Windy Bay Lodge is now Harris Hill Resort

Ken Johnston
Editor

With a new name and spirited enthusiasm, Cheryl and Gary Gauthier have resurrected the former Windy Bay Lodge as Harris Hill Resort near the mouth of the Rainy River on Lake of the Woods.
The couple, formerly of Ste. Anne, Manitoba took over the resort last April 30 and have been busy working to bring it back up to snuff ever since.
The camp had sat idle for two years after the previous owners, Ed and Marg Richards retired from the business. In the mean time, the Richards tried to sell it and that met with little success. Eventually they let the fall bear hunt area license expire with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).
Coupled together, the lack of maintenance and the loss of the bear hunting area license, the Gauthiers have had a lot of work getting the business both in shape physically and fiscally. But they feel they are winning.
The have painted all the insides of the cabins and the main lodge. They have reroofed on the cabins, added a gazebo, floating dock, fixed the water lines to each cabin, purchased new boat motors for their rentals, done some landscaping, put new windows in the main lodge, and much much more.
On the business side of things they have been busy calling former clients of the lodge to invite them back and area also working hard to attract new clients like the bird watching tours that come to the area every year. In addition to the fishing and hunting clients they have been working to make the resort appealing to families. “We built a safe play structure for kids,” said Cheryl.
They also have season campsites for people to rent.
Anglers can also launch their boats there and park their vehicles.
Customers are starting to filter back to the resort but a real stumbling block for the Gauthiers has been the bear hunting area license. “MNR seems to be dragging their feet and this camp used to depend on the bear hunt for a lot of its revenue,” said Gary.
However, they are working towards the future and hope that they can get the area back.
Gary feels there is tremendous potential for the bear hunting business, noting, “I saw a huge brown bear just down the road recently.”
In addition to the work they have done to improve the resort, they have created a website (www.harrishillresort.com) and joined several tourism groups including, Sunset Country, Morson Tourism Association, Northwestern Ontario Tourism Association and the Rainy River Chamber of Commerce.
Some of their marketing efforts have proven to be far reaching with guests coming from as far away as Florida and Germany in the past year.
They have six cabins and can currently sleep 40 people. They hope to increase that number by adding more beds in the near future. But there are more pressing improvements at hand, including the finishing of the exterior of the main lodge which will be covered with log siding very soon.
The couple chose to leave their previous occupations to get a change of pace and lifestyle. They offer that lifestyle to their guests who get to enjoy some of the best fishing in the world and the clean fresh air that comes off Lake of the Woods.
Harris Hill Resort is located about 20 minutes north of the Rainy River, Ont. and Baudette, Minnesota border crossing on Hwy. 600. The Gauthiers welcome people to come out and take a look around or book a stay with them.