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The Island of Happy Days
The centerpiece of the club is “The Island of Happy Days” on which Frank Stout, a founder of the Knapp, Stout and Co. lumber company, constructed his epic wilderness estate in the style of the Adirondack Great Camps in New York well over 100 years ago.
The estates’ original buildings and lodge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the main island, there is the connected east island; the Knapp Island, Van Reed Island, and a shore parking lot & marina.
Outdoor Island Activities
BADMINTON can be played on the court adjacent to the croquet lawn. Equipment can be found near the office.
LADDER GOLF is available on the south lawn or near the lower fire pit. Equipment can be found near the croquet court or the office. Rules of play are available in the office.
BAG TOSS is available on the south lawn. Equipment can be found near the croquet court or the office.
BOCCE BALL is available on the south lawn. Equipment can be found near the croquet court or the office.
BONFIRE: Join us at dusk every evening at the bonfire area in front of the main lawn.
CANOES are available in the boathouse or by the water sports area on the far west end of the main island.
CROQUET is available on the south lawn. Equipment can be found near the court.
FISHING: Red Cedar Lake is located in Barron County, Wisconsin. This lake is 1,841 acres in size. It is 53.00 feet deep at its deepest point. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Bluegill, Large and Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Panfish and Walleye.
HIKING: The main island has a path all around its perimeter. The east island also has paths with a picnic cabin at the far north end. Book guides of our nature trails and gardens can be found in the office.
HYDRO BIKES are available at the water sport area on the far west end of the main island.
KAYAKS are available at the water sports area on the far west end of the main island.
Indoor Island Activities
BILLIARDS may be played in the game room which is located in the upper level of the boathouse.
BOARD GAMES may be found in the Great Room and can be played at any time. We do ask that our guests please help us keep all our games complete and in good condition so that others can enjoy them as well. If you want to take a game to your room, please check it out with the office.
LIBRARY: You will find that our Great Room has a modest library from which you are welcome to borrow books at your leisure.
TABLE TENNIS may be played in the game room which is located in the upper level of the boathouse.
Tagalong Golf
Just a short ferry ride across the lake or a few minutes drive from Stout’s Island boat landing, Tagalong’s golf course is a wonderful excursion for Stout’s Island Lodge guests. Built by Frank D. Stout for the private use of his family and guests, Tagalong is now open to the public.
The course itself was intended to be a duplicate of St. Andrews. Fourteen miles of pipe were used to irrigate the greens and fairways. The course also features huge, elevated greens surrounded by deep, grass bunkers. At a gala to commemorate the opening of the course in 1925, Stout arranged to have an exhibition round featuring both the U.S. Open champion and the British Open champion.
5.3 miles away by car
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Turtleback Golf
Turtleback is a premier golf and dining facility open to the public in nearby Rice Lake, WI, just a 25 minute drive from Stout’s Island Lodge.
16.6 miles away by car
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Lynndale's Golf
Rice Lake, WI 54868
11 miles away by car
The Trails of Northwest Wisconsin
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
The Ice Age National Scenic Trail, a thousand-mile footpath entirely within Wisconsin is nearby to hike some of the state’s most beautiful natural areas. ATV’s are available for rent (see below). We suggest the Hemlock Creek Segment, Northern Blue Hill Segment, or the Tuscobia Segment.
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Cedar Side Trail
The Cedar Side Trail runs alongside Red Cedar River for about 4 miles and offers spectacular views and serene walking, jogging, or biking experiences. It starts near the Goodwill in Rice Lake and continues behind the UW-Barron County campus.
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Chequamegon National Forest
The Chequamegon National Forest offers endless hours of trails. Bring your own bike or rentals are readily available.
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Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary
Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary is a nonprofit sanctuary dedicated to connecting people to the environment. Hunt Hill offers a wide variety of day programs and 10 miles of hiking trails, which are free of charge to the general public.
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Bike Riding Excursions
Options are aplenty in Barron County!
See Map Here
Rustic Road Drives
Love a pretty drive? Rustic Roads have been selected as the prettiest drives in the state. See the office for a map of the roads-less-traveled.
River Excursions at Jack’s Canoe & Tube Rental
Looking for more of a challenge than a paddle around the island? Visit Jack’s for a fun “off-island” excursion. Rent a kayak, canoe, or tube and make your way down the scenic Namakagon river. They will shuttle you up the river and you will end up back where you parked your car—convenient!
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ATV Excursions
There are several great ATV trails in the area around Stout’s. The Tuscobia Segment of the Ice Age Trail is our favorite (and the closest!).
Summit Lake Game Farm
Over the last 30 years, Summit Lake Game Farm has created one of the country’s finest Upland Bird hunting paradises. With 10 fields and more than 400 acres of upland birds habitat planted in switch grass, sorghum, corn and other grasses, hunters are sure to find plenty of game here.
The Origins of Stout’s Island Lodge
Stout’s Island Lodge has been captivating visitors for nearly 150 years. By landing on these historic shores, you’re joining a long list of adventure-seekers (and unapologetic leisure-seekers), prominent industry tycoons, lovebirds, and families who find what they’re looking for here.
In the mid-1870s, lumber baron John Holly Knapp was the first to purchase a homestead claim on the island. Not to be outdone, mill foreman and land agent Mr. J. Hornsby Butcher soon followed. Mr. Butcher and his English sweetheart, Sarah A. Hopwood, eventually built the first cabin on the island.
In 1887, Frank D. Stout and Thomas Wilson, Jr., purchased the island. They set out constructing a large log building on the island to allow them to bring their friends over for hunting and fishing. (If you or your spouse thinks a “man cave” is too much of an indulgence, at least there isn’t an entire island and log mansion involved.)
Mr. Stout was already a prominent lumber baron who, after inheriting part of his father’s fortune in 1900, became one of the wealthiest men in the country. Mr. Wilson sold his stake in the island to Mr. Stout n 1903, and with that $14,00 purchase, Mr. Stout assumed sole ownership of the 18-acre island.
Mr. Stout’s hunting lodge indulgences lasted only until the women in his family learned of the island’s striking beauty. They, understandably, wanted to join in the fun, and the island soon morphed into a year-round family retreat.
The original main lodge was built in 1903 and modeled after the famous Adirondack camps. Mr. Stout spared no expense, bringing in four-inch-thick plank floors and carved beams imported from the Black Forest in Germany. A special railway station was built in the Narrows for Mr. Stout and his family to use. He moved his family and servants north from Chicago for the summer months.
The main lodge you see today was built in 1912, using a specially ordered trainload of what were described as “the best cedar logs grown in Idaho.” Other beams and paneling came from two carloads of redwood timbers from California. It was long thought the original lodge was burned down due to a bug infestation. This is not true; the new lodge was built to include modern luxuries like plumbing and electricity.
The dining room fireplace features stone imported from Italy. The fireplace in the living room is built of pink quarry rock from the Hardscrabble Hills.
The main island is connected to the east island by a steel bridge that was gifted by none other than Andrew Carnegie himself.
By 1915, Mr. Stout had spent over $1.5 million — that’s around $35 million in today’s dollars — in construction on the island.
The main lodge was a family home in every way. The dining room we use today as a restaurant dining room was the Stout family’s dining room. The Great Room was their living room. And “Mrs. Stout’s Room” was their master bedroom. The main lodge also includes rooms that Mr. Stout built specifically for his children and guests, all connected by screened passageways and doors. He built Harry and Allison’s cabins for his sons.
In spite of the warm welcome inscribed in the foyer “All that’s mine is yours, my friend,” Mr. Stout was incredibly territorial about the island. He actively scouted for trespassers, going so far as to circle rowboats with his motorboat in an attempt to capsize them. We’re a lot friendlier now.
Mr. Stout adored the Island of Happy Days. When he was dying in California in 1927, he to reach his island so he could see it one last time. Unfortunately, he only made it as far as Rice Lake before passing away. His wife and family continued to enjoy the island until Mrs. Stout’s death in 1949, when it was sold to a succession of owners.
At one point, Pat Boone was part owner via a real estate investment company. The current owners purchased the island in the mid-1990s, built five additional cabins on it, and established the resort operation you enjoy today. We don’t know what Mr. Stout would think about our policy of welcoming all who come here (and never intentionally capsizing anyone), but we know he would appreciate the love that we — and our visitors — have for this breathtakingly beautiful retreat. It is, as he knew it to be, the Island of Happy Days.
The Man Behind the Island: Frank Deming Stout
Frank Stout lived in Chicago most of his working life with a permanent home at 3150 Lakeshore Drive. He was considered one of the city’s ten wealthiest men; a financier and banker who had served as chief executive of the C. & O. Lumber Company; director of the Illinois Merchants’ Trust Company; and president of the Missouri Southern Railroad.
He was also director of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad; a director in the Texas Corporation, an oil firm; and held directories in the Drake and Blackstone hotels in Chicago and three lumber companies on the Pacific coast. The basis of his wealth came from the family’s timber holding in northwestern Wisconsin which dated from the 1850’s.
Mr. Stout retained considerable property around Red Cedar Lake, including what became his summer home on the Island; two well-stocked dairy farms named Lone Pine and Cedar Lake, where he kept his prize imported Guernsey cattle. Over the years Stout also purchased acreage on the mainland and built the Tagalong Golf Course, modeled after the famous St. Andrews course in Scotland. The Tagalong Golf Resort is only a ten minute ferry ride across Red Cedar Lake. Stout’s Island Lodge guests are welcome to play today’s course.
More Common Questions
By car, the Club is located on Stout’s Island, Birchwood Wisconsin – 14 miles NE of Rice Lake.
By private aircraft, Rice Lake Airport. The airport handles all private aircraft and small commercial planes. The Club will provide transportation from the local airport upon request. One float plane at a time can be accommodated on the island.
By commercial aircraft, the airport in Eau Claire is located about 60 miles south of the Club and has daily connecting flights to Chicago’s O’Hare.
Yes – two options. The first is, subject to personal use requirements: rooms, suites, and/or current or to be constructed homes are available for sale. In addition, members may want to consider buying a shore property on Red Cedar Lake or the connected Balsam & Hemlock Lakes and – if approved by club management – include them in the club rental pool, and qualify for Associate Membership. Please read more at stoutsislandlodge.com/real-estate
The University Club of Saint Paul is currently responsible for the operation of the Club, but after the construction of Club improvements and additional structures are completed either the University Club of Saint Paul, or a professional management company with demonstrated experience operating luxury resorts and/or clubs will take over management.
Yes. The Club is currently looking at several shore property options. In the future the Club will evaluate expansion opportunities as they appear.
Tagalong Golf Club and Resort is located across the lake in Birchwood, WI, and is accessible by boat. Stout’s Island Club members will have preferred rates at Tagalong, however it is not owned by the Club. There are other high quality local golf courses that are accessible, as well.
