Welcome to Jansen's Squirrel Lake Lodge.
Before the 1920's, the Squirrel Lake area was accessible by nothing but the roughest of lumber roads, winding their way among the kettle lakes. In 1921, a Railroad Engineer by the name of William Jansen retired from the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company, receiving for his 33 years of service the brass bell from his train and a 37-acre parcel of land on Squirrel Lake known as Lot Number 5 of Section 19 Township 39 North Range 5 East.
On this parcel, Mr. Jansen carved, from the heavy underbrush and stumps, the beautiful park-like setting you see here today, and built one of the finest Resorts in the north woods. The Resort was run by William and his son Earl, and since there were no other restaurants it was run on the 'Family Plan', meaning that his wife, Olive, did all the cooking, three meals a day, for all the guests of the Resort.
One of the early tasks was to improve the road so they could use a horse-drawn carriage to fetch guests from the train depot in Minocqua and get them to the remote Resort in the woods. Even today, this 12-mile journey feels much farther than it is. I cannot imagine how challenging it would have been to cleave these roads through the unbroken forest using only dynamite and oxen to remove stumps and move dirt. Nevertheless, with his many helping hands, the task was completed in a couple of years, and the Lodge was open for business. William died in 1933, and it fell to Olive to continue running the Resort. Before her death in 1938 she had passed control of the resort to her only son, Earl, and his wife Jo, whom he had married in 1931.
The depression was hard on the Jansens, but they survived by using all available means (there are rumors of moonshining and other such nefarious dealings). When Earl died in 1944 from an automobile accident, Jo Jansen took the helm and continued to run Jansen's Squirrel lake Lodge until 1993, shortly before her death.
Today, the Lodge is still owned by the Jansens, though it is no longer an active Resort. They continue to bring friends and family there in the summer, and if you see anyone, feel free to say hello. The new primary resident is also Jo Jansen, or Joann, and she is the widow of Earl Jansen's son, William.
Which brings us to the question of the name of the cache.
When I originally conceived of this cache, my intention was to place it at the dam, located at the south end of the lake. The dam is on public land, but sadly the access road that gets you there crosses private land, and the landowner has restricted all access. You can still get to the dam by boat from Squirrel Lake, but this gorgeous gem in the north woods is now much harder to reach.
So - I didn't change the name of the cache, only it's location. And I'm leaving the Dam on as a way point. You don't have to go there to sign the log or anything, but if you are in the area and have access to a boat, you're missing a lot if you don't go down there. In all seasons, the view from The Dam is peaceful and spectacular.
If you make it to the dam, you'll find that it's a great place to bring your family to spend a few hours fishing, or if you bring a canoe the stream is navigable downstream for a ways. Another activity is just walking down the Squirrel River in your water shoes. The depth of the stream can vary daily, but is seldom too deep to be enjoyed on foot. A caution though - please don't get too close to the outflow from the lake. The rocks near the crashing water are very slippery, and it is one of the two places that can be considered dangerous here. The other is immediately above the dam, where the water vortex will happily pull down people or dogs, so give respect to the power of the water there.
While in the area, keep an eye out in the woods and waterway for Whitetail Deer, River Otters, many species of Ducks, Beavers, Raccoon, Red and Grey Fox, Porcupines, and even the occasional Bear. In the skies this is an area frequented by Bald Eagles, Osprey, Hawks, Kingfishers, and a large variety of other beautiful Woodpeckers and songbirds.
The dam was originally constructed in the 1930's as a means of controlling the depth of the lake, as well as the water flow to downstream lakes and streams. The hardware you see on the dam is original. The giant wrench and the gears are used to raise and lower a gate which allows more or less water to flow through the opening. Typically this is open only two to four inches, but after a big rain they may open it up to a real gusher, so it's fun to visit then, too.
The dam was maintained for decades by the owners and family members of the now-closed Jansen's Squirrel Lake Lodge. It is now maintained by the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, in cooperation with the Wisconsin DNR.
Permission to place this cache at Jansen's Squirrel Lake Lodge was granted by the land owner.