Fargo.
Woodlawn history
In 1947, Bud Narveson was a senior in high school when his dad asked, “How would you like to run a resort?” Not yet 18, Bud had to have his dad co-sign the deed. He started college with “Bud’s Resort” as his summer job. Three younger brothers helped out, and his handy parents took on building projects and made curtains. The summer of 1949, a family of five drove in and 73 years later, the Wellborn clan still vacations at Woodlawn every year. Other families have made it their summer home too - many of our guests bring their children and grandchildren to the place they loved as kids, where weekly marshmallow roasts and games of Starlight Moonlight continue despite the passage of time.
Family bonds and love for this place have been central for the Narveson family. Phyllis and Bud married in 1956 and went to work producing resort help - Karl, Katie, and Martha - who worked their way up from sweeping floors to taking out the fish guts. In the early years, fishing, swimming and water-skiing were the central draw for guests, joined by tennis once Bud installed a clay court (sadly, no longer functional). During the kids’ high school and college years, the family expanded its sailing school and acquired Windsurfer sailboards. Guests canoed the local chain of lakes, explored historic Phelps Mill, and hiked Minnesota’s youngest state park, Glendalough, located just across the lake.
More recently, hydro-bikes, kayaks, and paddle boards have added options on the lakefront, and a rec building offers ping-pong, board games, tv, and a sizable library. Bud and Phyllis’s grand-kids inspired the addition of a tree house and expanded play area when Martha’s husband, Rich Ingram, took on management in 2008. Kate and her husband Dennis stepped into the manager’s role in 2020, and it’s still very much an old-fashioned family-run resort.
Throughout the years, our aim has remained the same, to provide a relaxing week, a comfortable cabin, and the beauty of unspoiled lake and woods.
