Run Away Bay Lodge
Our Northern Minnesota Getaway
Original Postcard courtesy of Ren Holland
Originally the Blue Bird Lodge
family resort, and later Run Away Bay Lodge, our neighborhood was a family resort on Lake Belle Taine for over 60 years. Located in the heart of Minnesota's premiere lakes region near Nevis, Minnesota, Run Away Bay Lodge includes 25 member-owned cabins, plus three acres of common-use property including a fish-cleaning house, playground, basketball court, sauna, and 700 feet of sandy shoreline on Lake Belle Taine. Every owner has their own dock space for mooring a boat.
Blue Bird Lodge
Original Postcard of Blue Bird Lodge Grounds
Courtesy of Rick Wolfe, Crosby
The nearby postcards, printed as early as 1939, capture the beach and original cabins at Blue Bird Lodge. The advertisements below, found in Fuller's Tackle Shop 1947 Gold Book (of Park Rapids) and the 1945 Minnesota Resort and Travel Guide, describe the modern cabins at Blue Bird Lodge as having electricity and running water, beautiful grounds, and rates starting at $3.50 per day. As with most resorts, fishing boats with Johnson motors were available to guests. Ren Holland, who grew up in the resort life of Park Rapids, includes Blue Bird Lodge in his book The Early Resorts of Minnesota.
Original Postcard of Original Beach
Although ownership of Blue Bird Lodge changed hands at least four times, and the name was changed to Run Away Bay Lodge in the mid 1980s, the family resort remained much the same for over 50 years. The week at Blue Bird included activities for kids and adults, play equipment, crafts and ceramics, beach and sauna, and knotty-pine cabins. Throughout the years, the grounds and beach became more manicured, cabins were added and updated, but the nostalgia remained in tact. Several Blue Bird Lodge cabins were white with blue shingles, and others were original log construction. The white cabins were later re-sided to a rustic look to match the original log cabins. Most of the original cabins remain in-tact today, although all include additions and modern upgrades. Some of the divided-glass, swing-in windows were saved during renovations! The original lodge still stands today, as pictured in the advertisement and postcards below.
Original Postcard of Blue Bird Log Cabin
Courtesy of Darryl Hensel, Park Rapids
Although the cabins were sold to individual owners in 1999-2001 as part of the homeowners association, the family-resort atmosphere is alive at Run Away Bay. Together we own and maintain the original three acres of common grounds for all to enjoy. This includes the fish-cleaning house, sauna, playground, basketball court, and of course, 700 feet of sandy shoreline on Lake Belle Taine. Of course, we gather for three neighborhood pot-luck dinners each summer, and enjoy many evenings by the fire enjoying the Minnesota summer.
Original Postcards and Advertisements
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Courtesy of Darryl Hensel, Park Rapids -
Courtesy of Darryl Hensel, Park Rapids -
Courtesy of Rick Wolfe, Crosby -
Courtesy of Darryl Hensel, Park Rapids -
Courtesy of Darryl Hensel, Park Rapids
Did you spend time at Blue Bird Lodge on Lake Belle Taine, or Run Away Bay Lodge?
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Life on Lake Belle Taine
A retreat to the cabin on Lake Belle Taine offers no better place to spend your free time, where even a work day or rainy day is better than a normal day in everyday life. At Run Away Bay Lodge, we spend our time lounging on the beach, soaking in the sauna, visiting with neighbors around the evening campfire, watching the sunsets, boating around the lake, fishing, swimming, kayaking, biking, and spending quality time doing nothing but enjoying the Minnesota weather. These are recent photos of our neighborhood.
Click here to share your stories and photos.
Our Beach and Sauna
We are fortunate to share 700 feet of wonderful sand beach on Lake Belle Taine. The amount of sand area fluctuates during the season from higher water in the spring to a deep sandy beach in the later summer and fall. There is also a cedar, wood-buring sauna on the beach, that allows us to soak in the sauna then run directly into the lake. Some have even used the sauna in the winter, enjoying the cool-down in the snow.
