Alexandria MN Resorts Alexandria Minnesota family fishing lake vacation resort Shady Rest Resort & RV and seasonal rv camping Villard MN on Lake Amelia

"Where friends and families come to vacation!"
We are now closed for the season but we are taking reservations for 2012. The best selections are waiting for you if you plan your 2012 summer vacation at the lake now! Seasonal RV sites available for 2012.

Welcome to Shady Rest Resort celebrating our 35th year by continuing the great Alexandria MN Family Resort tradition of offering exceptional individual lakeside cabins, spacious overnight RV campsites, and wonderful seasonal RV camping sites that are perfect for a fishing or family vacation on beautiful Lake Amelia.

Shady Rest Resort is very easy to get to. Located only 2 hours from Minneapolis, (midway between Fargo and the Twin Cities), in the Alexandria Minnesota lakes area near the small towns of Glenwood and Villard. Our family friendly resort features quiet, comfortable, informal and safe facilities where families and friends can relax by the lake, be together and, at the end of each day, enjoy the wonderful sunsets we are known for. Perfect for your northern Minnesota summer vacation.

Our Cabins and Campground, and seasonal RV park are located on over 30 acres of spacious, shady grounds on the clean, clear waters of Lake Amelia. Guests have over 940 acres of water for boating and fishing pleasure on Lake Amelia and smaller boats can reach Lake Villard for an additional 530 acres. A small channel connects the 2 lakes. (Note: with the high water this year after record rainfalls, boats cannot get through to Lake Villard) Bring your own boat or rent one of ours.

For the golfers there are 6 golf courses within 20 minutes. At the resort we have a small convenience store with live bait, tackle, groceries, tee shirts, sweatshirts, along with an assortment of items that may come in handy.

At Shady Rest you'll find a great fishing resort, but more importantly, you'll find a great place to spend time with your family and friends.

**NOTE**

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is urging people not to transport firewood to our resorts in MN. The spread of diseases and insects have been devastating our forest and we want to pass along this message. Please check locally for restrictions in your area.

Sorry No Pets - Jet Skis - ATV's or Fireworks

We're the Only Resort on the Lake!

Free Wireless Internet by the office for our guests

Open May 1st to October 3rd

Shady Rest Resort
16953 142nd Street
Box 178
Villard, MN. 56385
1-888-706-0422
1-320-554-2017

Experiance Life at the Lake in on of our Cabins on beautiful Lake Amelia.
Aerial View

Vacation Home # 2 overlooking the lake from your deck.
Our Cabins by the Lake (#2)

Life at the Beach

Quote of the Day:

"A vacation use to be luxury, today it has become a necessity"

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Shady Rest Resort Weather

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If you would like to have us send you a brochure, please give us a call or send us an email.

We know that choosing a vacation destination or the best Minnesota resort can be difficult, especially one that you have never actually seen. Too many times we hear from our guest that they've stayed at a place that had a great brochure or nice pictures on their web site, but when they arrived it was not at all what they expected. For 35 years, our Family has been establishing a vacation destination with your comfort in mind. We listen to our guests and are continually making improvements in order to continue the tradition of excellence that our guests have come to know. We take pride in the cleanliness of our Cabins and of the Resort grounds. On our Web Site, we made an extra effort in providing as many pictures as possible to give you the best idea of what Shady Rest Resort is like and why so many of our guest come back year after year. Our wish is that you'll start a family tradition of summer vacations at Shady Rest Resort. "Come on... Let's head to the Lake."

Post card of Shady Rest Resort from the 1920's courtesy of the Thomas Reep family.

Shady Rest Resort has been around since the earliest days of automobile traveling. For most of it's life it has been a combination farm/resort. We have heard stories from our guests of how they would awake to find cattle grazing outside their cabin or how kids would be fascinated by the daily milking of the dairy cows.

It all started when folks that were traveling through asked if they could rest and spend the night by the lake. Originally that just involved putting up a tent, but then the farmer decided to build some cottages and rent them out to subsidize the farm income. Travelers and vacationers have found it to be a popular place to spend the night or spend a week or two and enjoy the great fishing and recreation Lake Amelia has to offer. In 1977 our family purchased the resort and immediately began remodeling and upgrading the facilities. Where old one room cottages stood there are now new 3 bedroom, full size, lakeside cabins. Each year we continue to improve the resort in order for you to have as an enjoyable vacation experience as you can and we promise to do our best to keep up the wonderful tradition that the resort has had over the years.