Lake Vermilion Houseboats

Paul Gilbertson

2023-08

We rented a 55 foot Houseboat for one week from Lake Vermilion Houseboats. I wholeheartedly recommend them. The houseboat was well-equipped for ALL our needs and their Customer Service was exemplary! Like a floating VRBO you get to navigate.To be honest, my husband really wanted to make this a family trip and I wasn't as convinced, but after doing it, I would absolutely go again. We are thinking of a shorter excursion in the Fall. The lake was beautiful with 365 islands and gorgeous shoreline.We were on the lake over Fourth of July and it never felt crowded with boats. You do need to watch out for obstacles on this lake- it is not just clear sailing, but that is part of the fun. Mooring the boat each night takes some patience and skill but, Vermilion Houseboats You Tube videos provide a lot of info and training.In short: I highly recommend Vermilion Houseboats. Our trip was wonderful. Would do it again!The husband adding: I’ve rented snowmobiles from Kyle and Joy numerous times and had a fantastic experience as well. Great equipment and great customer service. We will be returning many times in the future.

Jessie Monson

2023-09

We just got back from a 3 night stay with Lake Vermilion Houseboats! We absolutely loved it! Joy, Kyle and staff are amazing, super friendly! Our Houseboat, Maki #18 was awesome! The boys loved the hottub and waterslide! Fishing was good. Crayfish fishing was easy and entertaining for the boys! The views on Lake Vermilion were beautiful! We made many memories on this adventure! I would highly recommend this! We are looking forward to doing this again!

Ann Arney

2022-05

We have rented from LVHB twice now, and both experiences were amazing. Joy, Kyle and their crew truly go above and beyond. We have rented 2 different houseboats and fishing boats. All were well kept, super clean with updated electronics and appliances, and everything worked well. The GPS and camping maps make it incredibly easy to navigate the lake. This year we were able to enjoy visiting some of the resorts and restaurants along our route that were open again - it is definitely worth taking your towed boat out and about for excursions! The slide and hot tub are a huge hit with our kiddo. We will be coming back year after year to enjoy this amazing lake, and all that LVHB has to offer! I will also note that we rented during COVID and the care taken by the whole team to ensure everyone’s health and safety was above and beyond. Online booking and orientation, incredibly clean boats, responsible social distancing by staggering check in/out times and just super considerate all around. Highly recommend!

Krista McGraw

2022-05

This is my second time renting a houseboat. We rented boat 11. We choose this one to have more room to sit around a table to eat and play games as a family. We had 6 people and it worked out great! We also enjoyed fishing, kayaking, (brought our own), using our hammocks, catching crayfish and taking adventures on each of the mooring sites we stayed at! We recommend sites 18 &11! Look forward to planning our next stay with Lake Vermilion Houseboats!

Irene Lindgren

2020-05

Our family of 14 had one of the best adventures ever! It felt so good to unwind and unplug from all the electronics in our daily lives. Thank you Joy, Kyle and staff for a smooth experience—from reservations, to check-in, to navigating, to asking if we needed any supplies while on the lake—we were well taken care of. The paddleboards were an excellent addition! The improvements you have made and want to continue to make along with the adventures we've experienced on this beautiful lake excites us to keep coming back.

Mike S

2021-05

Beautiful lake to explore. Plenty of spots to fish and view wildlife. Owners and dock crew were very friendly. Boats ran good. Awesome experience, wish we had another week to stay. Definitely recommend and would return. Thanks Joy and Kyle!

Theresa Garcia

2022-05

Wow, just returned from our adventure with Lake Vermillion Houseboats! We had a fabulous time, what a beautiful scenic lake with great fishing and amazing wildlife. LVHB is a wonderful operation, Joy, Kyle and the crew were welcoming, friendly, and knowledgeable. We had a few minor hiccups that they responded to right away, and all was well. That being said, if you stress out easily or find it difficult to roll with things not going as planned, this is not the vacation for you. We rented the 44’ Royal, we likened it to RVing on water, it wasn’t fancy, but it suited our needs. There is work involved and it’s physical, mooring can be tricky, navigating Vermilion could be intimidating given all the islands, but their gps and maps were great! 2 minor things I would change would be to add an outdoor table on the deck. I thought it came with one, and we saw that others had one. Also, we wish we brought a foam mattress topper, our beds weren’t the softest. However these were minor, and wouldn’t stop us from going again. We would definitely recommend LVHB to anyone who’s looking for and adventure on a beautiful lake!

Jeff Gutzmer

2021-05

Had an awesome time! Best vacation of that kind! Definitely should be on everyone’s bucket list…Where else can you have the 5th largest lake in Minnesota and feel as you pretty much have it to yourself?! With over 40 secluded campsites to visit, many of which are your own private island or have beaches for swimming, every day is its own new adventure.Running low on beverages? Ice? Or need a little help? No Problem – Kyle, Joy and the rest of Lake Vermilion House Boats have you covered!

christine rath

2023-10

Awesome vacation! We had a great time fishing and enjoying the beautiful lake and scenery! Recommend for a great Minnesota vacation!

Janneta T

2021-05

If you're near Ely and are looking for a place to rent snowmobiles, this is the place. Well-maintained, pretty new snowmobiles with heated hand grips for passengers as well. And a helpful owner who gave some good, up-to-date trail suggestions. Surprisingly, Ely itself doesn't have a snowmobile rental spot but it's totally fine because the trails connecting Tower and Ely are perfect for a day trip. We stayed in Ely, drove here and rented 2 snowmobiles for the day. Took some awesome trails to Ely, had lunch and relaxed for a bit, then drove back on some different trails. Snowmobiled for about 6 hours total, not including a break for lunch, and it was perfect. Highly recommend this place if you're looking for reliable, quality snowmobiles for a great time on the trails.

Christine Cossalter

2023-09

We just spent a fabulous 3 days on the boat with our guests from Germany, their children and some of our Grandkids! We were all so pleasantly surprised at how organized and easy the adventure was.Joy, Kyle and Staff went out of their way to make our trip perfect.A wonderful experience and we would surely do it again.Thank You!

Joe Olson

2021-05

What an unbelievable week! Just the adventure we were looking for. This is the perfect way to take in one of the most beautiful lakes in the wold, and the best company to do it with. The people at Lake Vermilion Houseboats are top notch! It is obvious they are there to make your time there the best experience possible! Our only regret was not staying longer! We would like to thank the crew there for an unbelievable experience, we will be coming back!

Dean Schott

2022-05

Kyle and Joy were great hosts. The snowmobiles ran great. Kyle took us on some great trails. The lake house was clean and had everything we needed. We will definitely be back! Thank you from Iowa.

B Persons

2023-08

We rented the 60’ cruiser over the 4th of July week. Everyone had an amazing time. The accommodations were perfect. We had 9 people and we had plenty of room. The beds were extremely comfortable so everyone had a great night sleep after playing hard all day. We had 2 spacious bathrooms that were really put to the test. Being able to take a nice hot shower in a large area was very nice. The kitchen and living area was huge. With 9 people we had a lot of stuff and it really helped to have so much room and storage. (Bathrooms had a ton of storage too) The small side by side refrigerator worked very well for our certain items that I wanted to keep constantly cold and the freezer worked perfectly. The large cooler on board with blocks of ice kept all our adult beverages cold.The grand kids loved having the upper roof top bedroom. They had their own area to hang out andunwind. It was very easy to cruise the lake with the GPS system and table map. We all took turns driving and it was very easy. Overall, the family made lasting memories that we will always remember. Take their advice and do not over pack. We grilled most nights and didn’t go thru a whole bag of charcoal. There is plenty of fresh water jugs on the boat for all your water needs. We could have each brought half of the clothes we brought to wear. Course the weather was amazing which helped. Bring lots of hand towels for bathroom and kitchen. Also bring wet wipes for your hands because when you are cruising you don’t have running water. Thank you Kyle and Joy for the wonderful experience. Mike Deiley & Bev

Jordan M

2021-05

Rented a sled over the weekend and couldn't be happier! Kyle and the guys there were ready to go right when I got there, went over everything to ensure I was comfortable with the machine and all of the controls. If you are looking for a great company and a great place to ride look no further!Will be back 100%!

Grant Lipelt

2023-10

Rented 42' cruiser for the weekend, one of the most relaxing trips ever. Joy was courteous, offered suggestions on mooring sites and things to see and do. Whole staff was friendly and professional. Houseboat and tagboat were clean, well-maintauned and offered a great getaway. Amazing experience!

Grant Ginther

2023-05

Kyle and Joy run an amazing business. This was my first time on a houseboat trip and working with them made it so easy. The houseboats are very clean, comfortable, and have more than enough room. There was not one thing that could have been done better. Truly a great experience and will be returning year after year. Thank you Lake Vermilion Houseboats for a great vacation!

Shandra Zidar

2022-05

While the views on this lake are AMAZING, I do not recommend the 65' executive especially for the price of over $9000 for 5 days. There was mold all over the boat, some sort of fungus growing on the ceiling above the dinner table, the refrigerators never got over 40 degrees, the batteries were so corroded we had to clean them to get them to charge & were left with no power until we fixed it, the front window looking over the steering wheel was so dirty we could barely see out of it & had to clean it ourselves, I could go on & on. For what my friends & I paid for that boat I truly expected more & it definitely didn't look like the pictures online. Maybe they have other boats in better condition, I don't know, but if you decide on taking your hard earned money and spending it with this company, don't get this boat.

mike s

2023-05

We quickly became an inconvenience to the owners due the numerous problems we had. To start off the boat we had reserved wasn’t available so they gave us a different boat which has some issues. To start off the fridge didn’t work. We had a lot of fresh meat to store , they offered us free ice for the cooler but that required us to head back to their dock to resupply, very much an inconvenience. The fishing boat that was required had the motor break. Took a long time to get someone to repair it and when they did the throttle would only work at full throttle. They came out again and took the boat away and said they didn’t have any replacements to give us. For them saying it is coast guard required and changing extra for this seems more like a scam if you really don’t need it. Then they had another boat run aground and got damaged. Their focus became to repairing that boat for the next rental and our problems got ignored for the rest of our trip and it they made it very clear they had a bigger problem to work on. At the end of our trip . No discount. No I’m sorry for the problems we had. All i can say is once they have your money you become secondary to incoming renters. For how expensive this is, better support and some sort of refund would have been expected.My experience was with Lake Vermilion Houseboats, Inc.DBA Vermilion Houseboats. Communication sent by Joy and Kyle. If this is not current owner please respond with that.

Barbara Oemcke

2023-05

We rented houseboat #20 with a family group of grandparents and two young families. The children really enjoyed the hot tub and slide. We moored at site #20 and played with kayaks and floating toys on the sandy beach. We had super service with delivery of ice and firewood Saturday. The mattresses were comfortable and the kitchen was well stocked with things we needed to cook and seating was comfortable for our family group. We would definitely recommend this houseboat service to others.

Terry Mullery

2019-05

Great service and check-in process at Lake Vermilion Houseboats Snowmobile rental. Friendly people. Great equipment. Awesome trails lead right from their property out on the lake for main trails. Great day of riding on new sled.

Eric Hoidahl

2023-08

My wife and I were staying at a resort on Lake Vermillion the 2nd week of July. Out on the lake fishing one day on our rented pontoon boat when we became a little disoriented and saw a boat approaching so I waved to it and the driver of the craft turned our way and came up alongside us. We asked for directions back to our resort. We had a map of the lake with us and the gentleman showed us where we were and where to goto get back to our resort. We thanked God for people like "Delmar" with "Lake Vermillion Houseboats" for saving our day."Thanks Again Delmar" and "Lake Vermillion Houseboats" for having "Awesome Staff". Eric & Karen

Lisa Jones

2023-09

Awesome spacious pontoon. Easy pick up / drop off. Had lots of fun fishing & tubing.

Karla Degnan

2023-09

We had a wonderful weekend on the lake! Our houseboat was beautiful!! The service was superb and the owner, Joy, was so friendly and helpful! Thanks to Chris for helping us with the boat, as well! We will definitely be back!

Matthew Withy

2021-05

Good times on a hot July 4th weekend. Service excellent. Equipment perfect. Lots of family fun and adventures.

Teresa Chramiec

2020-05

We rented 2 snowmobiles last week. Super awesome owners, very good rental price. Wonderland scenery. What else can I add, it was super wonderful experience, you have to try it yourself.

Karen Bostrom

2023-05

Cannot recommend this business. Have rented boats in past in Florida and elsewhere which have been older but everything would work on boat. Not the boat at this facility. Holding tank smelled so bad our family had difficulty sleeping at night. Ceiling paint peeling and what appeared to be black mold on bathroom ceiling. Missing and holes in screens. Back screen door could not latch and bedroom door so warped it couldn’t shut. Dining table top gross and sticky from age and humidity. Voiced problems with owner and got nowhere. Definitely no Customer satisfaction. When called again with questions and concerns our # blocked!JUST SO YOU KNOW JOY, as I told you on the phone, when we were at the dock upon departure…. We asked about one of the warped broke doors and were told nothing could be done about it. So hmmmm??? We didn’t wait until back at the dock. I told you this on the phone. Also, the instructions on the refrigerator said only to call for EMERGENCIES! We are the type of family to make the best of things so , since nobody did anything upon departure we did just that. We left a list of concerns upon departure and did not make demands as you said. And not a phone call from you or Kyle about the boat issues. I called back a few times and left messages before I finally heard back from you Joy, where again we were dismissed regarding the boat issues. All we asked is for some type of compensation for the inconvenience and misrepresentation of your old unkempt boat. You were going to talk to Kyle but did not call back and blocked our #.

Natalie Standridge

2022-05

My sister and I rented the Catalina 60hp for our extended family of 8.The orientation was sufficient, and supported by some practical YouTube videos which we were provided prior to our stay. Loved the GPS navigation unit and map of the mooring sites.We were surprised at how outdated and rundown the boat was. The oven and stove were quite retro, the fridge did not cool at all for part of the time, and the lights flickered at night. There was a bunch of peeling paint and an exposed screw on a metal panel that concerned me as the kids were running around barefoot. Despite having a houseboat monopoly on the lake, it would be nice for them to do a little more maintenance on the boats - or at least this particular one.They were, however, super responsive to the electrical issues, and sent some guys out on a speed boat to change the batteries the day after we reported the problem. Luckily we are campers - happy ones - and came for the nature immersion and beautiful Lake Vermilion. This was a lot like camping. Thanks for loaning us the boat.

Zach Maciej (Zach)

2021-05

I planned my buddy's bachelor party here for 9 guys. Everything went great! Scheduling online worked much better than most other places, website is nice and easy to navigate. Joy was awesome to deal with and the text line worked good. Hats off to the dock crew they worked really hard and were extremely nice.The Catalina 54' plus was a little dated however the generator and motor were brand new and everything on the boat worked and ran great.Lake views and weather was awesome. 10/10 recommend anyone who is up for an adventure to try atleast once.Bottom line is Joy & Kyle seem to have put a lot of care and money into this place. New docks, motors, parking lot, generators, sales building and so on. Great people better service!

Dan Schwab

2021-05

It was great! The experience of being on the lake and mooring at different sites every day was fantastic. There is so much to explore! There are many beautiful islands on this Lake that I would otherwise not spend the night on. It was truly memorable.We had a couple hiccups in our trip, and the owners did a good job of addressing them as quickly as they could. It sounds like they acquired the business about 4 years ago and have been doing a lot to update and rebuild the business in several different areas. The husband is very knowledgeable about the boats and the surrounding area. He's a walleye guide on top of being the owner and has an impressive knowledge about how to fish Vermilion. The customer relations person (the wife) was very accommodating. She's exceptional at setting people up for a good trip.I'm my opinion, doing a lake trip through Vermilion Houseboats is well worth it.