Goin' To The Lake: Moose Lake (Day 1)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- WCCO's summer road trip continues for the second week, and this time we're Goin' to the Lake in Moose Lake with Kylie Bearse, Molly Rosenblatt, and John Hines!

Moose Lake is a city of about 2,800 people just about two hours northwest of the Twin Cities. Besides the numerous lakes and rivers in the area there are also a ton of great shops and restaurants to check out. Like any tourist town in Minnesota, the people here tell WCCO their population swells every weekend in the summer.

GALLERY: Goin' To The Lake Hits Moose Lake

Flooding At Moose Lake

This weekend, a lot of people will head north to their cabins and continue to clean up. Storms on Tuesday night caused flooding throughout northern Minnesota. One of the areas hit was Moose Lake. The Moose Lake City Campground is closed, as is the park and boat landing. Swimming and boating in Moose Head Lake is prohibited right now. City officials say the water is moving fast and it is just too dangerous to be in the water. The Campground has about 65 of their sites underwater and they told us it's could be a month or more before they are able to get back up and running.

Despite the high water, there's still a lot to do and see in town. Everyone WCCO talked to has a very positive attitude when it comes to dealing with the rising waters. They all expressed similar feelings, saying they've dealt with much worse, referring to 2012 when the area had some of the worst flooding they've ever seen.

Moose Lake Theater

On a cool or rainy day at the cabin or camping it's nice to find an indoor activity. We found a great place in Moose Lake to enjoy even a rainy day at the lake. Moose Lake's first theater burned up in the fire of 1918.  That's when the grandfather of Walter Lower Jr., who currently owns the theater, set out to build a new one. In 1936, that theater was built, and the family has been running it ever since. Among the changes, one thing has remained: their love of the movies.

1918 Fire Museum

One of the largest disasters in Minnesota history happened in the Moose Lake area nearly a century ago. In the fire of 1918, 453 people were killed, most of them in Moose Lake and towns west of there. In all, the fire destroyed 35 towns and burned about 300,000 acres. The Moose Lake Train Depot is one of the only buildings that didn't burn in the fire of 1918. It was built back in 1907 and the first passenger train came through in 1910. The Depot was closed in the early 1990s and has since been restored as the museum.

Agate Hunting In The State Park

When you think about agates in Minnesota the North Shore and Lake Superior probably come to mind. But Moose Lake is actually an agate hunter's dream. Moose Lake State Park is home of the Agate Geological Center, the perfect place for anyone who has an interest in rocks or history.

Doc's Bar & Grill and Moose Lake Golf Club

Doc's is right off I-35 as soon as you get to Sturgeon Lake. They've got a big dining area, and on Thursdays it gets busy becuase it is barbecue night here at Doc's. They let us back in the kitchen to see how the magic happens, and that's just part of what they offer here.
In the back of the property you'll find the perfect space to host a party. Their bar is made from on old bus. The manager, Tara, tells us she got the idea on a trip to Sturgis.

Just up the road about five minutes you'll find another place to kick back. Sand Lake  lives up to its name with lots of sandy beach areas and a place to dock your boat and play some golf.

The Moose Lake Golf Club is on the shores on Sand Lake. Thursday night was men's league night so we found lots of guys out on the course which is in great shape right now.

Riding ATVs In The Mud

Right across the street from Doc's is a new place that you have to check out if you're in town. They rent out ATVs, and they took Molly and Kylie out on the trails! Check out the video above to see what they got into on a muddy Thursday afternoon...

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Two other attractions that we featured on Goin' To The Lake this week: the Moose Lake Golf Club and the ATV activities via Off Road Rentals. Stay tuned for more!