DEVILS LAKE Earlier this month the very impressive “Legendary Suites at Woodland” opened for business at Woodland Resort on Devils Lake. The resort has long been a popular place for fishermen and visitors to the region, so much so that more and more requests for rooms to stay at the resort had to be turned away.

Now, with an eye-popping expansion unlike anything seen on North Dakota lakeshores, Woodland Resort has added five two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units, all carrying a local theme from the history of the region, and a 4,000-square-foot showroom.

“All have balconies overlooking the lake and are pet friendly,” said Dyllon Dalziel, general manager. “All are set up for full cooking with appliances, toasters, plates, pots and pans. There’s more opportunities for people to get up here. We’ve been turning away so many.”

Construction on the new facility began last fall. The first day of operation was June 10. The initial reaction from resort customers was understandably positive.

“A lot of people, especially those that have been coming for 10 or 15 years, are pretty amazed. All of a sudden there’s a new building. People are really impressed,” said Dalziel.

Inside the modern showroom is a new front desk for the resort, a bait shop, retail items and display room for Warrior boats and Avalon pontoons, watercraft sold by Woodland. Items for sale include signature clothing, boating accessories, fishing equipment, snacks and bait.

“There’s a lot more fishing gear and we’ve got our Lowrance’s on display now. People don’t have to go to the marine shop,” said Dalziel.

Certain to catch visitor’s eyes as soon as they step into the spacious showroom are the displays, many hanging from the ceiling. One such display features an old aluminum fishing boat, a fishing rod and line and a northern pike about to grab a lure.

The old boat, a 14-footer, was once owned by Kyle Blanchfield’s mother. Blanchfield is the owner of Woodland Resort. He extracted the boat from its resting place in a wooded area. It had been there for more than 20 years. Now it hangs proudly from the ceiling of the Woodland Resort showroom along with northern pike, perch, walleye and white bass.

The new building includes a conference room with a capacity of 40 to 50 people. Mitchell’s Guide Service also operates out of the new building at Woodland. The service has become the largest of its kind in North Dakota with 15 full-time guides and a number of part-time guides that are called upon when necessary.

The old Woodland Resort headquarters was quickly remodeled to accommodate additional room for the existing restaurant and lounge.

“Double the room,” said Dalziel. “They did a really nice job tearing old walls down and putting new walls up.”

In addition to the new “Legendary Suites”, Woodland has nine rental cabins, a 15-unit motel and five deluxe lodge units. A campground is filled primarily with seasonal campers. About a dozen camping spots are left open to the public, but the demand for them is very high.

“People book them a couple of years in advance,” said Dalziel.