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.