Coon's Franklin Lodge, Arbor Vitae

It is the most amazing place in the world. I'm 17 years old and I have gone 17 times. I love all the people, the food, and all the activies. Some of my favorites are waterskiing, tennis, and lots of pac-man. It's my second home and I look forward to going back every year. I can't wait go back!

i am in my teen years and i absolutely love coons. every year when i was younger we would travel up there and spend a week to ten days, then wait for the next summer to go up again. then we stopped doing that routine for about five or six years. however now we hav thought of the spectacular idea to travel up there again. it is a great place for ALL ages and stays in your heart forever. cant wait to go up in a few more days!!!!!!!!!!!!

I come to this review from a completely different approach as I was one of the eight college girls who waited tables, loved our families each summer, adored the Coons ( I was there for three summers when Philip and Jimmy Coon and their two darlling children, Philip and little Elizabeth, and their dog were managing the place. )I was 20, 21, 22 as each academic year ended. First I spent three weeks as waterfront director at camp and then trained to Woodruff to begin each summer at Coon's. Bertha was our cook, the very best. Ice was kept covered with wood chips in large heavy frozen horizontal blocks that we took to the ice box each day with large ice tongs and we used ice picks to chip away at the cumbersome , ice taken from Trout Lake in the deep of winter. Coon's has been in my heart and mind all these years. I worked hard, skied hard, and learned a great deal. Unforgettable.

I have traveled the world... and Coons is one of the most beautiful places in the world! Birch trees...Trout lake. I go to Coons every (last 40 years)summer. Great staff and guest. Can't wait to build a fire.

I grew up at Coons.I am now almost 20 years old and I have memories of this place all the way back as far as I can remember. This place holds a special place in my heart. The smell of the pine trees and the doors banging from the cabins are things I try to recreate when I'm not there but it is never the same. The Coon family is amazing and always greet you with a smile and a how has your year been? It's great to see you. The cabins are amazing. Different sizes and styles that will please even the largest family. My dad always make a fire in the amazing stone fireplace each morning so when I wake up the cabin will be nice and warm. The resort is on the fantasic and majestic Trout Lake. You can swim, water ski, canoe, and many other water sports. I'm sure whatever I missed has been covered other places. But even if have never been doesn't mean you can't come. Coons is for everyone and is an amazing family vacation! I reccommend it to anyone looking for a getaway from their hetic daily life!

Coon's Franklin Lodge is my favorite place on earth. I have been going there for a number of years and I continue to love it more and more each year. It is here that I can truly relax and not have a care in the world, whether I be playing ping pong with friends, waterskiing on the beautiful trout lake or reading next to the huge fireplace, I always enjoy myself and it is somewhere where I enter into a world that is serene and completly seperate from the chaotic world that has become everyday life. The staff is excellent and the service wonderful. I look forward to going to this place each year and it is honestly my favorite place on earth.

Think of your favorite part of life. It can be sports or it can be the outdoors, or even shopping. In my case, it is the outdoors. My love for the outdoors comes from this place. I dont know if it is the oh so familiar smell of the pine trees combined with the fresh scented breeze that drifts off the lake or if it is the breathtaking display of wildlife, including bald eagles, bears, and deer, that appeal to the outdoorsman in me. Myfamily and I value this northwoods getaway so much that my family has gone there for over 70 years. I personally have been up there the past 17 years (my whole life) and my love for this place grows every year. Each year, you become accustomed to something different. Whether it is skiing, fishing,biking on the many nature trails, kayaking, golf, tennis, sailing and even ping pong, there are endless things you are able to do at Coons and you always learn something new. There is no other place that could get even close to the nostalgia that Coons gives me. I get so excited when someone even says something close to Coons, my ears perk up and I am ready to start telling some stories. This is the place to go in any season and if you are able to get in the summertime, do it, its worth it.

IN THE EARLY 50'S MY SISTER AND I ATTENDED SUMMER CAMPS NEAR WOODRUFF. AFTER CAMP ENDED OUR FAMILY SPENT A WEEK AT COONS. DID THIS TWO YEARS IN A ROW. WILL NEVER FORGET THE GOOD TIME WE HAD. LEAVING FOR WISCONSIN TO VISIT MY SISTER AT HER LAKE HOUSE NEAR SHAWANO .. I LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO ... AND WILL TAKE A DRIVE TO WOODRUFF TO SEE COONS ONE MORE TIME BEFORE MY CANCER SURGERY BOB STREIFF

If you note in most of the reviews, families enjoy Coon's generationally over decades. Our family did the same at another place in Boulder Junction that has ceased to exist. We thought we'd give Coon's a try. Our experience was much different from friends of ours whose families have gone there for years. If they don't "know" you, don't expect much more than passable service which often bordered upon rude, impatient and annoyed. Our expectations were not that high and they failed to meet even our minimum. We found this 'we are better than you" type of attitude that was a little surprising. Hey, we are the guests! It was not hard to notice the over the top service, friendliness and doting upon those who you knew visited every year. We will not ever be among them. Once was enough for us!

Coons is my favorite vacation spot in the whole wide world! I have gone there every year since before I was born and it just seems to get better and better every year. I can't wait until my stay there this summer!