Motel websites built for Brainerd

Brainerd sits at the center of Minnesota's classic lakes country, where MN 371 runs through neighboring Baxter and north through Nisswa and Pequot Lakes into resort territory. Local tourism folks count more than 465 lakes within reach of town, and the family resorts on Gull Lake and the golf courses around them — more than 450 holes in the area — have pulled Twin Cities families north for generations. The motels and motor inns along 371 pick up everyone the big resorts don't: anglers hauling boats, contractors working on lake homes, race fans in August, and couples who want a lake weekend without a seven-night package.

The tourist draws are specific and durable. Paul Bunyan Land, about eight miles east of town, has had a 26-foot talking Paul Bunyan greeting kids by name since 1954. Brainerd International Raceway has been running major events since 1968, and the NHRA Nationals in August pack the campgrounds and every room for miles. The Paul Bunyan State Trail — the longest continuously paved trail in the state — carries bikers north through the lake towns all summer. Between golf groups, trail riders, wedding parties, and race crews, a well-run motel here sees steady demand from fishing opener in May through Labor Day, then a fall-color encore.

The competition is mostly resorts, and that is the opening. Gull Lake lodges and golf packages own the top of the market, which leaves independents in Brainerd and Baxter to serve everyone who just needs a clean room, fair rates, and a place to park a boat trailer. Winter does not shut the area down, either: ice fishing runs December through March, the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza draws thousands of anglers onto the ice, and snowmobilers ride the trail network between towns. A motel that shows its rooms honestly online, posts winter rates, and answers the phone will out-earn the ones leaning on a highway sign.