The Story Behind The Lounge on Big Lake

Built around 1934, Still Standing.

Some places just feel different the moment you walk in. The Lounge on Big Lake is one of them — and there's a reason for that. The building you're sitting in right now has been standing for nearly a century, and the story of how it got here is one most people don't know.

A CCC Camp on the Shore

In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of the New Deal — a program that put unemployed young men to work across America, building things meant to last. Minnesota had over 145 CCC camps, and Big Lake near Cloquet was one of them.

The men stationed here even published their own camp newsletter — the "Big Lake Breeze" — right on site. They worked the land, built the structures, and did it with the kind of craftsmanship that Depression-era necessity demanded. No shortcuts. Nothing flimsy. Built to last.

From CCC Camp to Northwoods Gathering Place

What those young men built on the shores of Big Lake eventually became something else entirely — a place where people come not to work, but to unwind. The Lounge on Big Lake has been a gathering spot for locals, campers, and northwoods wanderers for decades. The bar, the lounge, the view of the water — none of it feels manufactured, because it wasn't. It grew out of something real.

Come As You Are. Stay a While.

Today, The Lounge is still exactly what it's always been — unpretentious, welcoming, and genuinely northwoods. We've got cold drinks, a full bar, a boat launch, beach access, and RV and tent camping right on the water. Whether you're pulling in for the night or staying the whole weekend, this is the kind of place you don't want to leave.

We're located at 979 Cary Road in Cloquet, Minnesota — just a short drive from Duluth, tucked in the northwoods where the lake meets the trees. Come find us. The Big Lake Breeze is still blowing.