Lake Getaways Without The Crowds

Mornings start simply over northern Minnesota's Lake Vermilion. Motorboats putter across 40,000 acres of open water as deer graze at the edge of thick pine forests. The blue water ripples ever so slightly. Somewhere in the distance, a loon calls. And just down the road from Pehrson Lodge, the town of Cook (population: 500) is waking up. Valerie Ohotto pours coffee at the Montana Cafe as men in baseball caps and blue jeans tuck into sausage patties as big as their hands.

Pictured: Walleye, northern and smallmouth bass draw anglers to Lake Vermilion.