Almost every note we get starts the same way: which lake should we be on? It is a fair question, because around Eagle River the water changes character from one chain to the next. Here is how we would answer it — what the Sugar Camp Chain is like, how it differs from a small no-wake lake, and which of our two cabins fits which kind of trip.
Orientation
Where is the Sugar Camp Chain?
The Sugar Camp Chain sits just south and east of Eagle River, in the stretch of Oneida County between town and Three Lakes. It is a boatable chain, which is the part that matters: the lakes connect, so you can leave the dock after breakfast, run through to a different basin, fish a new weed edge, and be back without ever putting the boat on a trailer. For a week-long stay that one detail changes the whole rhythm of the trip.
It is close enough to town that groceries, a tackle stop or a supper club dinner are a short drive, and far enough out that the shoreline still feels like forest rather than a subdivision. If you want the bigger picture, our Eagle River Chain guide covers the famous chain just north of here.
On the chain
Which cabin sits on the Sugar Camp Chain?
The Grandy Dandy is our lakefront place on the chain. It sleeps 10 across 3 bedrooms — five beds, two bathrooms, plus a futon downstairs — which makes it the one families and two-couple groups tend to land on. Out back there is a private dock, kayaks, a firepit and a deck big enough to eat dinner on under the pines.
Two things get mentioned more than anything else. The first is the cedar barrel sauna, which comes into its own once the nights turn cold and you can go from the sauna straight out into the air. The second is the basement game room, with a pool table and an arcade machine — the thing that saves a rainy afternoon when nobody wants to be on the water. There is a hot tub as well, so the sauna is not the only warm option after a cold morning of fishing.
The quieter option
What if you want a smaller, quieter lake?
Then you want The O.G., our hand-hewn log cabin on private, no-wake Lake Arbutus. No-wake means no ski boats and no engine noise rolling across the water at nine in the morning — just paddles, loons and whatever you are casting at. It sleeps 8 across 4 bedrooms, six beds and two bathrooms, with a loft king and a private balcony at the top of the stairs.
The O.G. has a sandy beach and a swim platform, which is why it is the pick for families with young swimmers, plus a lakeside firepit, a wrap-around deck and a year-round hot tub. It does not have a sauna — that is the Grandy Dandy’s trick — but for a trip built around quiet water and kayaks it is hard to beat.
How to choose
So which one should you book?
Book the Grandy Dandy if
You are bringing a boat or want to run the chain, you have 9 or 10 people, or the sauna and the game room are the point.
Book The O.G. if
You want a quiet no-wake lake, a sandy beach for the kids, and a log cabin that feels like the Northwoods of your childhood.
Either way
Both have kayaks, a hot tub, a firepit and the lake out the door, and both are open year-round.
Right now
What is the water doing this time of year?
Early October is one of the better stretches to be here. The hardwoods are turning, the lakes have cooled enough to pull fish shallow again, and the docks are quiet. If you are coming to fish, our fall fishing guide for the Sugar Camp Chain covers where we would start, and the musky guide is the one to read before a cold-water trip. If you are coming for the leaves, the fall color guide has the timing.
Cold evenings are also when the sauna and the hot tub stop being a nice extra and start being the reason you booked. That is the honest case for coming in the shoulder season rather than July.
Where to stay
Two cabins, two different lakes — The O.G. on no-wake Lake Arbutus and The Grandy Dandy on the Sugar Camp Chain. Both open year-round, both with kayaks, a hot tub and the water out the door. Fall and winter weekends go quietly, but they do go.
Good to know