Thankfully, some things remain unchanged. Over 75 years ago, if you had fun splashing into the crystal-clear water of Thousand Island Lake, you would have felt its soft rippling sand cover your toes and looked out on the same Northwoods you do today. Only the trees are now much taller.
Americo Fiorucci bought this stretch of shoreline in 1948 to start Camp Hiawatha. He was a nearby, award-winning high school biology and chemistry teacher who wanted to share his deep love and knowledge of nature with boys living in distant cities. Today, if you stay in Cabins 2 and 3, you are in the original mess hall and Cabin 9 was the camp’s recreation hall. The wildlife displays in Cabin 2 were the original taxidermy works done by Americo himself.
In 1968, Americo expanded this outdoor experience to vacationers when he converted the camp into Vacationland Resort. Year after year, families and friends came to swim, boat and fish in Thousand Island Lake and its 14 sister lakes in the Cisco Chain. One of Americo’s former campers continues to return to the resort to share his memories and love of the area with his children and grandchildren. In 1981, Americo sold the resort to Bill and Jan Smet.
Bill and Jan kept the Vacationland Resort name and expanded what the resort had to offer. They built two modern duplexes, Cabins 7 & 8 and 11 & 12, and Cabin 10 and the Log Home for themselves. These additions made it more accommodating for families to hold large summer reunions and share stories around the campfire. Bill had a love of sailing and would share this joy with guests on the waters.
From 2006 to 2022, Craig and Lisa Hesse owned the resort. They updated and added piers for each cabin and built large decks for outdoor entertainment around the original camp cabins. They kept the resort grounds wonderfully maintained. Lisa enjoyed growing flowers for the window boxes and made sure the hummingbirds were well-fed. To this day, summertime guests are greeted by the busy hummingbirds zooming by and beautiful flowers and herbs at their cabin. During the COVID pandemic, Canadian borders were closed to travelers, resulting in a huge influx of guests. Vacationland Resort became a premier destination for anglers who wanted a “Canadian fishing experience” closer to home. New guests also discovered that the resort was a nearby base to reach popular U.P. outdoor destinations such as the Sylvania Wilderness and Porcupine Mountains.
In 2022, our story came full circle when a local community banker and retired teacher, Jake and Laura Weinand, bought the resort. They gave it a locational name so guests coming from as far away as California, Montana and Florida could easily find it. Jake and Laura focus on making it a year-round destination for families, anglers, hunters, snowmobilers, skiers, photographers, artists and birders. They bought The Arrows Resort from long-running owners, Denver and Carole Yakel, in April 2023. This addition added three more cabins (Coyote Cove, Deerpath, & Island View) under their belts. Currently, they are remodeling the Log Home to include the lower level which will make it the largest cabin rental on site. Stay tuned for updates to the basketball and tennis court in the future.
