Niemeyer's Rugged River Resort - Resort hotel in Brainerd - 12241 Stailman Rd, USA

Such a wonderful place. Great host and hostess, very very friendly and helpful! Four wonderful days on houseboat with wonderful friends. We made so many memories thanks to Rugged river resort owners. I really think we’ll be back. Houseboat was very clean, comfortable and fully stocked. All the comforts of home. Nothing like playing some cards around the table and laughs. Thank you Corey and Sheila

This resort has been my family's go to destination since the the middle 1940's I am 4th generation traveling to this resort and my kids are the 5th. This alone should tell you how amazing the resort, the owner's and the location truly is. Niemeyer's are some of the best people you will ever meet and will do anything possible to make your stay the best experience you want to gain out your vacation. No matter what you want to do there is always something to do or you can simply do nothing at all and have the secluded feeling with so many modern convinces at your choosing. Corby and Sheila have done a wonderful job with maintaining their family's legacy and look forward to sharing their resort to any visitors!

Our family stayed in the large houseboat and cabin 4 over a five day period. We had an excellent time. We had some issues with the house boat, but the owners were excellent at taking care of the issues and we overall had a blast on the boat. It is such a unique, fun experience. I would recommend having some boating experience if you rent the houseboat. We loved cabin 4, it is a great, updated cabin with a private dock. We had a pontoon one night and a fishing boat for two nights. It is great to be on the river for fishing and the beautiful scenery. We also really enjoyed the heated pool and hot tub. Customer service was excellent and they do a great job taking care of the resort.

We were in RV Site 1 in Woodlands and would HIGHLY recommend Rugged River Resort. For us this serene spacious site in the woods was gorgeous, the spot was level, all good. The resort office staff are friendly and helpful, and of course the fact that they ordered perfect weather helped a great deal. Thanks so much, we will return.

If you are looking for a relaxing getaway this is your place! We stayed in the newly built cabin for a long weekend and had a great time. The owners of this place are very kind, accessible and accomodating! We've never met such friendly business owners. They even took my nephew out on a fishing adventure, which he loved! The cabin was clean, spacious, and we spent many hours on the front porch which has a table and chairs there already. We also enjoyed the canoe, paddle boating and fishing off of the dock. The only disappointment was there was not a swimming area (as it is on a portion of the river and not a Brainered lake), but the pool was warm and very nice. Overall, we'd definatley recommend this stay, especially if you want to catch some fish and distance yourself a bit from the outside world.

We had a marvelous family stay on the houseboat!! It’s definitely cozy, like an RV on the water, but it had everything we needed, oven, coffee maker, tiny shower, etc. The electrical needs were supplied by a battery that was connected to solar panels, with a backup generator just in case. ||It was heavenly to drop anchor a few miles up or down river in a secluded spot and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the Mississippi in summer. Spectacular sunsets, crying loons, and gentle breezes. Different than being on a lake with lots of other vacationers and residents cruising around.||The piloting of the houseboat had similar controls to a pontoon boat but it took a minute to get the hang of its skateboard like movements. I’d recommend having at least one person who’s already relatively comfortable driving a boat along.||Corby and Sheila are super nice and made us feel so welcome! They have a lot of pride of ownership and obviously love sharing with guests. What an an absolute gem they are keeping here on the river.

The owner's home we stayed in was really nice, very comfortable yet spacious. Having multiple families stay together during a vacation is a true advantage versus individual cabins. The private dock was great and close to the launch site. The swimming pool and hot tub were a huge hit for adults and children. We were surprised it was not crowded and did value the privacy with just our family. The owners and staff members were very pleasant and helpful to meet our needs. We enjoyed the gift shop where we purchased sweatshirts, cups and ice cream. Staying at the private home allowed us to escape the noisy city while enjoying and relax in a nature filled quiet environment. We heard the loons, saw deer and several frogs which the children enjoyed trying to catch. We very much enjoyed the bonfire where we had s'mores and waved at passing boats. This was our first multi-family vacation. We will definitively be returning and recommending this to others. ~The Brust Family

I wasn't sure what to expect when I made my reservation, but I must say, it was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. I didn't know how "rugged" or "rustic" it would be, but I feared for no reason. I was looking for something other than a hotel room or a four-star room for my vacation. I wanted to be in beautiful surroundings with nature around me where I could unplug and relax. Niemeyer's was just the ticket. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful, as you can see by the photos I am attaching. My cabin wasn't new, but it was definitely comfortable. Some of the larger cabins looked much newer than mine. The views were spectacular as was the fishing. To be honest, I am not a fisherman, but I caught about two dozen from the dock as well as on our pontoon ride. The pontoon was a great way to spend the day, by the way. They are available for rent while kayaks, canoes, and paddle boats were free. If you're not a fisherman, there are walking trails nearby and there are good antique stores to explore in Brainerd, Baxter, and especially Crosby. If you just want to get away from it all, bring some books and sit on your deck or by one of the many fire pits. And you can stay connected with the world too, if you want, because free wifi is available throughout the camp. The office has some good frozen pizzas (not the cheap brands), ice cream treats (not the cheap brands), pop, ice, charcoal, and wood for the fire pits if you need anything like that. And they don't gouge you with the prices. Everything seemed reasonably priced. It was in-line or lower than I have seen at other places. The owners of the camp were friendly and accommodating. The camp has the feel of a mom & pop business and not a corporate entity. This was my first time visiting the camp, but it definitely will not be my last. I know I sound like I am writing a commercial for their establishment, but I kind of am. If you're interested or intrigued about coming here, don't hesitate. The week I spent here was one of the best I have had in a long time.