The story of a family that built a life — and a legend — on Lake of the Woods.
In 1926, a man named Kendall Hanson looked at a wooded seven-acre island in Sabaskong Bay and saw something worth building. A hundred years later, his family is still here.
What started as a handful of hand-built log cabins has become one of the longest-running family lodges on Lake of the Woods. Through the Depression, the coming of the highway, decades of wilderness outpost camps and four generations of Hansons, one thing never changed: this is a family place, run by a family, for families.
The walls of the old log lodge tell the rest of the story — black-and-white photographs of wooden launches and record catches, of ice being cut by horse in winter and children learning to fish in summer. Many of the faces in those frames are the great-grandparents of guests who still come today.
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A Century, In Brief
The Hanson family timeline.
From the first cabins to the hundredth season — the milestones that built King Island Lodge.
1926
The first cabins rise
Kendall Hanson establishes King Island Lodge on Sabaskong Bay, hand-building the first log cottages on the island between 1926 and 1930.
1930s
Into the wilderness
The family enters the outpost business, guiding canoe-route adventurers into the backcountry and opening up remote water far beyond the lodge.
1936
The Hideaway on Crow Lake
With Highway 71 newly pushed through, the Hansons build a second lodge — the Hideaway on Crow Lake — expanding the family's reach on the lake.
1999
Fly-in outposts
Remote fly-in camps at Ajax, Miner and Beaverhouse Lakes bring true wilderness fishing to guests who want water all to themselves.
Today
Still family, still here
The cabins have been updated and the boats have changed, but the island is as peaceful — and the welcome as genuine — as it was a hundred years ago.
2026
One hundred years
King Island Lodge marks its centennial season. Four generations in, and already thinking about the next hundred.
"We're not just running a lodge. We're keeping a piece of this lake the way it was meant to be — for the families who've made it part of their own story."
The Hanson Family
What We Stand For
A century built on a few simple things.
Family first
We've always run this place as a family, and we treat every guest like one. Grandparents who fished here as kids now bring their grandkids.
Rooted in the community
We're proud to be part of the Nestor Falls and Lake of the Woods community — supporting the region that has supported us for a hundred years.
Stewards of the water
Healthy fish and clean water are the whole point. We fish responsibly and protect this bay so it's every bit as good for the next generation.
Add Your Chapter
Become part of the next hundred years.
Every family that visits leaves a little of their story on this island. We'd love for yours to be next.
