Brevort Lodgings

DUNE SHORES RESORT
(906) 643-7693; off-season (716) 337-2522
Mary Ann Hernek and her husband, Steve, run the Dune Shores Resort as an informal, friendly resort—nothing at all fancy. No phones, no air-conditioning. The sandy beach across busy U.S. 2 is popular and especially nice here. Expect truck noise.
In summer the resort is normally booked up with repeat guests, but occasional vacancies do occur. Availability is better in June, Sept. and Oct.
The 7 simple housekeeping cabins, from another era, have practical asphalt tile floors. (Just sweep the sand outside.) No TV. The one-room cabin type has 2 double beds, a dining nook, older furniture, and a front porch. A larger cabin type has an open area and 3 bedrooms, all with twin beds. Cabins run $375-$525/week, depending on size and number of occupants. They are rented by the week from mid-June into late August, or for three or more days at other times.
The simple motel rooms can be rented as a single room, as a single room with kitchenette, or together as a suite (about $104/day, or $92/day for 6 or more days). They do have TVs with two channels. There's a narrow, covered porch outside.
The comfortable rustic dining room had been a Hungarian restaurant awhile ago. Now it's open for guests for breakfast and as a gathering area. Videos on the VCR entertain children on rainy days. There are some picnic tables and grills Room rates don't change with the seasons, but complimentary breakfasts are served in quiet times.
The resort goes back to 1960, when Mary Ann Herbrink's father bought 800 acres north of this highway property. He moved some CCC cabins here between the dunes and the beach. He built a simple 8-unit motel and converted the front part of previous owner's house into a restaurant. Today the back acreage belongs to the Hiawatha National Forest. It's part of the Sand Dunes ski and hiking trail system off Round Lake Road.
Both the Herbrinks have been Olympic paddlers. Steve Herbrink was a young Olympic canoeist from Hungary in 1956, the year of its suppressed revolution against its Soviet communist "protectors." He and fellow team members decided to make a public protest at the Olympics. After that, he defected. He met Mary Ann when he coached the 1960 women's kayak team.

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