Longville, Minnesota Lake Home and Cabin Living

Longville, Minnesota

Off to the Races

If you are looking for the world capital of turtle racing, you definitely want to visit Longville, Minnesota.  They’ve got your turtles, and they are darn proud of it. If NASCAR started down in the South, it is only fitting that turtle racing starts up North. The thing is, the weekly Longville turtle races are about more than just the excitement of seeing small, kind-of-ugly reptiles battle across the finish line in a race that takes slightly less time than high school; the turtle races are almost a symbol for Longville and the surrounding area. It is as if they are saying, “we’ve got time for this. Slow down, relax and enjoy this place.” In fact cell phone signals are hard to find, which means you can experience the peace that you so richly desire and deserve.

The Quiet Tourist Town

And there is a lot to enjoy. Longville is smaller than nearby Walker, and while it sits on Long Lake, it is certainly convenient to Leech Lake as well. Long Lake is part of the 5500 acre Woman Lake chain. It is possible to start in another lake, and end your water trek at the public dock in Longville, where you can have pizza, a burger or some ice-cream.

In spite of the fact that there are only 180 year-round residents, Longville has a nice, if compact, downtown and an airport. Recognizing the large number of cabin owners and campers in the area, the town boasts three hardware stores. Although Longville is set up for tourists, it is also quiet, relatively undeveloped, and allows you to escape the crowds.

Classic Minnesota Woods and Water

One of the greatest things about Longville is that it is in the center of old-fashioned Minnesota “Up North.”  Bill Hansen, of Bill Hansen Realty, has been in Longville since 1966. “If you draw a circle around Longville, with a thirty mile radius,” he says, “you will have 130 different lakes within that circle, including Leech Lake, which is probably Minnesota’s top overall fishing lake.” The lakes here are classic northern clear-water bodies. Most of the area is forested, so there is little agricultural runoff. The scarcity of agriculture limits the algae blooms and excessive weed growth you find further south and in more developed areas.

Needless to say the fishing in the area is outstanding, even away from the giant Leech. The Woman Lake Chain includes: Child Lake, Girl Lake, and Woman Lake. Good numbers of quality size walleye and smallmouth are prevalent throughout the chain. Cruising, water-skiing, canoeing, sailing, kayaking – and just about anything else you can think of to do on the water – are all a big part of what it means to come to the Longville area.

And let’s not forget the dry land. Hiking, hunting, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are all popular land based activities, and opportunities for them abound around Longville. The wildlife is diverse.  Pine martens and fishers live here, along with bald eagles, loons, deer, raccoons and black bear.

The quiet, the woods, and the clear water stem in part from the area’s location in the middle of a National forest. “In that thirty-mile radius around Longville,” says Hansen, “seventy percent of the land is publicly owned – National Forest, county land, or state land.” Because it is publicly held, these woods will never become overdeveloped.

A Time of Opportunity

Hansen finds a number of good reasons to be positive about getting into the real estate market around Longville right now. “Because the top priced homes are much closer to the lower priced properties, now is an excellent time to upgrade. The gap you need to bridge between selling your existing cabin and buying a better property is much smaller, capital gains are less, and interest rates are low.” And of course it is a good time for first time buyers as well, since prices are down.

Hansen also comments that there are some unique homes for sale right now – properties that haven’t changed hands for twenty, thirty, or even fifty years. “These are those places with the beautiful tall pines and gorgeous sandy beaches,” he says. “Right now, we are seeing some for sale that haven’t been available for decades.”

If you long for that old-fashioned “Up North” experience, Longville is an area you will definitely want to see.  While you’re there, say “hi” to the turtles.